Content is key when it comes to search engine optimisation, and actually starting to drive organic traffic to your website. An effective SEO or blogging strategy is key to providing Google with a fresh stream of content, building topical authority, and of course, driving traffic.
But, what happens if you’ve carefully researched topics people are actually searching for, you’ve written quality content and it still results in 0 traffic?
When it comes to writing blog posts, unfortunately the approach “I’ll just write these titles and see what sticks” doesn’t work. Rather, trying to churn out content week after week to just look like you’re putting something out there is a complete waste of time, and effort.
You can’t expect every single blog post you write for your blog, business or brand to continually hit that number 1 position, but it is definitely a lot easier to do when you understand the pitfalls.
If you’ve written post after post and are scratching your head as to why your blog posts are still getting no traffic, here are 5 reasons why this could be the case.
Choose A Keyword
If you start writing a blog post and don’t even know what your target keyword is, how do you think that post is still going to perform?
Without setting a keyword, you can’t adequately write your post around it, you don’t know what relevant semantic keywords should be included, and most importantly, you aren’t going to rank for that search query that you want to rank for.
Keyword analysis should be at the start of any blog writing process, with a clarity on the keyword and what you’re targeting you at least have the bare structure to set you up for success in driving traffic to your website.
Stop Writing The Same As Everyone Else
Going onto Google, picking a blog topic and copying everyone else’s H2 subtitles and then just making sure you write a little bit more is going to do nothing.
In order to compete and take a page 1 position or get into a snippet box, you’re going to have to do something a little bit more unique.
You need to show that you can provide more value to Google than what already exists online. Do break your blog up with headings, but don’t just use Google as a source for the content. Is there anything valuable in Facebook groups, forums or YouTube videos that you can condense into a blog post?
Creating a killer blog post that combines different advice, snippets and personal experience shows Google you’re an expert, but are also bringing something else to the party that other competitions currently aren’t. If you want to start driving traffic to your blogs, you need to start thinking out of the box.
High Competition Keywords
A common pitfall is identifying a search term on Google, looking to see what’s there and thinking I’ll just write more, and better quality to beat them. Mistake number 3.
Often the website at the top of the page 1 position will carry a high domain authority. Say the leading position for the keyword has a DA of 76 and your website is 6, you are never going to have the authority to beat this, and probably the websites below this. Move on.
There is no point chasing after high competition keywords that you’ll never rank for in a meaningful position. Page 2 or 6 is not so great. 75% of users do not go past page 1. Page 1 is where the opportunity for traffic is so you need to rethink your keyword approach.
Instead of going after high competition, high volume keywords, go for low competition keywords that you could rank for, and lower search volume. There may only be 50 searches a month, but it’s often more than this and lots of blogs written over time targeting this method can result in lots of organic traffic. It is one of the easiest wins when writing blog posts that you want to rank for.
Once you have sussed out what low competition keyword you want to target, it’s still worth investigating further to see what the domain authority is of the existing page 1 positions, if it’s still way out of your league I’d hunt around for another opportunity. There are still thousands upon thousands of poorly explored keyword searches that you could rank for.
You’re Not Writing Enough
Google still values high quality articles that thoroughly answer the question. Not all topics need a 1,500 word answer, but if you’ve only written a bog standard 500 word blog post and the top ranking positions have 2,000 quality words, then you aren’t going to stand a chance.
Carefully research the topic for at least half an hour before you start writing to collate some information and decide on your H2 subtitles, this will help structure the blog and ensure you can hit the word count.
But don’t force content if the question literally doesn’t have any further information to answer it
You Don’t Have Topical Authority Yet
If you have still done all of the above, you’re still not getting any traffic and your site is indexed, then it may just be because you don’t have topical authority yet. When you are a new website you need to prove your authority to Google and if you’re a nutritionist and have only done one post about nutrition so far, you’re not going to be ticking any of their boxes.
Topical authority only comes once you have demonstrated your knowledge around the topic. Google bases this on something called EAT, expertise, authority and trustworthiness. It is these three things that Google uses to determine the page quality of a website.
Continuing to write great, high quality content to do with your niche is the best start, but don’t forget about your about us or author page too. If you also have qualifications to demonstrate your expertise, you should absolutely be including this.
Putting content out on your website shouldn’t be a half hearted attempt. Every time you write a blog post this is an opportunity to engage your audience, reach new people passively in the future and continue to grow your organic traffic which can lead to conversions, sales and leads. Who doesn’t want more of that as a business?
If your business needs a dedicated SEO strategy or would just like blog writing services that will help you to target and gain those positions over time, then please do get in touch with us at Bagel Digital, Devon SEO strategists serving across the world for a chat.
