Drop me your blog link and I'll tell you what you're doing right and wrong
Hey everyone,
Content marketing consultant here.
Trying to fill up my time and make the year pass so maybe I can help someone in the meantime.
Got a blog to share?
Leave a comment with your blog link [other content efforts are fine too] and I'll share one PRO [if any] and one CON [if any].
I'll look at your content strategy too not just the layout of the blog.
https://blobstation.com/staff-augmentation-for-tech-startups-what-why-and-how
Amazing Idea @AlexandraCote
Thanks for doing this!! https://www.lifeintelligence.io/blog
PRO: Every topic is on point so I can see you understand your audience well and know what they want to read as well as what they search for.
CON: Example: https://www.lifeintelligence.io/blog/7-solutions-for-loneliness-during-coronavirus-quarantine While the ideas are super helpful, there's zero SEO you're doing. Start doing SEO and promoting your content/outreach/guest posting.
Here's my blog: https://santoshk.dev
PRO: I can see you're mixing diverse content for different readers from beginners to more advanced devs. The reason you're not really ranking with great articles like this [Data Structures 101] is really because you're going up against huge websites. I'd honestly suggest you try YouTube too one day. There's less competition for certain keywords.
CON: Instead of tags, add 2-3 blog categories and have them displayed in your menu. Make sure these are closely related to your expertise [AKA what you write about/your work]
Good job!
Thank you for your honest opinion @cotealexandra11. Actually the first theme I chose for Hugo did only supported tags. I'll definitely take your point and update soon.
Wow always amazed by friendly people like you in this world Alexandra! Here we go: https://devdactic.com/
Let's be honest: this is really good. I mean I can learn something from you here actually. Where do you promote your content besides Twitter? I can also see you rank for quite a few keywords, maybe try some more difficult ones to bring even more traffic. Also, I haven't checked this but run a quick speed test. Next year Google's algorithm will prioritize this and you have a pop-up on every page I checked so make sure you have that under control.
Thanks a lot! I was thinking about moving away from Wordpress to a static site for better performance, perhaps that's something I'll work on next year. In terms of promotion, I think most of my traffic/members actually come from YouTube!
WP can be slow but there's definitely loads of best practices to stick to and make it work as it is in fact the platform Google prefers
Thanks for offering to help, here's mine: https://www.lifetechpsych.com/
PRO: Let me just say you have the ideal writing style for web content. Plus, the topics you choose are on point.
CON: I don't know what your exact goals are but I'm guessing you want to rank and bring more traffic. Your URLs tell me you are trying your hand at SEO [https://www.lifetechpsych.com/best-productivity-guide] but then again I don't see the right use of keywords, structure, etc.
Thanks for the feedback. You’re right - I’m pretty new to SEO and still learning the ropes. Goal is to drive up traffic.
I thought I used enough keywords but didn’t want to stuff much in and risk it appearing unnatural.
Definitely looking to learn more. Any recommendation on resources for right use of keywords, structure?
Thanks again. Really appreciate the feedback.
Anything in this blog really. https://backlinko.com/keyword-research You're only stuffing when it feels unnatural. It's ok to have the keyword in 2-3 headings h2 and h3, and then throughout the text depending on the length + title tag, meta description, image alt tag, etc.
Thanks a lot! Really appreciate the time and guidance.
Hey Alexandra, thanks to you for taking your time to do this.
Blog - http://jatinrao.dev/
Wow, you're so good at this already! Where are you currently promoting your posts? The only that you can improve really is finding more ways to distribute your content.
Thanks, Alexandra!
I'm currently using Twitter for distribution & also cross-posting to Dev.to for more reach. I'll be looking to promote content over communities like Hacker News & Reddit this coming year.
You seem to have it all under control. Try Medium outlets too
Hey Alexandra, thank you for donating your time!
https://blog.bloompages.co/
I like the topics you're choosing and it's good that you're keeping them diverse. However, you don't seem to go for a specific keyword. This article: https://blog.bloompages.co/a/do-millennials-care-about-family-history is not optimized at all This one on the other hand: https://blog.bloompages.co/a/how-to-make-an-online-memorial-page can easily be optimized if you choose your main keyword.
