One day I was attempting to locate a user’s manual for one of my air conditioners online. I figured there had to be one site out of the billions that could help me with this issue. My husband is rather handy when it comes to fixing things, but he needed just a little more information to guide him.
So I jumped online visiting site after site trying to find the right manual – each new site I visited claimed to have a PDF of the book I needed, but every time I thought I found what I needed, I discovered that it was something different. The crazy part is that I only figured that out after I’d given my email address and a DNA sample.
Soon my inbox was flooded with spam trying to sell me new air conditioners. What good was that?
Rather than providing the solution I was looking for, the sites I visited only created more problems and in the end was nothing more than a huge waste of time.
A lot of blogs are like these – they show up in the search results as having one set of information when what they really have is much different. It’s confusing and it’s annoying. These sites tailor their SEO to fit with the popular searches to drag in that extra traffic, when in fact, their content is about something else entirely.
People are looking for answers, if you’ve got them, then hand them over! There’s nothing wrong with saving the prime information for a paid ebook, but don’t dangle a carrot when what you’ve really got is a funky old brussel sprout!
Don’t give your post titles that don’t really relate to what you’re writing. Yeah, you’ll pull in a few people, but when they find out they’ve been duped, they’re only going to leave - NEVER TO RETURN. If you’re unsure about how optimize your post, take a moment to read, Complete Guide to Easy Seo for Busy Bloggers or 5 SEO Tips for Bloggers.
Gear your posts so that they’re helpful. If there’s a gap in your knowledge about something, there’s nothing wrong with providing a link to another useful resource. You don’t have to be an expert on a subject to refer someone to the place where they can find what they need. Even something as simple as that can be considered a solution.
So, ask yourself, when people leave your blog, are they leaving with the information that they came there for, or are they being disappointed?
Image: Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
About Kiesha Easley
Hi Kiesha – I like the fact that you’ve replied to each person who has commented here. It shows that you’re passionate about ensuring all your visitors leave having had some form of interaction. Keep up the hard work!
Tom
Twitter: weblogbetter
says:
Hi Thomas!
I’m glad you noticed that. I want commentators to know that they’ve been heard – that I am listening and I truly care about wheat they have to say. You are valuable to me and I hope you enjoyed your visit to this blog.
Having a good blog is all about Social Integration nowadays – so drawing from Facebook, Twitter and YouTube and the like. This cxan instantly create a buzz about your blog and extend its reach.
I believe my website does provide solutions to problems for family and children. My blog was created to help others. Just as I view other blogs for problems and solutions. With increasing technology just about most most answers can be found online. What I like about Lisa’s blog, it was very inspirational for me. I in return hope that my blog can be inspirational for others.
I try to include more helpful tips and useful information than simply just thought leadership. For me thought leadership flows like a river. I think it takes more time and also adds more value for readers if you take the thoughts and put them into bite size actionable nuggets an audience can use in their business.
This post really help me to understand in what way a blog can help others…
Thanks..
Ankit Saini recently posted..Simple Ways To Speed Up Windows 7
I could not have said it better mysel Keisha. What really bothers me is when I click on a subject and it turns out to be about something totally different. This can be somewhat deceitful and misleading as well.
Betty recently posted..How To Help Your Child That Has Bipolar Disorder
You’re definitely spot on about this issue Kiesha. Until Google and other search engines figure out a way to remove irrelevant content and sites from the search results I guess we are going to just have to put up with these false promoters. You should just get an email address you rarely use to just collect potential spam emails so you won’t have to be bothered with the harassment.
Jerry recently posted..Copy Xbox 360 Games
solutions,solutions.solutions..that is all we are looking for when we search the web..
it is true,you do your blog more harm than good when you don’t give what you promise in the post title..you slowly brand your blog negatively.
The main idea of blogging was to provide people a facility to flourish their skills by writing their articles and writing criticizing on them through comments
mincir recently posted..La Meilleure Mthode du Moment :
I agree!! If you have the answer, why not be direct and share it. I think that through my blog, I respond to particular solutions for the industry. The services we offer may help businesses.
I think blogs can compliment certain sites really well; especially if you’re a business and you’re wanting to keep your clients up to date with the news in your sector. But there’s nothing worse than an infrequently-updated blog that isn’t well thought-out and, like you say, leaves more questions than answers. You’ve got to make it worth people’s while to keep checking back.
