50 Big Blogging Mistakes Most Beginner Bloggers Make

Being new in blogging field is actually the most difficult situation to handle. Like you, I also faced the same difficulties that you are facing now.

And I confront many problems today too. But there is a solution to every problem. The only thing you have to do is to help yourself for finding the solution for that particular problem.

This famous saying explains it all.

God help those who help themselves.

Now, you would have been probably thinking about the mistakes you are making in the present time.

I think without wasting any time we should start. Shall we?

Mistake 1: Crappy Theme of Your Blog

WordPress itself comes with Twenty Series themes. Some bloggers are too much lazy to change that annoying theme or they don't even bother to customize it.

But you will see loss of many visitors due to these annoying themes. Design really matters if you want your blog to stand out and decrease your bounce rate. Plus it helps to increase the readership and repeat visitors of your blog.

Hiring a web developer for making a theme is always the best choice but if you can't afford any web developer then Themeforest would be your best choice.

Mistake 2: Poor Blogging Platform

Being a beginner blogger, I also started with poor blogging platforms like Blogger and WordPress.com.

Also Check : WordPress vs Blogger : Why I choose WordPress?

But soon I realized the importance of a good blogging platform. A good platform helps you in every aspect of blogging i.e. SEO, Content Writing, Media etc.

Blogger is good for those who have basic knowledge about different platforms. But you will not find good functions in Blogger like there are on WordPress.org. It is a self-hosted blogging platform. The best feature of WordPress.org is it's plugin.

If you ask me that what's my best choice for blogging platform then I will always recommend WordPress.org.

Mistake 3: Not Owning your Domain

Beginner bloggers always start with platforms like Blogger, WordPress.com or Tumblr etc. These platforms provide their own sub-domains.

But owning your personal .com or .org domain is always recommended. Domains are very cheap nowadays. You can buy one easily on Godaddy, Namecheap etc.

Also Check : 5 Amazing Tips for Choosing Domain Name

The biggest advantage of having your personal domain always helps you rank better in search engines. Plus, it always helps your blog to make itself authoritative in front of readers.

With the above mentioned advantages, one more advantage of domain is that it's easily remembered.

Mistake 4: Using Nulled Plugins

WordPress.org users would be probably aware of "Plugins". (Because plugins are available mostly for self-hosted platforms).

The mistake that WordPress users make is using nulled plugins. For those who don't know what Nulled Plugins are, "Nulled Plugins are the plugins which are downloaded from third-party websites not from the original owner because they are paid."

The disadvantage of nulled plugins is that they make your blog vulnerable to many hackers. Hackers insert some malware codes into the plugins you download.

After you install them, they easily get your WordPress username and password. And then all of your precious work is lost. That's why it's always recommended to not download the plugins from third-party websites.

Mistake 5: Annoying Hosting Server

Sometimes your hosting server annoys your readers by being slow or by database errors etc.

Also Check :

This problem mainly occurs in free servers or cheap hosting. So it's always recommended to buy hosting from well-known providers. Few of them are HostGator, Bluehost, Dreamhost etc.

Mistake 6: Too Much Ads

Monetizing your blog too much makes your blog environment cluttered. It's too much annoying.

Okay, it's right to earn money from your blog but putting many ads makes your blog look spammy or whatever you call it.

One page must not have more than 3 ads. And always avoid using pop-up windows on your blog.

Mistake 7: Copyright Content

If you are using copyright content then it's the worst mistake you are making right now.

Because it can affect your blog in terms of SEO. Those days are gone when using someone's content was tolerable.

Nowadays Google keeps an eye on your web. If you place copyright content on your site then your site can be permanently banned from Google.

So it's better to create your own content rather than getting banned from Google by using Copyright content.

Mistake 8: Spun Content

Spun content is a technique to make changes in someone's content and put it on your blog. But it's my experience that spun content is also not gonna help your blog rank on Google or get some traffic.

Original content is always better because Google is more intelligent than you.

Mistake 9: Not Being Better Than Others

Simply copying one website idea and making a blog post out of it is not good for your blog's health.

If the reader is getting the same thing from your blog that he/she got from the previous blog they visited, then think for a minute that why would some like to visit your website?

Also Check : How to Find a Suitable and Profitable Niche for Your Next Blog?

