17 Mistakes Bloggers Make (And How To Fix Them!)

Last Updated on November 14, 2024 by Jan Barley

Mistakes that bloggers make can put your website back by months, if not years.

Are you a budding blogger eager to get your new site off the ground? Or perhaps you’ve recently started your first blog and want to ensure you’re on the right track?

I made most of the mistakes bloggers make, and I can honestly say I lost motivation for years because my blog didn’t experience growth or create an income.

I started getting it *right* in April 2024, and my blog is now growing exponentially.

In this comprehensive guide, I’ll unveil the pitfalls hindering your blog’s growth and profitability and provide you with the practical solutions I use to overcome them.

Whether you’re a novice or an established writer, this post will be your roadmap to building a successful blog.

The Common Mistakes New Bloggers Make

I made 75% of the following mistakes, so there’s no reason for you to make the same errors with your blog.

Let’s jump in.

#1: Not Choosing A Niche For Your Blog

I’ve listed niche selection first because it is crucial to clarify what you plan to *talk* about and to who. The narrower you can niche down, the better. It will help you choose a target audience and create a customer avatar.

I used generative AI to help me outline a customer avatar, so have a read of that post and use the free prompt.

#2: Opting for Free Hosting

Professional hosting isn’t expensive. I pay £7.20 monthly for WordPress hosting. Opting for free hosting suggests you aren’t serious about building your blog. You likely also have a free domain name, which, quite frankly, looks pants if you’re sharing it on social media.

Professional hosting ensures you get an SSL certificate, fast and secure loading and support if something goes wrong. You can back up your site and trust that you’re presenting a professional blog presence.

Two established hosting companies I recommend are A2 Hosting and Bluehost.

Disclaimer: If you purchase hosting, I may receive a small commission at no cost to you.

#3: Failing to Use SEO

The lifeblood of your blog is traffic. It’s challenging to get enough traffic from social media. You’re at the whim of the algorithms, which can limit your reach.

In late April 2024, my blog had 1,000 impressions monthly and 20 clicks. Seven months later, I have 26k impressions weekly, 600 ranking organic keywords, and 235+ clicks.

Learn simple SEO (search engine optimisation). I did the free HubSpot SEO certification in 2020, which enabled me to make a full-time income as an SEO writer.

#4: Choosing a Poor Domain Name

Choose your domain name carefully because once you have built traffic with ranking content, you’re kinda stuck with the name. I love the name Wolfheart, and I can’t change it now as I have hundreds of top-ranking keywords.

Avoid domain names with digits, such as bloggin4you. It’s tacky, and Google doesn’t like domain names like that.

#5: Failing to Set Permalink Structure Correctly

This mistake was one I made earlier on my journey. If you’re using WordPress for your blog, the permalink structure may look like www.myblog/2024/12/11/mistakes-bloggers-make.

It’s best to simplify the permalink to www.myblog/mistakes-bloggers-make

Here’s how to quickly change permalinks in WordPress:

• Go to dashboard and *settings* (left column)
• Click on *settings* and *permalinks*
• Choose *post name*
• Click on *save*

If you have existing posts with the *day and name* permalink setting, when you change to *post name*, those posts will show as a 404 error. The only solution to that is to create redirects.

#6: Choosing A Free WordPress Theme

Professional WordPress themes are typically fast-loading and mobile-friendly. Some free themes are clunky and not as effective as a paid theme.

After paying for a theme, you should automatically receive free updates for life.

#7: Not Having A Content Strategy

Randomly writing blog content is a poor strategy. Before writing a single word, plan a content strategy based on your niche.

Pick a pillar post and multiple content clusters. Link them together and keep a spreadsheet to keep track of internal linking when you create similar content for the pillar post.

#8: Failing to Publish Content Consistently

With generative AI, there’s no excuse for writing and publishing content consistently. You don’t need to write 4,000-word articles. Mix in-depth, long-form content with 1,000 to 1,500 words to avoid blogging burnout.

I use Claude AI and ChatGPT for outlines, competitor research and more. I’m putting together a digital product with the AI prompts I use, so stay tuned.

#9: Leaving Monetisation Until You Have a Lot of Content

Start monetising your blog from day one, or at least once you have a dozen or so articles. It can be challenging to get affiliate approval if you have limited traffic, so pick merchants that automatically approve. Choose affiliate programs or join an affiliate network to find instant approval merchants.

