10 Blogging Mistakes Newbies Should Avoid in 2024

Building a successful blog takes time. Sometimes it takes years to create a blog that makes money. When you create a blog, you make a lot of mistakes.

As the saying goes, “Every specialist was once an amateur.” There is nothing wrong with making mistakes, but you can create a better blog very quickly if you avoid some of the common blogging mistakes that you will learn about on this page.

10 blogging mistakes beginners should avoid in 2024

1. Don’t do keyword research

Do you know why your blog is struggling to get more search traffic even after posting regularly?

This may be due to the fact that you publish articles without doing keyword research.

Keyword research simply finds the “words” or “keywords” that drive more traffic, leads, and sales to your websites from search engines like Google.

Here are a few basic tools you can use for keyword research:.

Semrush (this is the same tool we use to find potential keywords for our site; you can literally find every detail of a keyword with Semrush)
KWFinder (This is a long-tail keyword research tool with a great interface that shows trends, search volume, CPC, and difficulty level of results)
Ahrefs (another great tool that gives you accurate keyword data)
Ubersuggest (if you’re looking for a free keyword research tool, you should check it out).

When researching keywords, be sure to focus on one thing: long-tail keywords.

Long-tail keywords usually contain four or more words.

For example, “best fitness apps for iPhone” is a 5-word long-tail keyword that might rank lower than short-tail keywords like “best fitness apps.”.

Did you understand? Next time, before posting new posts on your blog, make sure you find long-tail keywords and use them in your title, meta description, URL, and title tags like h2 and h3 to optimize your content for search results.

If you are using WordPress, install the Rank Math plugin as it is the best plugin to optimize your blog posts for the right keywords.

2. Lack of consistency in the blog posting schedule.

There have been so many blogging superstars lately, and one of the reasons that separates successful bloggers from unsuccessful bloggers is “persistence.”

Not just in blogging, but in all areas, consistent people will succeed.

So don’t get hung up on results. Instead, focus on creating a consistent blogging schedule and sticking to it. Even if you only post one article a week, stick with it for a year, and it will become a chore for you!

Here is the key to creating a good posting frequency on your blog.

Post less often, but make the content as detailed as possible.

Gone are the days when you could post a blog post every day to get more search traffic. Yes, search engines like Google love fresh content, but that doesn’t mean you have to post mediocre content every day.

Quality outweighs quantity.

It is always better to create one detailed article than to publish 5 mediocre ones because, in the long run, detailed articles perform better than regular blog posts. If you are covering a topic, be sure to include A-Z information on that topic.

If you are writing on a complex topic, use specific examples, as they will make your content more compelling.

Also, be sure to spend more time talking to influencers in your field. You can do interviews or meetings with experts when you are just starting out, as it helps you build buzz and increase your social media presence.

A little tip to be consistent is to create an editorial calendar.

You can start by using the Editorial Calendar plugin to organize your blog posting schedule. Not only is it free, but it also offers a simple drag-and-drop interface that you can use to plan your content ahead of time.

3. Don’t focus on just one niche

Covering too much is one of the most fatal mistakes that most beginners make. If you are starting a new blog, you must first establish yourself as an authority to be successful in the long run.
People don’t listen to beginners; they listen to experts.
How can you become an expert in your industry by covering too many topics?

So don’t make this mistake. Be sure to focus on one niche where you can create exceptional content.

If you are still wondering why you should only focus on one niche and not cover too many topics, here are some benefits and reasons.

Less competition (this is the biggest benefit of all because you can become an expert if you blog on a certain topic for a few years).
Ability to dominate your niche
You can become an expert and thought leader in your niche.
You will be able to attract the target audience and customers to your site.
Increased visibility
You can easily stand out from the crowd
And the list is still long

If you’re wondering how to use this, here’s a solid content marketing strategy you can use to focus on one niche to dominate 2023 and beyond.

Create core content: Pick a topic and create 10–20 (or more) content around that topic. The main content is a detailed article that covers information from A to Z on the topic you are covering.
The main content acts as a pillar that helps you attract links, social media, and comments for your blog in the long run. They will also help you establish yourself as an expert in your niche.

Find what works: The best way to create a niche content marketing strategy is to analyze your competitors. Find out what works and what doesn’t. Check out their top-performing posts and pages to see if you can create similar posts and pages.

You can use competitor research tools like Semrush to easily find your competitors’ top-performing pages, backlink sources, ads, and more.

4. Prioritize Quantity Over Quality

One of the most common questions newbies ask is, “Do I need to create more blog posts more often?” or “Should I rarely publish quality articles?”

This is a great question to ask yourself if you are a beginner.

Brian Dean of Backlinko once said, “Too many pages create too many problems.” This is true.

If you prioritize quantity over quality, you will fail miserably.

Here are some proven tips that we use to create quality content for our blog that all bloggers will benefit from.