So you always must be better in generating content and must be better than others. It's good for your readership, also it can help you to rank well too. (Because more better the content is, more backlinks it's gonna receive.

Mistake 10: Avoiding Importance of Doing SEO

You should must have a basic knowledge of SEO before starting your blog.

SEO is important in terms of getting respect from Google and other search engines. Writing good content doesn't always mean that you will receive traffic on it.

Make some backlinks to it, promote your content then you can expect some good traffic on your content.

Mistake 11: Simple Post Titles

Simple post titles don't help in getting good CTR.

Your post title should must create curiosity in the mind of readers so you can constrain them to click on your post.

Mistake 12: Missing Your Targeted Keyword

If you want some good traffic from Google then focus on one particular keyword.

Your targeted keyword must be present in post title, permalink and in content. But don't include your keyword too much in the content because you can get hit by Google.

Note: Don't add too much competitive keywords, you are not gonna rank for them. It's better to use long tail keywords with low competition.

Mistake 13: Too Much Long Post Titles

There are limited numbers of characters set by Google which users can see in search results. If your title becomes longer than the limit specified by Google then your title cuts off in search results…

…which means you are missing traffic from Google. So always limit number of characters in title to 50-60.

Mistake 14: Keyword Missing in Permalink

Beginner bloggers always avoid permalinks of their blog posts. And their permalink is set by the blogging platforms they are using.

Adding your targeted keyword in permalink is always better for you in terms of SEO. Also don't make your permalinks URLs too much long because shorter permalinks always help to rank better in Google.

But the most important part of permalink is your targeted keyword. So don't forget to set up permalink.

Mistake 15: Slow Loading Site

Site loading speed is another factor by which you get ranked in Google. Google analyzes your site speed and if your site speed is slow then your site is pushed down to next pages of search results.

Also Check : Great Tips to Speed up Your WordPress Site

To make your blog fast, don't install too much plugins on your blog and don't upload too much large images.

W3 Total Cache and W3 Super Cache are two plugins which can also help your site load fast. But if you really want your site to load faster than use CDN.

MaxCDN is always recommended because it's cheap and easily compatible with WordPress.

Mistake 16: Avoiding Social Media

Social signals also help you to rank better on search engines. Google gives more importance to Google Plus so don't mind to use it.

The more number of +1's you have, the better rank you gonna get in search engines.

As social media plays an important role in getting good rank in search engines, it also helps you to bring some referral traffic.

Mistake 17: Fewer Words

Google always values the longer content. The more number of words you have, the better it going to rank and get traffic.

Suppose you wrote an article about 11 SEO Tips and other blog wrote a complete guide about SEO. Then guess which going to get more traffic?

Obviously, "The SEO Guide".

Mistake 18: Creating Content Only For Search Engines

Okay, it's better to have knowledge about SEO and creating content that can rank better but only creating content for search engines is not a good practice.

Focus more on the readership of your blog than on focusing SEO.

Because if the readers comes on your blog one time then they will come again if they liked your content in the past.

If they don't find something useful for them in your blog, then they are gonna ignore your blog next time when they will come across it in search engine or social media websites.

Mistake 19: No Images

Some beginner bloggers avoid adding images and media in their blog post. Even they don't care about adding a featured image.

Let me tell you, content without images and media makes your blog boring.

A featured image itself can evoke curiosity in mind of readers and they will definitely bring their cursor near your post title to read it.

Mistake 20: No Alt-Text

Many of the bloggers forgot to add alt-text in images.

It may not be important to readers but it's important for Google because Google also sees keywords in alt-texts.

Also Check : 5 Best Image Optimization Tips for Better On Page SEO

It's recommended to add your targeted keyword in alt-text. Because the more you focus on a keyword, the better you gonna rank for that particular keyword.

But I will warn you again to not overdo a particular keyword in blog posts.

Mistake 21: Zero Outbound Links

If you don't know what Outbound Links are, "Outbound links are the links of some other websites (related to your niche) which you add in your content".

Outbound links help Google identify what's your website about.

Outbound links related to your niche helps you make a better image on blog in front of Google and it makes your blog easily indexed and crawled.

Mistake 22: Few Or No Backlinks

Beginner bloggers make few or no backlinks for their blog. They don't give much importance to backlinks.