Thank you!
Hey Alexandra,
Started my blog some weeks ago!
It feels that I dont have a direct target audience but I am working on it, check it out!
👉 https://techpassenger.com/blog/index.html
Your posts are incomplete and lack structure. Learn a bit of SEO and really see why others in your industry are ranking.
Thanks for your review on my blog 👋 I've been looking around for some SEO but not much about the structure, just the technical part. Do you have any guide/source that I could follow to get some more insights of what I have to work on to have a great blog? :)
literally all posts here https://backlinko.com/ this would be all you need + the tools Ahrefs, SEMrush, https://lsigraph.com/, https://answerthepublic.com/, even your free Search Console etc.
Thanks! 🙏
https://thesaleheen.com
Why don't you keep the blog connected to Spookey? Keep the content updates and add in top-of-the-funnel articles too but on the Spookey domain.
Well Great Idea. Thanks a lot!
Firstly thanks for doing this.
My blog link: https://boxpiper.com/.
Looking forward for your blunt and honest feedbacks.
Cut the tags and stick to just categories. I can see you're trying to do SEO correctly too but keyword use is still incorrect so look into SEO more.
Thanks @cotealexandra11 for your prompt reply.
All points noted.
Can you point me to the specific post(s) where you see major gaps in keywords or all post have some issues?
PS: I know I'm asking too much but again thanks for that.
Example
This is really good: https://www.boxpiper.com/posts/circuit-breaker-pattern
These are not: https://www.boxpiper.com/posts/google-dork-list
https://www.boxpiper.com/posts/seo-meta-tags
Sure. Noted. Thanks for sharing the insights.
https://www.boxpiper.com/posts/google-dork-list is actually driving in maximum traffic. But will go through and update it.
Have you linked to it somewhere else? Check G Analytics and the Search Console to see where the traffic comes from. Make drastic changes only if you're not ranking well.
https://bigideas.network. Best viewed on mobile.
Thank you, appreciate the offer a lot 🙏🙏
PRO: Love that you're using blog categories.
CON: You'll want to look a bit more into SEO. Especially when it comes to breaking down your posts into headings. This is also to make it easier for people to read your content.
Thank you. I’ll check it out
Hi @cotealexan my blog is:
https://blog.markjgsmith.com
It doesn’t have a super fancy design, there are some improvements I could make there but I’m mostly happy with the focus’s being on text based content.
Looking forward to hearing your comments, because I am actively trying to grow traffic to the site currently.
PRO: Your last two posts are great given the actual content you present [see CON now].
CON: Besides the obvious design [not just the looks, but making things easier to find], you might want to focus a bit more on SEO. To be honest, you can also use some of your ideas to guest post maybe on some relevant Medium outlets.
Keep your genius ideas but pack them better.
Thanks for taking a look at the site and for your comments.
Making things easier to find - I’ve recently added a tags page, and this week I added a contacts page, portfolio page, updated about page. It’s getting better but I guess there are probably places where it’s still difficult to find stuff.
SEO - I have hardly any clue about any of that. I’ll need to do some research I guess.
Medium outlets - I read lots of posts hosted on Medium, but is a “Medium Outlet” something specific?
Yes, like these but for your industry:: https://towardsdatascience.com/, https://uxplanet.org/
I would really love some feedback on my programming blog: https://programmerbackpack.com
PRO: Perfect use of blog categories.
CON: The way you structure articles is decent but you might want a bit more clarity. See: https://khalilstemmler.com/wiki/dependency-rule/
That's amazing, thank you! https://jake.nyc
I'll point out the only good thing: You have your own voice, some storytelling skills, and you're able to put this into your writing. Keep these but look into better structuring your posts, using some images [like screenshots/audio bits of your work] + consider guest posting.
