Four Fatal Mistakes That Will Kill Your Blog Traffic

Blogging can be tricky, and it doesn’t get any easier. Mistakes in the beginning may not count, but the further along you get, the worse you feel when you actually do mess up.

If you want to avoid the massive dip in traffic that often comes with committing a major blogging mistake, make sure to have these four items checked off your list. If you have already done the work, you will be fine. If not, you should probably get to work right away.

1: You don’t have a Site Icon

This is such a common mistake, and yet nobody realizes just how easy it is to create a logo and put it up there. It takes ten minutes, tops. If you don’t do it, the class WordPress “W” remains there, automatically classifying you as an amatuer blogger to your readers.

“Not having a site icon makes you an instant noob in blogging.”
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If this is you, you need to fix this now. Go to Canva and design an easy, small logo that makes sense and fits your brand. For example, my site icon is just my initials: EM. It’s that simple.

After setting your site icon, go to your WordPress settings panel, click Customization, Site Identity, and upload it at the bottom of the little popup. Three seconds later, your site will display your icon instead of WordPress’.

2: You don’t type with proper grammar

We all make this mistake at some point or the other. Just recently, my friend told me I had left an underscore in a random place on one of my posts. I had apparently missed it during my editing process, so I was extremely thankful that he caught it.

Since this mistake is more common, we as bloggers can afford to be more lenient about it. Write with the utmost attention to your grammar and spelling, and entirely avoid all emojis and acronyms like “lol”. These scream of unprofessional writing and a lack of effort from the writer.

Furthermore, make sure that, if read aloud, your post still makes sense. None of the sentences should be ambiguous or confusing. Keep it straightforward and simple, and your readers will appreciate it.

3: You make it all about you

Personal stories are great, and within certain situations, a blog about a specific person can work. There does, however, reach a point in which it simply becomes either a: whining or b: irrelevant and nobody cares.

For example, there are many YouTubers that vlog (the video version of blogging) their entire lives. You see thrice-daily videos about the food they eat, the clothes they wear, and the cars they drive. For a little while, it can be fun, especially if they are a celebrity, but after a bit the fun wears off and you get bored.

Blogging is the same. An occasional personal story or anecdote can be just the thing to provide content, but doing so on a daily basis can and will get old. Instead of focusing on you, the blogger, focus on your writing and favorite topics.

4: You don’t format your posts

This has been a topic of my posts time and time again, and it will continue until I see every single blogger following this. Before you click that Publish button, make sure that you have a relevant image at the top of the post, a place for people to tweet about your post (with a quote), a link or two leading to your other posts (whether relevant or featured, it doesn’t matter), and an appropriate amount of relevant tags entered in the right-hand side of your screen.

It isn’t difficult to go the extra mile, and doing so will ensure that you keep your readers as long as possible. Don’t be lazy and look for shortcuts in post formatting; they don’t exist. Spend the extra five minutes, and you’ll see results.

Checking these four factors off your list is a huge relief to some. After doing the first, focus on making the other three a habit. You shouldn’t have to be reminded to write with proper grammar or to add tags to your post. It should come naturally. Work hard, do your best, and good luck.

Alright, that’s all for today. Thanks so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed this post. If you did, make sure to click that Follow button below (or to the side). Then, when I release new content like this, you’ll get notified. Thanks again, and I hope you have a fantastic day!

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