But backlinks are one of the best way to get your blog introduced to Google.

But you should build backlinks with care. If you create backlinks on Spam websites or sites unrelated to yours then those backlinks will provide no advantage to you rather you will face a penalty from Google due to these kind of backlinks.

Mistake 23: Buying Links

In fondness of making backlinks and to achieve good ranking, some people fall prey to buying backlinks from backlinks selling services.

But things would get worse for you if you buy links. Because these type of services create backlinks for you by using automated software or by blog comment spamming.

Stay safe and don't get trapped in these kind of services. You can get more information here.

Mistake 24: Not Making Email Lists

If you make email list then later it proves to be very good in bringing repeat visitors to your site.

If you are not making one, then you are one of those fools who don't get bothered about making email list.

Mistake 25: No Comment Moderation

When your blog starts getting little bit of traffic, then comment spammers are also there to ruin your blog.

They put their spammy links in comments. They spam as much as they can.

But you should must stop them. Akismet is one of the best plugin to stop comment spam.

Along using comment spam moderator plugins, you should check comments yourself also because some comments cannot be detected by plugins too. After all robot is not that much intelligent as we are!

Mistake 26: Avoiding Reply to Visitor's Comments

When you start getting traffic, people love to leave their reviews about your content. Some are negative ones but most of them are positive. Some people appreciate your content and some ask questions.

Also Check : 5 Killer Ways to Get More Comments On Your Blog

In both cases, you should reply to all comments one by one. It proves to be useful for interacting with people.

Using this technique, they become your regular readers.

Mistake 27: Starting Without Introduction

Starting your blog post straight away without any introduction doesn't build a good readership.

That's why it's recommended to give little bit introduction in the start about what you are going to explain below. Your introduction must be a perfect one….

…that draws user attention in the start and forces them to read the whole article.

Mistake 28: Avoiding Headings and Bulleted Lists

Visitors doesn't read the whole article word by word rather they scan through it. That's why you should always write an article as an outline.

Make headings and give bullets to the point. Along with helping the user to scan through the article, h1 and h2 headings also helps to get better rankings in search engines.

Mistake 29: Longer Paragraphs

Put yourself in place of readers and think for a minute that for long can you read those longer paragraphs?

It's overwhelming. Right? That's why you should not write more than 2 sentences in one paragraph.

Give more space between paragraphs so that it could be easy for readers to read your whole article.

Mistake 30: No Conclusion

Give your final words about the whole article in the end.

Your conclusion at the end will be the juice extracted from the whole article and your readers will read it for sure.

But don't make conclusion too long. 40-50 words are enough for this.

Mistake 31: No Logo

A well designed logo of your blog makes your blog stand out. Don't leave the place of logo blank or don't put the name of your site as a simple text here.

Hire a good graphic designer or if you have good skills in Photoshop or Corel Draw then what do you need more?

Mistake 32: No Favicon

Favicon is a small logo which is displayed beside your text on the browser tab.

Favicon doesn't make your site identical to any other opened sites in the reader's web browser…

…It helps your site to stand out in front of any other blogs/websites opened in visitors' browser.

Mistake 33: Less White Color

White color on your blog give your readers peace of mind. It helps to increase time of user stay on your blog.

As well as if you are worried about your bounce rate of your blog then increasing white space can help you.

Just try to add more space between paragraphs and keep your paragraphs shorter.

Mistake 34: Spamming Your Links Everywhere

I have seen many beginner bloggers who spam their links everywhere a lot.

Social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus are full of these spammers. Please, don't be one of those spammers. Because spamming can't get you more traffic…

…it just devalues your site in front of people.

Mistake 35: Being Lazy In Promoting Your Content

Some people create too much content but become lazy in promoting it. Derek Halpern at SocialTriggers spends less time in creating content and more time in promoting it.

Let me tell you, it doesn't matter that your content is better than others, if you aren't promoting it then you are making such a big mistake that you can't even imagine.

Along with social media sites, reach out to already established blogs in your niche and tell them about your content. Request them to link out to your content but your content must be link worthy for this.

Mistake 36: Less Or No Productive Content

Okay, you have created a 3000 words for SEO but if it's not meaningful then why would someone like to visit your blog?

