Summary

The article outlines nine common mistakes bloggers make when writing a blog post, which can negatively impact its relevance, SEO value, and audience reach.

Abstract

The article "9 Signs Your Blog Post Is Going Horribly Wrong" emphasizes the importance of preparation, research, and strategy in blog post creation. It suggests that bloggers often falter by not having a clear topic, failing to plan post length, neglecting SEO trends and keyword research, and lacking a promotional strategy post-publication. The piece underscores that without a solid foundation in understanding the subject matter, conducting thorough keyword research, and engaging in link-building and outreach efforts, a blog post is likely to underperform or fail to reach its intended audience. The article advises bloggers to be proactive in their content creation process, from ideation to publication and beyond, to ensure their work is impactful and discoverable.

Opinions

Blogging without a clear topic idea is unproductive and leads to irrelevant content.
Failing to determine the appropriate length for a blog post can result in content that is too brief to rank well in SEO.
Ignoring current SEO trends and best practices can render a blog post ineffective upon publication.
Neglecting keyword research is detrimental to creating content that resonates with the target audience.
Pre-publication outreach and link-building are crucial for gaining audience exposure and shares.
Lack of planning and research before writing can result in content that is outdated or irrelevant.
Collaboration with an SEO expert is vital to ensure the blog post aligns with SEO trends and has value for the audience.
Having a clear idea of where to publish content is important for reaching the intended audience.
A post-publication content promotion strategy is essential for increasing the chances of a blog post getting ranked and seen.

9 Signs Your Blog Post Is Going Horribly Wrong

With practice, you’ll get the hang of what works and what doesn’t

Writing a blog post is often met with uncertainty, especially if it’s your first time. But there are some unmistakable signs that you may have already screwed up before you’ve even started. Here are nine telltale signs that your blog post is going horribly wrong.

1. You have absolutely no idea what you’re writing about

It’s weird, but some bloggers actually have no idea what they’re going to blog about. Don’t start writing your blog post without knowing what you’re going to write, or you’ll most likely end up with something that makes no sense. Instead, take the time to jot down a few brainstorms and choose the best one. That way, you can actually map out the content of your post and ensure it’s relevant and interesting.

2. You don’t know how long it will be

You should know how long your post will be before you even begin writing it. That way, you won’t get off track, and you can ensure that you’re only writing about relevant things. But if you don’t know how long your post is going to be, it’s most likely going to be very short, which will be a death sentence for any SEO-related ranking factors.

3. You’re not always following trends and best practices

A blog post with no SEO value will be dead on arrival when it gets published. If you don’t know what the latest SEO trends are, then make sure you research the heck out of them. If you don’t like what happens when one of those trends becomes popular, then make sure that trend doesn’t become popular (and start researching something else).

4. You don’t do any keyword research

This is a biggie. No keyword research means no relevant content for your target audience. That’s why you should always do keyword research, even if you plan to rank without it. Do proper keyword research, then fit it into your post, and you’ll have something far more useful than most of the other blogs out there.

5. You don’t do any link-building or outreach before publishing a blog post

If you’re going to publish a blog post, then make sure you’ve done something to get it in front of an audience that cares about it and can benefit from reading it (or has the power to share it). Whether that’s through link building or social outreach, it doesn’t matter. That’s what you should be doing before publishing a blog post, not later on in the game.

6. You’re lazy and never plan ahead

This one is pretty self-explanatory. If you’re trying to write a blog post and you plan to publish it without doing any research or outreach, then your chances of getting published are slim at best. On top of that, if you’re planning to just write about whatever pops into your head without spending any time researching trends or picking topics that would benefit your target audience, then there’s a good chance you won’t have something relevant for them at all.

7. You’re not checking with the SEO expert

If you’re not working closely with an SEO expert (you can learn to become that expert) then you’ll most likely end up publishing garbage. You’ll publish things that have no meaning, have no value for your target audience, and probably have nothing to do with your business. Your blog posts should at least be in line with the latest SEO trends and best practices. That way, you can get in front of an audience who will actually benefit from reading what you write about. If a blog post doesn’t pass these filters, it’ll most likely get lost in the sea of other content (and not get ranked).

8. You don’t know where to write your content

This one is obvious as well. If you don’t know where to write your content, then it’s not going to be useful for your target audience, and that’s a big mistake. You should always have an idea of where you’re going to publish your content before you even begin writing it. That way, if you don’t do enough research or outreach, your post will be out of date before it even reaches the masses.

9. You don’t have a strategy for after the blog post is published

This is also self-evident. If you don’t have a strategy for after the blog post is published, then your chances of getting ranked are slim at best. Most SEO experts will tell you that the most important part of SEO isn’t search engine optimization at all. It’s actually content promotion after your post has been published. That’s why you should always know what you’re going to do after your blog post is published so that you can ensure it gets in front of the right audience, and so your chances of getting ranked are increased.

If you’ve never published a blog post before, this may take time. But with practice, you’ll be able to create amazing content that’s in line with the latest SEO trends and matches the needs of your target audience. And if you’re already an expert on some related content, then it should take even less time to get a piece of content up on your blog that ranks high for relevant keywords. But once you get the hang of it, it’ll become easier and easier for each new blog post that’s published.

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