Hi Keisha!
It’s Jeffrey Baril of Source Blogger. How are you?
For Google users in the middle of a keyword search, I think we have to do a better job to analyze the search engine results.
Many users assume that the information that appears on Page 1 is the most relevant, when in reality, it is merely the most optimized.
Take some time to review what has come up, you might discover just what you need on page 4!
Thanks!
Jeffrey Baril – Source Blogger
Jeffrey baril – Source Blogger recently posted..Blogging For Dummies — Are You The Dummy They Are Referring To
Twitter: weblogbetter
says:
Hi Jeffrey,
I’m great! How about yourself? That’s so true – optimized doesn’t translate to most relevant – I’m definitely a digger and I have no problem going on to page 4 and beyond, but unfortunately the average user isn’t that determined, making it easier for them to get duped. Great points!
It’s so true, if you do not provide answers, you will not get return traffic.
Hunter recently posted..6 Best WordPress Ad Management Plugins
Twitter: weblogbetter
says:
Hi Hunter,
Yes, if people are looking for answers and they know your site doesn’t have any, they definitely won’t be back.
I quite agree that it is annoying to go to a site and it has not got the information it says it will have through the headline. It is a short term gain for traffic; but I would imagine the bounce rate is very high! I have seen comments on a site where people feel tricked by headlines and get quite angry with the blog owner.
Patricia Perth Australia
Patricia recently posted..Lavender Recipes-Flower Power in the Kitchen
Twitter: weblogbetter
says:
Hi Patricia,
It’s funny that those kinds of sites never respond to those irate comments, nor do they try to remedy the problem. It’s as if no one even lives there on that site. It is most annoying! :)
I also found that bloggers are not linking to external sources. They always try to link to there own articles.
Even there could be a better one post that can provide more information to the user.
Twitter: weblogbetter
says:
Hi there,
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with linking internally as long as it links to something that is truly helpful.
the start you begun with was “smart” , i know that happened to you , and i loved the way you use your real life to come up with a sort of discussion or to share with us something you felt is not going well and that will be essential in case everyone does it , we all are learning from our mistakes , any way , your points were all right , just be careful with spamms; they are waiting for you all the time. for your subject ,posts need to satisfy the readers , wrong titles all the time ruin our searches , the simplest thing in the post you needed was the answer about how to fix “your thing” ,so answering readers questions is of course what everyone needs before starting gogling for exmple !!!! :) thank you for sharing this !!
Rahul recently posted..How to prevent WordPress Blog from Hackers
Twitter: weblogbetter
says:
Hi Rahul,
Thanks for the compliments. Glad you enjoyed the post. Yes, the dreaded spammers are everywhere! :)
Hi Kiesha
I have suffered this many times myself and yes it’s really irritating.
But the only reason why people seem to do it over and over again is that this trick probably seems to work for a certain class of people.
I think the main target of these “tricksters” are the real life Homer Simpsons :D
Siddharth Goyal recently posted..Why it is a good idea to start up
Twitter: weblogbetter
says:
Hi Siddharth,
“Irritating” is an understatement, it drives me totally nuts! :)
I think many companies are stuck on the old way of doing business constantly trying to sell things. The new way is to give away value and build on that good will to increase business.
Richard recently posted..Innovative Blog Spotlight- The Blog Tyrant
Twitter: weblogbetter
says:
Hi Richard,
You’re right, people are stuck. Whenever I tell people that blogs are not to be used for free advertising, they always give me this puzzled look, as if I’ve said something that didn’t make any sense :)
I agree. When we developed our blog http://blog.cloveer.com we decided to provide very detailed information instead of less. The more information you provide, the more serious your potential clients will take you and your business.
Twitter: weblogbetter
says:
Hi there,
That’s definitely the best way to go. That’s why people arrive on your site, because they’re looking for more information. Why not give it to them?
I would say that blogging for both people and SEO is the best at the beginning. When your blog get its position online then you may blog for people.
Dawn Le recently posted..Can you make money online from these
Twitter: weblogbetter
says:
Hi Dawn,
Blogging for both people and the search is absolutely the best way to go. But whenever a choice must be made between the two, I choose people.
