Even if you may not be new to the blogging world, it is easy to become trapped in some very common business blogging mistakes. Having a company blog is a great tool to have, as long as you utilize it in the right way. Here are the top seven most crucial blogging mistakes you should avoid at all costs, and tips in how to fix them.
1. Not Integrating Your Blog With Your Website
This is a bad mistake to make because your blog is published on its own separate entity that is not connected to the company’s website. Not combining the two in a united front can be damaging to your business’ search engine, branding, and the centralization of your business’s content. An ideal location for your blog is on a sub-domain of your main web page, or in a folder on your main web page. Either of these will allow your corporate website to take advantage of the search engine value that your blog creates.
2. It’s All About You
If your content on your blog is too heavily focused on: you, your products, services, achievements, and why you’re awesome, then it needs to have a re-direction! This is only okay when there is new and exciting company information you want to share, but don’t limit your company blog to just that. Before posting anything ask yourself two questions: will this benefit my company, and will this benefit my readers. If the answer is no to either of these questions, than don’t post it.
3. No Schedule
Having a blog means that you need to publish things! If you don’t publish on a regular basis or you aren’t publishing enough articles, then it defeats the purpose of even having a blog. Companies that benefit the most from creating a blog are the ones that blog frequently and consistently. An easy way to fix this is to set a goal of how often you should blog. If you don’t know the answer as to when, then once a week is a good starting point.
4. Forgetting About SEO
If you aren’t monitoring your blog’s power in search engines, then you are missing out on one of the greatest benefits of having a business blog. You should always be thinking of ways to increase your keyword rankings and grow your organic search traffic because that is what makes people see your blog.
5. No One Can Find Your Blog
If a tree falls in a forest, and no one is around to hear it fall; does it still make a sound? You don’t want your company blog to be that lonely tree! Once you have launched your business blog and you are publishing articles on a regular basis, it is time to take a step onto the social media stage. Promoting your content is more important at the beginning stages than the amount of the content.
6. No Calls To Action
If there are very few to no calls-to-action on your blog, then it is very limiting to convert potential visitors into leads and customers. If you are not offering calls-to-action then your are missing out and damaging the value of your blog’s ROI. An easy way to fix this is to place CTA’s at the top or side of your blog and also mentioning it in posts.
7. Ignoring Blog Analytics
If you are busy writing blogs and not paying attention to the effectiveness of them, then you are wasting your time. Analytics help give insight into how valuable your blog is to your company. They can also help you determine which topics are articles readers care about, and which they don’t.