Help! Nobody reads my blog
Nobody reads my blog.
That is one of the biggest frustrations I hear from new bloggers.
In this article, I have collected the 14 biggest reasons why you aren’t getting blog traffic, and how to fix them.
People also read: 12 Simple Ways To Prepare Your Blog For SEO Succes
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Your site speed is low
The number one reason that people click the back button is because a site isn’t loading fast enough.
A fast blog is achieved by using fast servers and minimizing the number and size of objects that need to be loaded. For example: eliminate unnecessary elements, shrink images, get rid of or embed videos, or get rid of any WordPress plugins that you don’t use. The less the page has to load, the quicker your reader gets to enjoy your blog.
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Your photos are not engaging
Another reason why nobody reads your blog. Why?
Photos are one of the first things that you notice on a blog. People like text and information, but want to be visually stimulated, as well.
You have to pay careful attention about what kind of images you use. Use good, quality images that are relevant to your blog and content. When you include photos of yourself, they should are professional looking, of good quality, and not copyrighted. If you do use images from someone else, be sure that they are either for unlimited use, or that you have purchased the rights to use them. The best images, when possible, are photos of yourself or that you created. And more than anything, it’s your blog: make sure every photo fits your brand and personality.
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You don’t have a responsive mobile design
Did you know that 90% of people with smart phones keep their mobile phone within arm’s reach 100% of the time?
And despite this, I still see some blogs and websites that are not mobile friendly. If your site looks ugly or is hard to read on a small screen, you lose that 43% of web visitors who browse the internet on their mobile devices.
Not only is it bad for user experience, it is now a negative ranking factor for your blog’s SEO. Make sure your theme is mobile friendly, so the content is at the top instead of menus, sidebars and other distractions.
People also read: Popular Link Building Tactics Over the Years
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You don’t use outside links
A lot of bloggers think that linking out to other websites will cause you to lose visitors. In reality, it generates a lot of SEO benefits – more than you would think. The more you link out to other (quality) blogs, the more value and reliability you will provide your readers.
Outside links are important to rank higher in search, therefore more people will read your blog.
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Your content is not useful enough
5 years ago you could write a blog post in 15 minutes and rank at the top of Google. Now people are looking for real value. And quality content starts with quality writing.
Try writing long-form posts where you deeply expand on a topic that could help your audience. 1000-2000 words is a good starting point for articles.
Give your readers something worth reading! If there is nothing in your blog that your audience hasn’t read before, and nothing that is actually helpig them solve a problem, your visitors won’t come back.
Pay attention to grammar, spelling, and clarity.
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You don’t promote your blog
While marketing is important for every business, it’s also necessary for a new blog. Regardless of how compelling your content is, if you don’t promote, it will never have traffic.
Post the article on your social media accounts, email it to the subscribers of your newsletter, or share it with relevant influencers.
Social media is absolutely huge for growing a blog. A lot of people think that you can just publish blog posts and the followers will come. Being active and engaged on social media helps immensely to grow a blog. Social media allows you to meet your audience where they already are, and begin creating connections and conversations that you can drive back to your blog posts and products.
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Your blog isn’t optimized for social sharing
Nobody reads your blog, because nobody knows about it!
Speaking of social media promotion, there are many people who can share your blog post besides you. Add social sharing buttons to every post to enable your visitors to share your content. This way, you’ll expose your blog to the people in your readers’ networks people, who you couldn’t reach.
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Your site isn’t focused
There are a lot of things that interest you. But please, choose one, and stick to it as the main topic of your blog.
It will be harder to grow your audience if each of your readers can only relate to a part of your posts. Rather, you’ll grow your blog much faster if you keep it specific. If your blog is focused enough, your readers find more information about their problems, and are more likely to visit your blog. They even become a subscriber and read every article!
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You don’t pay attention to SEO
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is still important as search engines become smarter. While you can post in social media and get immediate visitors, doing SEO brings long-term success.
Start by including keyword phrases in titles, subtitles, and within the text. Include keywords with h1, h2, h3, h4 in the text, and in bold text too. Write your content for people and for Google.
Use tools and plugins to help monitor and improve your content’s SEO. I recommend Yoast SEO. The plugin tracks your keyword usage across titles, within the text, and on images to improve your content’s chances of being ranked well in search engines.
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Your content is too promotional
There is a big reason why nobody reads your blog. I see it with a lot of blogger.
To keep your blog interesting to your readers, your content has to be 90% educational and 10% promotional.
I hate to say it, but nobody cares about your company or product. Yes, you might be excited about your new product or service, what have you done, or what you sell, but the truth is, other people don’t care. They are looking for information to solve their problems and satisfy their needs.
No one is going to follow a blog that shares article after article promoting their own product. People read blog posts to gain insights or be entertained – not to receive ads.
First things first – stop blogging about yourself! That’s not what a business blog is for.
Blogging is a long-game strategy. You can place a Call-to-Action in your blog, but that CTA shouldn’t be “Buy, buy, buy!”
Instead, provide valuable content that’s relevant to your blog post. Then make them download that goodie in exchange for their email address. I have all sorts of lead magnets on my blog. Different offers for different blog posts.
Don’t be surprised or disappointed by the fact that most of your blog readers will never become customers.
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Your headlines are weak
You can ruin an amazing article by not spending enough time crafting a great headline.
It’s hard nowadays to catch reader’s attention. This is why crafting the headline is crucial.
It has to create enough curiosity to make a reader want to click without being spammy, or even worse, straight up lying. Sure, you’ll get clicks with that kind of headline, but when people see you don’t deliver, they will leave and never come back.
Lists and how-to posts are some of the simplest way to draw in readers with simple but effective headlines.