If your blog isn’t growing despite your writing numerous articles, the solution is probably simple. Here are the most common.
If you have a blog, you know that at some point it can happen that after growth, the traffic seems to freeze, the sales are on zero, the subscribers to the newsletter do not increase.
And so you find yourself writing articles on articles, promoting, analyzing data but everything seems not to have the desired results: your blog is not growing.
But why does this happen?
The good news is that the reason is often trivial. A bit like when an appliance does not work only to realize that the socket is not inserted well. A really small problem that becomes huge if we don’t know where to look.
So here are 15 trivial reasons why your blog is not growing and how to fix them.
1- You are not well positioned on search engines
The first reason that comes to mind when a blog is not growing is its positioning.
It is in fact unthinkable for people to visit our site if they cannot find it. And in order for people to find it, it is important to be well-positioned on search engines, primarily on Google.
To be able to position an article on search engines, it is important to implement some SEO Copywriting strategies, that is a set of techniques that allow you to write content that is loved by both readers and Google.
When you have implemented these strategies on your blog, you will find that traffic will start to rise again and with it your sales and your newsletter subscribers.
What if the blog is well positioned? Then the reasons are probably other. Let’s proceed!
2- Your content doesn’t have the right length
Before addressing this point, I would like to make an important premise by answering a question that is probably brewing in your head:
What is the right length for a blog article?
Someone will tell you that the best posts are short: a user must immediately find the answer he is looking for and does not want to dwell on useless reading.
Others will tell you instead that the texts must be long: it increases the time spent on the blog, improves the SEO and many studies have also shown that longer posts record better conversions and rank better on search engines.
So what is the truth?
My experience has shown me that there is no universal word count that works. Otherwise everyone would use it, right?
In reality, for some projects I follow, long posts are the best solution while for other projects I prefer short and concise posts, capable of generating more traffic and positioning themselves better on Google.
My advice is therefore to write enough to respond to the search intent but not to dwell on useless information, just to lengthen the soup.
So do some tests and analyze which type of content works best for your blog.
3- You don’t interact with your readers
The purpose of your blog must first and foremost be to create relationships with your readers and your followers.
I know that answering all the emails, comments, messages that arrive is a job that takes a long time but it is essential if you want to create something that lasts in the long run.
In fact, think about how many times you have asked for information, sent emails or left comments without getting an answer. Do you still remember those blogs? Of those brands?
Probably not.
And I bet you still remember those with whom you have established a dialogue, a connection.
But it’s not just a question of brand, it’s also a question of personal and professional satisfaction. Personally, I really love the dialogue with people, the connections that are created, the feeling of offering added value to the blogs that are born every day.
And if replying to emails and comments is an activity that takes me a long time, I always do it with absolute enthusiasm.
4- You haven’t developed an SEO strategy
You are writing frequently, you have published many articles but the traffic is struggling to take off. In this case, your SEO strategy is probably not very effective.
Why did you develop an SEO strategy, right?
In addition to optimizing articles from an SEO perspective, it is also important to carry out all those SEO activities external to the article, such as creating an external link building strategy (for example writing guest posts for other blogs), cleaning the code, speeding up the your website.
This is because it is essential not only to write in an optimal way for your readers but also to make your blog usable for Google. Because you can write the coolest content in this world, but if no one can find it you have done so much work for nothing.
5- Your blog is difficult to navigate
People who come to your blog want to intuitively find what they’re looking for, so it’s important to create paths for your users and show them the way clearly.
It’s a bit like when you go to Ikea. Think how you could find a very small thing in that sea of furniture and objects. But Ikea has numerous signs indicating the route, your position within this route and numerous arrows on the ground that indicate the “direction of travel”.
This is a bit of what you should be able to do through your blog.
And in what way? Very simple.
Think of billboards as navigation menus and arrows on the ground as internal links. You can also add a signal on the location of your user within your blog and this is called breadcrumb.
If you go to the top of this article, you can see an example of a breadcrumb, a small string that indicates the path you are taking from the homepage.
6- You don’t have a clear blog topic
Another important aspect of creating a successful blog is to always have a clear goal. In fact, how can you achieve results if you don’t even know where you are going?
Many people write to me to ask for advice on the topic of their blog. As you probably know, the choice of the niche is a delicate and vital topic, which can determine the success or failure of your blog.
A great starting point for choosing your niche is to find a topic we’re really passionate about. For example, I am passionate about blogging and my blog is a clear example of this passion of mine.
But what if you have so many passions?
⚠️ Spoiler alert: the answer is not to throw everything in the same blog.
I’ll give you an example.
I am passionate about blogging, video games and science fiction. You come to my blog, maybe because you are looking for information on how to create an online business and you find articles on the best video games of the month or a review on which is the best lightsaber in the original Star Wars trilogy.
Wouldn’t you feel a bit lost?
I do not deny that this type of blog would really be a dream for me. But I realize that probably only me would really like it 😅
Also because by mixing together too many topics from different fields, you not only confuse your readers but also Google, which when it goes to “read” your blog, cannot understand the topic you are dealing with.
7- Qualità o quantità?
A very important aspect for the growth of a blog is the publication frequency. But what is the right pace? How many articles need to be published?
One of the most common responses is “the more you publish, the better”. In fact, Google can see that we are very active, we have a better chance of entering Google News and we are constantly increasing the number of keywords we can rank for.
Quite right? Um… not really.
This approach is usually best for news sites, such as online newspapers, but it is definitely not the best solution for more informative blogs, like this one you are reading.
