Blogging Myths
There is a lot of really great advice out there when it comes to blogging but to be very honest there is also a lot of very horrendous blogging advice out there too. I have come across so many amazing blogs here on WordPress that don’t get the traffic and following they deserve. If you feel like you are doing everything right and have done some research and are following those rules but still seeing minimal to no growth it may be because the advice you found online was not exactly accurate.
One major issue I’ve noticed with looking for information online is that because of the SEO Gods, search engines will only push out advice posts that are SEO friendly rather than posts that are genuinely beneficial to the reader. Unfortunately, I can’t do much about this but I would recommend doing a lot of thorough research into blogging before making sudden changes to your blog because articles are not always accurate and even if they are remember that this advice was not tailor made for you. This advice is general advice and although it may have worked for them it may have worked along with other factors they may not be sharing about. So always think about your blog and whether or not the advice would make sense for your blog. Except mine of course, my advice posts are always on point. ALWAYS.
Anyway, I’ve been reading a lot of advice posts about blogging these days and have noticed that a number of them contain some information that may be potentially harmful to your blog. Some of them fail to mention certain things and I feel like they are leaving the advice halfway while others mention certain things about blogging that may not be true anymore since WordPress updates it’s algorithm quite often. Here are three blogging myths that you should not be listening to in 2021:
Myth #1: Use a large number of very specific tags
I have heard people go on and on about using specific tags instead of broader ones and every time someone says this I kind of want to smack them on the head- thankfully I’m a pacifist so I just eat my feelings instead.
Yes, using specific tags is always beneficial for SEO purposes but let’s be honest- when was the last time you searched something super specific like “that annoying lifestyle blogger that whines about stuff and is a history major.” Most people tend to search much broader things like “lifestyle blogger” or “lifestyle blog.” Therefore, if you use specific tags you will probably be on the first page of search engines if someone searches that specific thing but not a lot of people will be searching that specific thing so you are pretty much just cutting down your audience to a very small number of people that search weirdly specific stuff.
On the other hand, if you use broader tags you are more likely to get some number of views even if you don’t make it to the first page of Google. Another little secret I know about broader tags is that tags are not always just for search engines. Your WP Reader has a tags section and a search section and they generally put up posts that are recently posted rather than most SEO friendly/popular. You will see an instant increase in traffic from WP itself when using broader tags.
Therefore, my advice is this- don’t stick to using just specific tags. Use a number of both specific and general/broader tags together to get the best results.
Myth #2: Unethical methods of gaining backlinks work
I have read a number of bloggers talk about certain methods to easily get backlinks on other blogs. They don’t specifically say these methods are unethical but let’s be real- they absolutely are.
The first one is straight up just spamming people with links to your blog. By that I mean leaving comments telling people to visit your blog on other peoples posts. First of all, most bloggers generally delete those and furthermore some will go so far as to report your blog or block your blog. When it comes to spamming people’s comments section trust me when I say you’re doing a lot more harm than good.
Another method I have heard people talk about is leaving a genuine sounding comment like “wow this is really great advice thanks for sharing it” and than leaving a link to their blog below their comment. Every time someone does this I just get super irritated because I get excited about the comment and then I see the link and I’m like “oh they’re just spamming me.” This is such an incredibly shady thing to do and it’s not even worth it because most bloggers delete these comments or edit out the link. If someone wanted to visit your blog they would click the link on your name/profile so there is no excuse to leave links with your comments like that. Leaving genuine comments would probably get you way more followers and traffic than spamming people.
Another reason why you shouldn’t do this, apart from it being unethical and also super annoying, is that the more links you leave the more likely you are to be mistaken as a bot by WP. They may even shadow ban you or worse shut down your blog completely if you continuously leave spam comments.
So to sum it up- get genuine backlinks and don’t be shady about it because people aren’t stupid and they know what you’re doing.
Myth #3: Only write about trending topics
When I used to search advice on what topics were popular or what I should write about when I first started blogging I saw so many people talking about how you should cover trending topics to get more views. There’s nothing wrong with that but I saw some people insist that you should only stick to trending topics and not really write about other stuff which I found really ridiculous. I truly hope such horrible advice is no longer out there but you never know so I thought I would mention this anyway.
Yes, writing about trending topics may get you more views. However, in my opinion most blogs that succeed tend to write about things that are new or unique. A lot of blogs that are popular do tend to cover only trending topics but those are more like online websites and stuff. If you enjoy that kind of thing please absolutely go for it. However, if you want to blog about other things and feel pressured to change your niche to increase your audience take a minute to hear me out.
A lot of people succeed because they are writing about trending topics but a lot of people also succeed because they aren’t. People can find millions of sites that talk about what’s trending but there’s only one of you and you bring something unique to the table. Bring your own voice to your blog, write about what makes you happy, write about things you are passionate about and genuinely want to write about.
As most of you know my blog is a multi-niche blog which means I talk about a number of topics and from all the topics I write about I have found that my audience enjoys more than anything posts where I write about my opinion/thoughts or about topics I feel strongly about. WordPress is like a community and people want to “talk to their friends” and connect with other bloggers on a more personal level.
Conclusion And Your Thoughts
I have a lot more to say on this topic and a lot more myths to bust but I don’t want to make this post insanely long so I’ll end it here. I put in a few jokes so you guys don’t fall asleep halfway through but I have a weird sense of humour so you may just find them more annoying than funny- either way you’re awake and that’s all that matters. Let me know in the comments below if this information was helpful and if you would like me to debunk more myths in future posts. A lot of you have asked for more tips on engagement and I promise a second part of that post is coming soon too.
Have you ever fallen for any of these myths? What are some blogging myths you have come across? What type of myths have you fallen for when you started blogging? Do you think SEO is stupid and needs to change? How was your day? Let me know you thoughts in the comments below or simply stop by and say hi because I love chatting with you guys!
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