Would love your feedback on my blog on Astrology
https://redastrologer.com/blog/
PRO: OMG, you're doing so many things right, from the structure, SEO to some extent, blog categories, CTAs
CON: I'm guessing the problem for you remains: Look into guest posting and other link building opportunities to keep growing your pages + Update the articles regularly with new keywords or removing bad ones.
Would love your feedback on my blog:
https://shivapandey.com/
I am trying to give back to community by writing tech articles and tutorials related to javascript and react. Still figuring out what kind of content would be most helpful.
PRO: You are a master at your craft and that shows.
CON: You need to step up your content distribution/game. Create a network outside of your blog or maybe a YT channel to actually get your content seen.
Thank you for the feedback.
Thanks for doing this!
Not much on here yet, but we're playing around with the format + content style for our board game recommendations blog:
https://goodgameshelf.com
PRO: The structure and usability are all good but...
CON: Any SEO? Like headings and so. Have a look at what other articles and similar pages rank for the games.
Thanks! As for SEO, we haven't done much in that regard yet. I'm pretty much a noob in this area. Are you referring to our chosen wording, or that we're missing some tags?
I'll look into other articles to see what is done.
I'll paste what I shared with another user:
Anything in this blog really. https://backlinko.com/keyword-research You're only stuffing when it feels unnatural. It's ok to have the keyword in 2-3 headings h2 and h3, and then throughout the text depending on the length + title tag, meta description, image alt tag, etc.
You can also check YT for an introduction. I have a free course too ^^ but it's definitely for writers
Thanks for the tip. I've looked through backlinko before, but not since starting this blog up. Will take another look!
Wow, this is actually super cool! I think I see a Tiny Towns purchase in my near future :)
Just signed up for the mailing list. Would love to see recs for fans of Pandemic/Forbidden Island, and Terraforming Mars :)
Thank you! Really glad you like it. We may start putting more articles up over the next few months and email them out.
Pandemic and Forbidden Island are great games for new players, we should definitely add those. We love TM too and will try to fit it in somewhere!
Are there other sites you like/use to find games, or pretty much just BGG?
Just BoardGameGeek, although I usually check it after I find out about a game to see what people think. Other than that, just recommendations from friends.
I'm not in this industry/interest so it's up to you to do the research really. Take care!
https://blog.tutorpass.io/
We just launched a few minutes ago
You're in luck as I am a Udemy instructor too.
PRO: I can see you're starting to consider adding blog categories.
CON: Look up everything about SEO. You have no sign of it yet.
Hi! This is a very recent effort to start writing about my artistic work, so there is only one post and no specific goal, but I’d love to hear your thoughts: www.synestheticworks.com
Rather than a blog, I think you should focus on relevant websites first like YouTube, Behance, and others where artists like you post their work. Along with this, you can also build your portfolio.
Thanks I actually had not looked into Behance, will try it out!
This year I moved away from curation to a more “this is everything I do and where my brain is at” strategy.
curious someone else’s take:
Http://erinmikail.space
PRO: You definitely have great ideas to share.
CON: If your goal is to get your content seen, consider dropping Notion [or whatever you're using right now to host your blog]. WP is always the best as Google simply prefers it. You'll also want to look into SEO.
john.do
The blog is a bit too diverse. What is your #1 goal? Also, don't publish on IE first and then on your blog. The blog always comes first.
https://www.vadiniagrawal.com/writing
I am just getting started, but I'd love to hear what you have to say!
Hmm, your blog is very narrative oriented. This can be both good and bad. Stick to adding more structure like headings and the quote format you already have. If you also want to rank, see SEO.
Thanks so much!
http://www.ofbizian.com/
PRO: You definitely know what you're writing.
CON: Get rid of all the labels and stick to 3-4 categories like you have at the top. Also, get an HTTPS. Consider guest posting too.
thanks for the feedback.
Why focus on a few categories only?
