Blogs can fail for a number of reasons. And most failures can be easily avoided by putting in the effort to deliver consistent, high-quality content. So, what causes certain websites to go belly up?
Of course, failure is a subjective term depending on what you view as success. Some people simply build a website to share their artwork. Others dive into eCommerce in the hopes of making a few sales.
For the sake of argument, though, I’m referring to traffic numbers that a blog accumulates throughout any given month.
7 Reasons Blogs Fail and What You Can Do
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure. This means that small steps to prevent failure today can save you from a massive headache later.
If you’re looking to drive traffic to your site, you have to put in the work.
Publishing Low-Quality Content
Perhaps one of the most prominent reasons why a blog will fail is because of content quality. And I’m not just referring to spelling and grammar issues within a post, although those will contribute.
Low-quality posts could also include thin content that doesn’t really dive into a topic or provide value to the reader. Or, content that is riddled with errors, inconsistencies, and false information.
Not only does low-quality content affect the reader experience, it is poorly viewed upon by Google. And if you want your blog to perform well in search, you need to focus on writing high-quality content.
Write high-quality content by diving deep into a topic, linking back to credible sources of information, and providing the best information for your audience. Think of it this way, you don’t want visitors to search for the information again after reading your post. Your content should satisfy their needs.
Lack of Consistent Publishing
If you’re not consistent with publishing your content, it’ll be harder to attract and keep an audience.
Consistency keeps subscribers and followers coming back for more. It also demonstrates to Google when your content is updated, which assists when your blog is crawled and indexed. From an SEO perspective alone, consistency is key to keeping your site alive and well.
How often you should blog depends on the type of site you’re building and your overall purpose. However, some experts say blogging three to four times per week is ideal.
Create a routine publishing schedule that visitors can rely upon. For example, WriterSanctuary publishes new posts every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 9:45 am (MTN). Your days and times may be different as each audience is unique. Take a look at your analytics to see when people are most likely to visit your blog throughout the week.
Lack of Proper External Marketing
Although Google will contribute the lion’s share of traffic to your site, promoting it elsewhere can still draw an audience. This is especially true if Google torpedoes your blog with one of its algorithm updates. That way, people still know your content exists even if Google isn’t showing it in search.
This actually happens more often than you might think.
No one will visit if people don’t know the blog exists. That’s why it’s important to make sure the URL is in as many places as you can share it.
Ways you can promote the blog is through push notifications, sharing the links to your content on social media, adding the domain to email signatures, adding the domain to your social profiles, or going so far as to print the domain on business cards. Get the blog out there as far as possible.
Poor SEO Structure
Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is the bread and butter of most blogs. Without it, content is not as visible in search engines, namely Google. Unfortunately, a lot of bloggers don’t take SEO into consideration when setting up their sites.
SEO is kind of a blanket term, as it can mean everything from the content itself to the performance of your website. Perhaps the best way to sum up SEO is simply providing the best user experience possible.
Without SEO in mind, blogs are sure to fail when it comes to search results. What’s worse is that proper SEO can be a very time-consuming process just so you can appease the algorithms.
If you’re using WordPress to power your blog, there are a number of SEO plugins that can make a huge difference for your content. For example, I use Yoast SEO on every site I work on. Then, you have a variety of optimization plugins that can help you with images, JavaScript, CSS, and more. It’s worth exploring your options, especially when it comes to content and site performance.
Niche Is too Broad
If you’re trying to gain as many visitors as possible from search queries, niche is an important aspect to consider. If your content is too broad, it can confuse followers as well as search engines when it comes time to index your pages.
For instance, WriterSanctuary focuses on writing – that is my specific niche. It wouldn’t make sense to publish articles about cooking chicken in an air fryer. My target audience are those who are looking for help in blogging, freelance writing, or self-publishing. All three of these aspects fall under the writing niche.
Now, you can have a broad-topic blog and still attract an audience. But a niche-based site will perform better in search engines and driving traffic.
Stick to topics that center around your general niche. That way, Google and other search engines know what to expect from your blog and will know to whom to show the results. Just make sure you don’t niche down too far. The more narrow you go, the fewer visitors you’ll find.
Not Adapting to Trends and SEO Changes
A lot of blogs will fail because the owners don’t adapt to changing trends or adjustments to search engine algorithms. This is why it’s important to follow other blogs closely like SearchEngineLand.com. Sites like this will help keep you in the loop, so to speak.
Of course, you also want to pay attention to trends in your niche. Sometimes you can see them unfold according to your own statistics. Other times, it’s worth keeping an eye on Google Trends for specific topics.
For instance, the Textbroker content on this blog has taken a backseat to the self-publishing content as of late. Part of this has to do with the decreased popularity of content mills and the introduction of AI writing.
The bottom line is that you need to adapt quickly when things change in your industry, in Google, or from advancements in technology.
The most important change you should keep an eye on is that of SEO. Google has a way of moving the goalposts for success, making it more difficult to gain visitors. In the blink of an eye, you could see more than 90% of your traffic disappear. But if you’re consistently working on publishing high-quality content, you shouldn’t have too much to worry about.
Not Giving It Enough Time
Building a successful blog is all about playing the long game. It’s exceptionally rare for a new site to become an overnight sensation.
Keep in mind that it can take anywhere from a couple of days to six months before Google indexes your newly published post. So, if you’re looking to instantly become a success as a blogger, you’d probably have better luck winning the lottery.
Because a lot of bloggers expect instant gratification, they usually give up between three and twelve months.
According to some experts, it can take several years of consistent publishing before a blog makes enough to replace a full-time income. But that also depends on a variety of factors including niche, topic coverage, monetization methods, and marketing. Don’t get discouraged if the blog doesn’t fill your bank account in the first few weeks.
Blogging Success Is Kind of Subjective
As I said earlier, success is often a subjective idea. Some people will view their website as a success if it pulls in a certain dollar amount every month. Others may view success as simply getting 10 visitors to see their content in a month.
Take WriterSanctuary, for example. I view the site as a success simply because I’ve helped a lot of people find their paths in blogging, freelancing, and self-publishing. I’ve received a few “thank you” messages and emails, and that’s what I view as successful.
Blogs often fail because the creator has high expectations with little return. They are often impatient and unwilling to learn what it takes to consistently publish high-quality content.
This is why I constantly push creating realistic goals for yourself. It’s OK to dream big, but make sure both your feet are firmly planted on the ground lest you fall. In other words, don’t expect instant riches.
A lot of bloggers view their websites as a kind of business. Only instead of selling products or services, they’re providing information. Of course, you can always add affiliate links to sell products and services, but it’s the content itself that brings people to the site. And like any other business, you need to put quality time in before it becomes a success.
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