I love Pinterest. I find so much relevant content on there. There’s nothing better than finding a Pin that claims to have the answer to all my problems.
And nothing worse than when I click on that to read the post, and it has nothing to do with the original Pin.
While I don’t claim to be the expert on modern blogs, I’ve been in the “blogosphere” since I was 10 years old. I’ve read and written a lot of blog posts.
Even on popular, successful blogs, I see these mistakes. As a reader, they frustrate me. Here’s what I come across most often.
Focusing on SEO More Than Readability
SEO is important. It’s how readers find your blog in the first place.
But there gets to be a point where it doesn’t sound human anymore. Even Google can tell when you are stuffing your post with keywords to try to get ranked highly.
Clicks are great, but it’s equally important to consider the value of a site visitor. Someone who clicks on your website and clicks right off:
- Is seeing fewer ads
- Won’t click on your affiliate links
- Probably not going to sign up for your email list
This theme will resonate in several points that I bring up.
Clickbaiting
I’ll caveat: almost any social media or blog post needs to be slightly “clickbaity.” That’s to be expected these days.
However, I’m tired of clicking on posts that tell me “How to get sponsors on a new blog” only to end up being a post about what they wish they knew when they first started blogging.
Why do bloggers do this? Typically, it’s advised to make multiple Pins on Pinterest for each blog post. I do this too. But what’s not cool is misrepresenting your post.
Similarly to the above point, this might get you clicks, but they’ll be low-quality. If your post isn’t compelling enough with an accurate title, it won’t convince readers to stay for a post they didn’t expect to read.
Introductions that are Longer than the Post
This is a spin-off of clickbaiting. This is when the title of the post represents one core theme that actually barely shows up. Often, it’s snuck in at the end.
What’s the deal here? Usually, these posts are following an old piece of advice: that Google will see your post as higher value if it’s at least a thousand words. So, my hypothesis is that the blogger has an idea for a post, but that alone won’t lead to a thousand words. Instead of expanding on the original topic, they add in unrelated topics, typically in the introduction.
Why is this a bad practice? It’s not human. When I click on a post called “10 Passive Income Ideas,” I usually only want the 10 business ideas. If I’m reading an introduction and section headings that go on forever before getting to the 10 ideas, I’m going to click off.
This is why I typically make my introductions short. I also anticipate that some people won’t read them, and make sure my content is self-explanatory.
Overloading With Ads (Especially on Mobile)
As a side hustler, I totally understand. You want to get paid for your work. I respect it. But there gets to be a point where it ruins the user experience—especially if you don’t consider how this looks on mobile.
When incorporating ads, make sure that your page is still readable and loads quickly. You can do this with a website like Page Speed Insights.
Over-reliance on AI
Readers can tell if your image was designed by AI. It’s better to spend five minutes and use a free Canva template.
Image generation isn’t the only way that bloggers overuse AI. Creative writing is a human activity. If readers wanted to get a ChatGPT answer, they wouldn’t click on your blog in the first place.