Good point.
The label needs to match the content. People who try to bait-and-switch will always lose out, as will people who bait, but really lack content.
There is always a need to both deliver quality and deliver what is promised.
Steve recently posted..Learn from Your Mistakes
Twitter: weblogbetter
says:
Hi Steve,
Exactly!
Great post Kiesha. Quality content is the key factor in order for you to attract clients to keep on coming back with your site. Visitors are clicking blog post because they want relevant answers to their query. Informative content will give you an assurance to attract clients to bookmarked your site.
webdesigners in Atlanta recently posted..Web Designers In Atlanta 10 Questions For An Atlanta web designer
Twitter: weblogbetter
says:
Hi there,
Glad you agree! Thanks for sharing your insights.
Oh i hate those kind of websites.
This is why i use gmail account on something like this. But still, it is very annoying to receive spams.
I was wondering myself too, in the last few days, i received lots of spams.
I mean, how can they find out my email address? unless someone sells it(?)
Thanks for sharing it with us.
Kimi recently posted..Add Related Posts in Thesis Theme Without Widget
Twitter: weblogbetter
says:
Hi Kimi,
I’m sorry to hear you’re receiving so many spams. It’s honestly no telling how they got your information since there are so many tricks and ploys scammers will use to acquire your information. I’ve noticed that even when you’re job hunting online you’re extremely susceptible to being tricked into submitting your email address so that they can spam you later.
Nice post Kiesha
If we are running a blog we have to ensure we provide the best possible information to our readers. It’s not about selling and earning profits all the time. You need to build a strong business relationship so that people keep coming back for more.
Isabel Rodrigues – Pro Blogger Journey recently posted..Having a “Never Say Die Attitude” Towards Your Blog
Twitter: weblogbetter
says:
Hi Isabel,
You’re so right!
Twitter: BrankicaU
says:
OMG, this is so true!
I was searching for some info on the subject I was writing my university thesis on and it’s really specific. So I Google the words I was searching for, result number one comes as almost the perfect match. I was so happy. I go to the blog only to see – that’s it. The headline is all. No text on the subject. I was more than mad!
I just don’t know how does it get to the number one position on Google!!! (It was not a sponsored result :)
So I really hate when people trick me into visiting them :(
Twitter: weblogbetter
says:
Hi Brankica,
I feel your pain – that is so annoying. And it really bothers me that it’s number one in the search results especially if it beat out other blogs that were actually offering valuable information on the topic.
Hi Kiesha!
Frankly, we have to provide valuable information to our readers as a blogger. The first impression is important. Therefore, we can only provide good stuffs to retain our readers.
Kok Siong recently posted..Invasive Breast Cancer
So true, You can only trick me once, and I will never return to your website/blog. You have to be honest as Gary Vaynerchuck said, Our bull shit radars are very good now,I have too many other choices, Great Post, Marios
Marios recently posted..InDigitalWorks 4000 Products With Resell Rights
Twitter: weblogbetter
says:
Hi Marios,
LOL! You’re right there are thousands upon thousand of other choices.
Kiesha, you are right. I know that personally I won’t return to a blog or website if it is misleading or doesn’t provide accurate help or information, so I try to apply that standard to my own properties as well. Thanks for sharing!
Tom Jamieson recently posted..My Posts About Blogging
Twitter: weblogbetter
says:
Hi Tom,
Glad you agree. Nothing is worse than a misleading blog. :)
I think that a useful blog offers you possible solutions and plenty of new information. I wouldn’t say that I blog to offer answers but to share what I know.
Twitter: weblogbetter
says:
Hi Mia,
Sharing what you know is definitely a great way of offering value to your readers. That’s why they come to your blog, to learn from your experiences. Keep it up :)
Hi Kiesha,
I think you bring up one good point. A blog can only provide if it is able to solve peoples’ problems. We need to write post to provide solutions not solely write for SEO.
This is a great post. Thank you so much for sharing. Have a nice day
Lye
Lye Kuek Hin recently posted..9 Things You Need To Stop Doing to Prevent Blog Failure
Twitter: weblogbetter
says:
Hi Lye,
Thanks for stopping by! I’m glad you agree – blogs could go so much farther if only they offered helpful information and avoid tricking people with Seo at all costs.