Every book and article on blogging tells you that you need great content—and I agree: Great content is essential to any blog’s success.

The flip side of great content is bad content. Bad blog content virtually guarantees that human readers and search engines will ignore your site.

So what is bad blog content?

Click here to get your copy of Blogging for Business: Why and How to Create Blog Content that Works

Bad blog content is content that fits any of these descriptions:

Misleading headlines. Your titles and headlines should be catchy and intriguing, but accurate. Don’t use annoying bait-and-switch headlines or promise more than you deliver.

Content copied from other sites with or without permission. Search engines will penalize your site for duplicate content, and material copied without permission is a violation of intellectual property rights. Be sure you have the rights to use everything that is on your site.

Plagiarized material. Don’t claim to be the author of something you didn’t write—it’s theft, and it can get you in all kinds of legal trouble as well as damage your reputation. And it’s just plain wrong.

Sloppy content. This includes material that is poorly written with typos and spelling, grammar and syntax errors as well as information that is incorrect. Proofread and fact-check thoroughly.

Headlines and content stuffed with keywords and written primarily for search engines. Search engines can recognize keyword-stuffing and will penalize you for it. If you write in a natural style for human readers and give them a reason to share your content, the search engines will rank your site higher.

Links to or from dubious sites. Your links are a reflection of the company you keep. Only allow links that reflect positively on you.

Can you add to this list? Join the conversation and leave a comment below.

Adapted from Blogging for Business: Why and How to Create Blog Content that Works by Jacquelyn Lynn. Click here to purchase on Amazon.

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Jacquelyn Lynn

Jacquelyn Lynn is an inspirational author, ghostwriter, and self-publishing consultant whose credits include more than 45 books, 3,000+ magazine articles, ebooks, blogs, white papers, and more.

Jacquelyn's latest book is Christian Business Almanac, scheduled for release in summer 2024.
She is the author of the novel Choices (A Joyful Cup Story) as well as the nonfiction books The Simple Facts About Self-Publishing, Words to Work By: 31 devotions for the workplace based on the Book of Proverbs and Finding Joy in the Morning: You can make it through the night. With her husband, she is the co-creator of several coloring books for adults.

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