There is https (it is on the old blogspot platform)
Do you mean I do guest posting or accepting guest posts? (I had guest posts, but these are pretty high level articles for my audience.)
Here is mine: blog.spreadtheworld.net
I'm just started it, thanks for helping 🙏
The ideas of the posts are good but they won't work if you don't have an audience so think about posting them elsewhere and do some SEO optimization for your blog.
What kind of SEO optimization i should put first?
Really this is only if your goal is to rank. Look into selecting a main keyword [preferably low-volume since you're just starting] and adding it to one or two headings, URL, here and there in the text where relevant, etc.
That's a great idea, thanks ! Here's my personal blog, don't hold back ! http://moniquesexperiments.com/
Love, love, love the structure of the blog and I can see you're consistent, but apply this https://moniquesexperiments.com/learn-seo/ more
Thanks ! yeah, as it's a personal blog, I have to admit that I'm stil struggling with the right balance of writing whatever I want & optimizing for SEO, but I'll definitely try to work on it. Thanks for the feedback 🙌
Feel the Boot is a blog/podcast/vlog for startup founders.
https://FeelTheBoot.com
Redesign the blog a bit to make the categories clear. Also, the blog is very narrative oriented so you're not going to rank just by writing. I would honestly have a single blog where every other post is the podcast episode and transcript too. Depends on the volume of work you put out there.
I'll be super happy if you check :)
https://yusufgoksu.com/
Well, for example the last post doesn't have explanations besides the code. Look into actually writing a bit more and maybe try Medium outlets where other devs write. + dev.to and start growing your network
Been on and off with the blog. I feel like I can improve, open to feedback https://storycreatorapp.com/blog
Good start definitely. Add 2-3 categories and focus on SEO more. Update existing content too.
I'm surprised you haven't gotten to many responses yet! Always welcome feedback :)
https://www.topmarq.com/car-talk
The direction you're going in is decent but change up the structure of the blog so it's clearer and focus more on SEO. I see limited keyword use.
Hi! Interested in your thoughts — https://www.thebenjam.in/blog
It seems like your blog is about getting your ideas heard so I think you should grow your network more and maybe start guest posting on other places too.
Hi Alexandra, thanks for taking the time to do this!
Here's our blog https://www.meetcafecito.com/blog
Oh, wow, nice idea and you're actually doing lots of things right so I had to look at every post.
PRO: Love how you're mixing interviews with top-of-the-funnel content for ranking purposes. Keep at it!
CON: None of the posts are optimized for ranking purposes. So even if you have some nice tips in there, it's hard for people to find them.
What would be your suggestion to optimize for ranking purposes?
Starting with the basics: targetting one keyword and also doing outreach to gain some backlinks and mentions
Would love to know what you think of my most recent blog post! https://flurly.com/blog/affiliates
I already gave you feedback on this a couple of days ago ;)
Can you share more about what qualifies you to tell other members what they're doing right or wrong on their blog?
About 80% of your responses are "do SEO" which is low-effort, vague, and unconstructive.
On top of that, most of your feedback is downright rude to authors. In several cases, you tell people that there's nothing positive about their blog or that the only thing they're doing right is X.
Lastly, the advice you're giving is really bizarre. You're praising people for "blog categories?" I've never heard anyone treat that as a first-class concern when it comes to blogging. Then you say things like:
That's absolutely not true. WordPress perhaps forces you into a structure that Google indexes easily, but Google also ranks on page render time, which is not WordPress's strength.
I think this thread is unconstructive and negative to the IH community.
This comment was deleted 5 years ago
Love the approach of your blog!
PRO: You already have the actual content that's amazing so...
CONS: Work on a better structure [both for the actual blog and the posts], more SEO if your goal is to rank, and of course, outreach/link building.
This comment was deleted 3 years ago
Phew, the blog is quite chaotic.
PRO: None.
CON: You only have product updates. Consider adding other types of content so you can target low-volume keywords for now and bring in people via Google. SEO will be your best friend!
This comment was deleted 3 years ago