Consider creating a digital product and sales page to promote them.

#10: Not Updating Content Regularly

Updating aged content can be as powerful for SEO as publishing new content. I use the WordPress plugin *WP Last Modified Info*. It shows the publishing date and adds an updated date when you add new content.

From an SEO perspective, that helps Google bots identify fresh content.

Also consider adding a Table of Contents plugin as that’s another helpful SEO tip.

#11: Failing to Use Strategic H Tags

Your blog posts should have multiple headings to break up the text. You can use keyword synonyms within those headings.

Try to plan a H2 heading with 2-3 H3 subheadings then move to the next H2 and H3’s. It makes it easier for browsers and Google bots to read.

For listicles, add an H2 introduction to the list and follow with an H2 conclusion. Always number listicles (as I have in this post) because Google loves lists! For each item on the list, use H3 subheadings.

#12: Not Considering User Experience

Here are examples of a poor user experience:

• White writing on a pale background
• Dark writing on a dark background
• Not understanding colour psychology – some colours create a subconscious response, such as too much yellow makes people feel nauseous, and too much red makes people feel agitated. Use bold colours sparingly and do a Google search on colour wheels for psychology.
• Not considering visual flow: Huge blocks of text are annoying. Have no more than 3-4 sentences per paragraph. People scan content for what’s relevant to them.
• Forgetting to check for auditory rhythm – ALWAYS read your final draft out loud. You will hear *sticky* sentences. I use Microsoft Word *read aloud*
• Not varying sentence length. Sentences should be no more than 24 words. Use short and long sentence lengths to keep the reader interested.
• Writing too formally: Use protractions and write conversationally, as if you’re talking with a friend.

#13: Not Using Internal & External Links

For SEO, you need internal and external links on all posts. Use relevant anchor text so the link is appropriate to the conversation.

Spread links throughout the content so they’re not all bunched up in a few paragraphs.

#14: Not Using an SEO Plugin

An SEO plugin is essential to ensure your content is optimised for Google SERPs and readability. I use the free version of *Yoast*.

The plugin gives you feedback on how to optimise a post correctly. It advises how often to mention the primary keyword and tells you when you’ve done a good job.

#15: Not Curating Your Blog Content

Curating your blog content is a quick and easy way to get more traffic. You can create social media posts, reels, TikTok videos, etc.

Social media marketing can become exhausting. I advise focusing on search engine marketing using the following platforms:

• Pinterest: Pinterest is a search engine grossly overlooked by most bloggers. It’s a slow burn, but you can promote your blog content on your pins and drive traffic to your articles. Read my articles on the best Pinterest courses and the best Pinterest pin design course. Both helped me with my Pinterest marketing and I now create and sell Pinterest pin templates.
• YouTube: OK, I know it’s time-consuming to create video content, and I am guilty of procrastinating on curating YouTube, but don’t be me!

#16: Not Setting up Google Console & Google Analytics

When starting a blog, measuring progress is essential, which is impossible to do without analysing growth.

Since Google Analytics switched to G4, I admit it’s a bit tricky to understand. I use Google Console most days to assess traffic and clicks. It shows which pages are performing so you can write more content and add internal links to and from that post.

#17: Not Setting Up An Email List

I am guilty as hell with this mistake bloggers make. I keep putting it off, and I’m ashamed to admit it. I’ve built capture pages for digital products I sell and am a certified sales funnel builder, so I have no excuse for my tardiness.

You can set up a free email campaign with Systeme, which is relatively easy for beginners and free for life. Read my review on Systeme for beginners.

Use ChatGPT to help you create an email sequence. It gives you a framework to work from.

 Conclusion

The mistakes bloggers make can go into the dozens, but the above are vital to getting it right from the start. Blogging can take a few years to gain sufficient traction to create a passive income, so monetising from day one is essential.

Slow down and plan a solid content strategy. Use generative AI to shorten the process and continually monitor your progress. If you don’t want to set up Google Analytics, Ubersuggest’s free version gives a pretty good breakdown, including an SEO audit, number or organic keywords ranking and more.

If you want to make additional income whilst building your blog, have a read of 38 websites that pay bloggers to write.