There are a few reasons why your blog loses money when starting out or after becoming an established site. This may be beyond your control, such as after a Google algorithm update. From a lack of niche understanding to SEO problems, here are some of the most common.
No Lead Generation Strategy
A lead generation strategy is critical for increasing traffic from the right sources for conversions. A blog shouldn’t solely focus on making money. But let’s be honest, if you are blogging even part-time, it will cost. So you need to at least offset those costs! Leads are essential for making the most of any blog monetization strategy. Inbound leads rely on methods that improve your advertising strategy, such as PPC, SEO optimization, and even social media marketing.
A Lack of Niche Understanding
As mentioned, lead generation is essential. But you can’t hope to make sales if you don’t understand your niche and its audience. The blogs and vlogs that become popular and have the capacity to make money are the ones that connect with the audience. Think of any YouTube personality in a given niche. You will see they are skilled at what they do, offer a unique angle, and really understand the niche that they are in. Emulating these people often isn’t a bad idea.
A Blog Loses Money with a Bad UX
A poor user experience is a common marketing mistake. More so today than ever before. There are a few reasons, but first and foremost, your users must see the value of your blog. Another reason is that Google penalizes sites with poor UX. And bounce rate contributes to a lower page ranking. Google will mark a bounce if a user leaves your page within 10 seconds without interacting. Grabbing attention, easy navigation, and meaningful content help improve this.
Issues with Your Blog’s SEO
SEO is a massive contributor to a blog’s success. SEO will help place your post in rankings, even above well-established sites, if it is good enough. On-page SEO is the one you are most familiar with. This is the keyword content, structure, and even images of a post. Off-page SEO refers to incoming links. And technical SEO focuses on things such as crawling and indexing. However, you must also realize that SEO methods can take between 3 and 6 months to work.
A Focus on Money Instead of Content
Of course, it’s nice when a blog makes money for you. But this takes time, especially if you don’t use PPC and rely solely on organic methods. However, your blog shouldn’t focus on money. In fact, you will see more success down the line if you do the opposite. So, what should come first? High-quality, relevant, and engaging content is the key to high ranking and increased traffic. Focus on these before considering natural and relevant blog monetization methods.
Summary
Not having a strategy for incoming traffic, leads, and conversions is a potential reason why your blog loses money. However, users bouncing because of a bad experience will decrease your page ranking. You must also focus on content first before thinking about how to monetize.