Be productive and smart in creating your content. You must be better than others.

A content that proves to be useful for your readers. The benefit of this will be that you will get more backlinks and more social shares. In return, there will be more traffic.

Mistake 37: Hosting Blog on Free Server

Hosting your blog on free hosting server is always a bad idea because, it does have slow loading time, database errors and other server problems.

Getting a good server doesn't let you face any down times and slow loads time. As you may know that site load time is another Google ranking factor that's why getting a good hosting server is a good idea.

Mistake 38: Writing Too Broad

When you are new in blogging, you don't know what to write about.

You start writing on topics that are far too broad. And there are too many aspects in that one topic that you forget to explain or you don't have knowledge about them.

So please, always write on smaller topic. Like writing on topic "How to Get More Clicks on Facebook Paid Post?" rather than writing on "How to do Social Media Marketing?". I hope you got my point.

Mistake 39: Using Fancy Vocabulary

Don't show off in your content. Whether you are an expert in vocabulary, don't use difficult or fancy words.

Because you blog is getting read by too many people and from different countries in the world.

Don't always think about that only experts will come to read your blog. Always care about the persons like me and many others =D who don't know that much about vocabulary.

Mistake 40: Not Interlinking Your Content

Interlinking your content makes your blog as strong brick wall in front of Google.

Also Check : Increase Search Engine Traffic by 213% in 2017

You must be thinking that why it's important to interlink your posts? It's because search engines can easily crawl and index all of your web pages.

Mistake 41: Not Making Relations

You are not alone in the field of blogging. Go and make strong relations with the others in your field. Because they can help you further in the future.

One advantage is that it becomes easy to make backlinks after making relations.

Mistake 42: Making Spam Links to Your Blog

Okay, it's important to have backlinks in order to get good rankings in Google, but it doesn't mean that Google will always bless you with good rankings by buying links or making spam links.

Google only gives importance to backlinks that are from authoritative sites. Those days are long gone when making spam links helped to rule the search results.

Nowadays if your backlinks are not of good quality then Google Panda and Penguin hit you with a sweet penalty.

Mistake 43: Not Categorizing Your Content

Always make it easy for your readers to find the content they want to read on your site.

Some bloggers don't categorize the posts and put every post in one category. This makes it difficult for readers to filter out the posts they don't need and eventually they close your blog if they can't find out the material they wanted.

Mistake 44: Not Proofreading Your Content

Don't publish button too soon after you write. Take 5 minutes and reread your whole article.

Correct the mistakes if there are any. Mostly, there are grammar mistakes which must be corrected.

Mistake 45: Your Writing Is Boring

Don't be boring in writing content. Always try to be interactive with your visitors.

One simple trick to do this is to use words like "You" and "I".

Mistake 46: Never Updating WordPress or Plugins

Not updating plugins or WordPress platform makes your site vulnerable to hackers.

Also Check : Top 10 WordPress Plugins Recommended by Experts in 2017

Even avoiding slight updates can affect your site too. That's why whenever you receive updates, make it your duty to update.

Mistake 47: Leaving "Hello World" Post

Some of the WordPress beginner bloggers leave the "Hello World" initial post and start blogging. Don't be one of those.

You can edit this post or delete this. Because, it's too much annoying.

Mistake 48: Not Researching on Your Topic

Before starting to write an article for your blog, always do research on that particular topic.

Also Check : How to Get Blog Post Ideas that will Make Your Blog More Productive

Gather some good and useful information and then put it into one article.

For better research, type the topic you want to write on in Google. The first 10 pages for that particular keyword would be your gold mine.

Mistake 49: Not Replying To Comments

To be interactive with your readers, always reply to comments. Because whenever you reply them, they get notification in their inbox.

In this way, you can bring repeat visitors on your blog and they could become loyal readers of your blog.

Mistake 50: Using Images with someone's Watermark

Don't use someone images or if you use them then don't use ones with someone's site watermark. Why? Because, it doesn't have a good impact on your readers.

Conclusion:

Don't worry if you have made such mistakes in your beginner level. Me and many other experts have also did that mistakes. The point is how much effort we make to correct them and to take our blog to next level.

Please leave your thoughts and comments below.

Source: 50 Big Blogging Mistakes Most Beginner Bloggers Make