This is because unlike online magazines, which opt for quantity, a blog should focus more on quality. Do you think that it takes me 12-15 hours to write just one of my articles.
Then there is all the preliminary research, optimization, link building and promotion part. In addition to 1000 other activities that I have to do daily.
This does not allow me to publish more than one / two articles per week.
My advice is therefore to always publish on a regular basis – 10 articles in a week and then nothing for a year is not a good strategy! – but being careful to keep the quality of your content high.
8- You don’t optimize your blog for screen reading
Reading on screen is much more difficult than reading on paper. And not only on a physical level but also on a cognitive level, as a study conducted by some researchers has also shown.
This is why it is unthinkable to write on your blog as you would write in a book. Think for example that while you read on paper, your eyes simply slide on the paper. When you read on the screen, however, each scroll creates a new image in front of your eyes. And this, even if it is imperceptible, strains the eyes and the brain.
Some examples to facilitate reading on the screen? Obviously!
- Return often to leave more air between sentences
- Add lots of images, infographics, and videos to your articles
- Avoid complex sentences, accidental and turns of words
- Opt for simple sentences: subject, verb, complement
- Limit punctuation, especially parentheses, semicolons, and exclamation points.
You will see that with these few tricks, people will read your content more willingly, they will stay longer on your blog, which will help you grow it day by day.
9- Your content is not original
I know: writing completely original content is next to impossible. But there are two essential reasons why you should never copy other people’s content.
Reason # 1: Google doesn’t like them in duplicate content. The more original your content is, the more chances you have of climbing the SERP.
Reason # 2: Readers are alert and notice!
10- You have not created a mailing list
One of the very first steps to take when having a blog is to create a contact list.
But why create a contact list when you already have a blog that generates traffic organically?
Very simple: the traffic that Google sends you is traffic that you cannot control. Google tomorrow changes its algorithm, you lose many positions and suddenly you find yourself without more visitors.
Your contact list is in fact the only traffic you own and can control. You only need one email to get in touch with all your readers, invite them to read a new article or inform them about new promotions.
As the number of people on your list increases, you will also increase the pool of users interested in your products and services, thus increasing your chances of monetization.
It is never too late to create your own list. If you want to have a successful blog while decreasing the chances of your project failing, then the best time to create your list is undoubtedly now.
There are a number of tools for creating a contact list.
- ActiveCampaign
- Aweber
- GetResponse
- Sendinblue.
11- Your article titles aren’t effective enough
For a blog to grow, it is not only important to be able to position it well on search engines but also to encourage users to click on your articles.
Your best business card is the titles. In fact, it is these that will appear on Google and make a person decide whether or not to click on your content.
But how do you know if your headlines are effective? Very simple.
Go to Google Search Console> Performance and select the “Average CTR” tab in the chart.
Now, in the list below, sort the search queries by CTR, that is the click to rate. This shows you the percentage of people who have clicked on your content among those who have found your result in the Google SERP.
12- You don’t promote your blog articles
You can’t expect your blog to grow by simply posting articles and leaving them there to mature.
Articles must be promoted and – above all – promoted effectively.
You can do this through paid sponsors, such as those of Facebook or Google Ads, but you can also promote your content for free, for example by writing guest posts, publishing your articles on social networks or participating in online discussions on forums and other blogs.
13- You don’t have a growth strategy
If you want your blog to continue to grow and you want it to become a business, you must treat your blog as a company and not as a hobby.
Have you ever seen a company impose itself on the market without a growth strategy? That’s right, and you won’t be able to get the same results with a blog if you don’t put an effective strategy in motion.
14- You’re sabotaging yourself
But who would ever try to sabotage themselves? Um … almost everyone, believe me.
But what does self-sabotage mean? It means engaging in behaviors, often unconsciously, that hinder us from achieving our goals.
In simple terms: we put a spanner in the works by ourselves.
But how do we tend to sabotage ourselves? Here are some examples:
- We are afraid to get involved
- We are perfectionists
- We don’t know how to say no
- We don’t start out for fear of failure
- We look more to the results of others than to our own
- We are extremely hard on ourselves
- We complain
- We tend to procrastinate
- We are afraid of confrontation.
If you see yourself in one or more of these places, then you are sabotaging yourself. It was something that struck me too, especially at the beginning of my career as a freelancer.
The good news is that it is possible to stop self-sabotaging by working a little on ourselves. And I assure you that once you get rid of this problem, your blog will start to flourish too.
15- You don’t have a “why”
One thing that I often repeat and of which I firmly believe is that to be able to grow a blog, everything you do must be driven by a strong motivation. You must have a why, a why.
But what does it mean to have a why?
It means deeply understanding why you are doing what you do. What are your goals? What are the values you want to convey? What is the message you want to bring to the world?
One of the elements of a blog’s success is undoubtedly finding one’s Why, a profound inner analysis that can make a real difference.
Final reflections
Creating a blog is very simple: just buy a domain, install WordPress and voilà! Your blog is served.
Making it grow constantly, on the other hand, this is indeed more difficult.
The best advice I can give you is to be patient, persistent, and don’t get discouraged. The results obtained with a blog can be incredible, both in terms of personal and professional satisfaction, and in terms of earnings.
But this does not happen overnight. You will need time and determination. A lot of determination.
Put these little tips into practice and you will see that your blog will continue to grow and will help you unlock traffic if you are going through a period of stagnation after a period of growth.
To your success!
S
