Given the fast-paced nature of the online world, there are many reasons why your blog feels outdated and begins to underperform. Whether it’s old or new, a blog can suffer tremendously if it doesn’t meet specific criteria, including what a modern web user expects from a website.
A neglected blog will get worse over time and will need more work when you come to fix it. However, from addressing user queries to mastering engagement, here are some handy tips.
Low Production Value
A blog is a production, and like any production, it must have value. Highly compressed stick images, poor quality video and a generic theme are all common mistakes when starting a blog. Of course, upgrading these costs money, but it is money well spent. Users can see the difference between a professional video production on your blog and something pulled from an app like Microsoft ClipChamp. Quality is what counts, and it will provide a considerable boost.
A Blog Feels Outdated with Misaligned Queries
5.6 billion people all over the world use search engines for all kinds of reasons. But mostly, search engines, and more recently, chatbots are used to answer questions. Answering queries is the bread and butter of the web, and a blog becomes useful when it provides quality answers.
Identify audience questions
- Pay attention to what people are actively discussing about your niche and topics.
- Use keyword tools such as Answer the Public to find trending questions.
- Browse platforms like Reddit and LinkedIn to find active and lively discussions.
Craft direct and compelling answers
- Don’t just answer questions in a blunt way. Explain the why and how of the topic.
- Include FAQ posts, pages, and sections that directly address the questions at hand.
- Make the content easy to read and avoid using technical terms that confuse readers.
Share content and engage
- Share your posts on social media and encourage discussion around the topics.
- Stay attentive and address the audience’s needs by engaging with platform users.
- Host live Q&A or AMA sessions to address specific questions you can answer well.
Repetitive Posts and Low Quality
So, one of the hardest things to do when it comes to web content is to create unique content. The main reason is that when you think of something, you can almost guarantee someone else already has. So what can you do? Regurgitated content has its place, but it won’t help your blog. It is fine to discuss the same topics as another website, but it is imperative that you don’t copy the content from another blog or quickly write a low-quality post similar to another.
There’s No Originality
This goes hand in hand with the above point. However, it also extends to the entire blog and not just single posts. Being original isn’t easy these days, as most people (consciously and subconsciously) recreate something they have already seen. And AI tools sort of do the same thing. To stay original, try to offer a unique perspective on a topic, keep your blog updated and fresh, and identify gaps that others aren’t talking about when it comes to a specific subject.
A Lack of Keyword Research
When you begin to get more technical with your blog, you will eventually run into search engine optimization, also known as SEO. SEO is another article, so for simplicity’s sake, here we will focus on keywords. Keywords are the foundation of on-page SEO and should always be encouraged. You can use keyword tools such as Jaaxy and Ubersuggest to find keywords related to a query or topic and include them in your posts in a natural way to boost ranking.
Poor, Bad, and Broken Links
Another core part of SEO is link-building. Links are more important to a blog than most people think. Broken links result in a lower ranking when users are taken to dead ends. However, links must be intricately woven into the fabric of a blog. For example, all posts should include links to relevant external sites with a high authority related to the post content. They must also contain relevant internal links. These build a link system that is useful to the user and boosts ranking.
Poor Design is Why a Blog Feels Outdated
Web design is easier than ever these days, and you don’t have to be an expert to create a blog. However, around 60 million blogs a year are created, and over 80% fail within the first 18 months. An efficient SEO strategy will help, but a blog feels outdated with poor design.
Pay attention to readability
Blog posts are best when formatted a certain way. For instance, short paragraphs, bullet points, and concise language are a good start. It also helps to break up bodies of text with visuals.
Don’t forget about accessibility
There are all kinds of users. People with visual and aural impairment need options such as voice reading, high contrast text, and alt-tags. Navigation should also be as simple as possible.
Explore the use of AI tools
There’s nothing wrong with using AI tools as long as the content created is relevant and helpful. In fact, AI can improve your content with simplified text, automation, and image generation.
Address security concerns
Security is a concern these days, and no one wants to use a site that could be dangerous. A simple but effective way to make your site more secure is to move to a HTTPS domain.
Optimize a blog for speed
Users will click away from a site if it takes more than two seconds to load! Use tools such as Google PageSpeed Insights to identify where speed improvements can be made on your blog.
You’re Not Promoting the Blog
You can’t rely solely on organic and paid traffic to establish a blog as a leader in a niche. Today, like link-building, blogs must be woven through other platforms. For example, you can piggyback on the domain authority of another site or platform by posting and promoting your blog there. A good example would be crossposting or linking a post on a platform such as LinkedIn. Rather than using a traditional ranking system, you can use the power of LinkedIn.
Themes and Plugins Need Updating
One of the most overlooked parts of designing and building a blog is the theme. Most people choose a theme based on how it looks instead of the features it offers. A free theme won’t come with the modern features a blog needs in 2025. For example, a modern theme must be secure, highly customizable, and mobile-responsive, at the very least. If you have been using the same theme for a long time, then you must consider upgrading or replacing it entirely ASAP.
Poor Optimization for Mobile Devices
Mobile responsiveness is mentioned above, but what is it? All this means is that the theme you use for your blog is adapted for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets as well as desktop PCs. This is important for a modern blog because search engines such as Google give priority to blogs and sites that meet user needs. Since the majority of users access the web on mobile devices today, a blog that doesn’t offer this is unlikely to rank as well as one that does.
No Consistent Posting Schedule
Search engines love consistency! They particularly like it when a blog has a posting schedule, is updated often, and provides relevant content. As a new blogger, I find it hard to stay consistent as it is much more work than most people initially realize. Yet even as a veteran blogger, your posting can wane a little as you become disillusioned with lower traffic or simply can’t find the time. However, you can create posts ahead of time and automate a specific posting schedule.
A Blog Feels Outdated with No Engagement
Engagement is one of the primary drivers of modern blogs and social media platforms. There are approximately 600 million blogs on the web, and not all are created equally. Blogs that do well are made with users in mind and actively seek to encourage engagement in various ways:
- Craft every post with care and ensure the content is valuable, relevant, and relatable.
- Work hard on creating compelling headlines for blog posts that capture attention.
- Include CTAs on blog posts to guide readers where you want, such as to related posts.
- Include interactive elements similar to social media, such as polls and surveys.
- Encourage readers to comment on posts and engage with them as much as you can.
Ignoring Comments and Feedback
The users of a blog are fundamental to its success. So why would you ignore them? Gone are the days when you created “fire and forget” posts that just sat on a server. Today, users want active engagement, and they aren’t shy either. Modern blog themes typically come with comment sections built-in. The comments of a post add to the word count, and longer posts typically see more traffic. But users will also provide useful feedback that you can use.
Summary
A low production value is one of the main reasons a modern blog feels outdated and can lead to stunted traffic and poor ranking. Of course, a blog must also be designed well and adhere to contemporary expectations. But users are key and even the comments section is highly useful.