Spend more time researching. Yes, the more time you spend studying the topics you are going to cover, the better the result will be.
When you write, use tools like Google Docs that let you back up your data even when you’re offline (so if your internet suddenly goes down, you can still back up your writing without any problems).
Read your competitors’ articles that are already well-known in the search engines to understand how to write your blog articles.
Write 1000 words a day. Yes, practice writing every day to create compelling content that ranks well in search engines.
Once you’ve finished writing a blog post, take the time to read it two or three times. Edit all unnecessary words. Keep paragraphs short so your readers can easily skim through your articles.
Use proofreading tools like Grammarly, as they will help you create error-free content easily. After all, no one likes reading blog posts full of grammatical errors, right?

5. Don’t create a blogging community

There are two ways to build a blogging community that will help you succeed as a blogger in 2023 and beyond.

Create a Facebook group
Create an email list

6. No monetization plan

What is the most important factor that determines the success of your blog in the long run?

If you answered having the right monetization strategy, you are right. Unfortunately, most aspiring bloggers don’t have a sales funnel or monetization plan.

All they do is create random blog posts and wait for traffic to increase so they can monetize their traffic sources. This is a bad approach.

If you want to start a blog that makes money, you need to have a monetization plan in place before you even start your blog. You need to find and analyze things that will help you make money in the first year.

Yes, it’s really hard to make more money in the first year, but you need to set low goals that are achievable. Don’t compare your beginning to the end of someone else’s chapter, because comparisons won’t help you grow!

7. Stop using images from Google

This is one of the most costly mistakes a blogger can make. It’s very easy to use images from Google image Search. But you should also be aware that using copyrighted images on your blog can lead to legal action.

If you have used images without the permission of the Internet in your blogs, be aware that you are probably infringing copyright and may be held liable for this (sooner or later). Even if you use images unknowingly, you can be sued if the images are copyrighted.

Many bloggers think they can use other people’s images and give them a link as a thank-you. But even this approach is wrong. If you want to use other people’s images, be sure to get their permission first and use them.

Your best bet is to stop using Google Image Search to use images in blog posts or infographics.

Look for photos approved for use.

When using images, it is best to use those that provide you with “royalty-free” or “royalty-free” images. Here are a few places where you can download them for free:

Unsplash
stocksnap.io
Shooting
Pexels
You can download free images from the above platforms and use several image editing tools to create your own unique and eye-catching images for your blog posts.

8. Create a free blog

Are you using the Blogspot domain, or does your domain end with WordPress.com? Free blogging is fun, but it doesn’t help you make money.

We know that most people start blogging to make money in their spare time, and some people want to make a living online. If you want to make money by blogging, you should avoid free blogs.

Free blogs have many limitations, including

Free blogs can be removed at any time for no reason, while self-hosted blogs give you complete control over your site.
Free blogs have limited space and bandwidth and don’t offer many features.
Whatever you post on your free blogs, the content doesn’t belong to you, but to the free blogging platforms (and they can remove your content whenever they want).
First of all, most free blogs do not allow you to monetize your site.

Even if you are running a self-hosted WordPress site that is hosted on a free or cheap and unreliable hosting platform, you should get rid of it as soon as possible.

10. Don’t invest in your blog

Most beginner bloggers don’t invest money, whether it’s in reliable hosting, email marketing, or SEO.

They are also often looking for gifts.

Free WordPress Themes
Free Email Templates
Free Email Marketing Service Providers
free SEO tools, etc.

While there is nothing wrong with finding and using the free tools mentioned above, the free tools are not great for several reasons.

Here are some of the main reasons to avoid free tools:

If you use something free, you rarely appreciate it (meaning you are serious about your blog and want to improve it with free tools). If you pay for something, you love it and find ways to get the most out of paid tools. It is so simple.
Free tools don’t give you support, constant updates, detailed information, etc.

So, if you want to start a profitable blog, you must invest.

FAQ

What are the most common mistakes beginners should avoid?

No keyword research, no consistency in the blog posting schedule, no focus on one niche, prioritizing quantity over quality, no community building around the blog, no monetization plan, using images from Google, starting a free blog, giving it up soon, and giving up on investing in blog development are some of the most common mistakes newbies should avoid.

Is it advisable to start blogging in 2024?

Yes, blogging will be one of the most profitable online businesses in 2024.

What are good blog topics?

Marketing, moms (bloggers), travel, personal finance, lifestyle,
food, to name a few.

What are the best free blogging tools?

Google Docs for writing, Grammarly for grammar checking, UberSuggest for keyword research, Google Search Console, and Google Analytics are the best free blogging tools.

How important is SEO to blogging?

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the backbone of blogging. It is SEO that increases the visibility of your blog and its content in search engine results.

Which blogging platform should an aspiring blogger use?

The WordPress.org platform (self-hosted) is the best platform any blogger should use.

How do I create a blog and earn money?

To create a blog, you need to register a domain name and a hosting plan. Start sharing quality content, drive traffic, and monetize it with Google AdSense, affiliate marketing, sponsored posts, and more.

Final Thoughts

You will make a lot of mistakes, especially if you are new to blogging. It is important to make mistakes and quickly learn from them.

As we said above, building a successful blog takes time, and by avoiding the most common and deadly mistakes, you will be able to grow your blog much faster.

What mistakes are you making on your blog? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.