A guest post by Jean of Delightful Repast
For 10 years I posted once a week like clockwork. For year 11, I decided to post just once every two weeks. Will that hurt my SEO (Search Engine Optimization)? I don’t care. I’m too busy writing quality content—in my own unique voice without any gimmicks—punctuated with pretty food pictures. I’m not concerned about SEO.
Would I love to be a “successful” food blogger with a huge audience? Of course! But I don’t usually think about that. If I did, I’d have to be concerned about SEO: Things like posting frequency and timing, stats, email lists, paid promotions on social media platforms, which recipes are trending, and oh so much more.
My blog is a platform for self-expression, where I share the recipes I’ve enjoyed developing, my love of tea (the beverage and the ritual) and wine. And I slip in the occasional travel or wellness post. The best part of blogging is engagement with my readers. I read and respond to every comment. If the commenter has a blog, I visit the blog and comment.
Though Delightful Repast has attracted notice that has led to some lucrative gigs with magazines and food-related companies, I have never monetized my blog. So I am, by definition, a hobby blogger. As such, I answer only to myself and don’t need to write bloated posts, as Dianne calls them, for the sake of Google or SEO.
Here’s why I am not concerned with SEO:
1. I post when it suits me.
Before I published my first post, I knew that posting more than once a week was not going to happen. I work as a freelance writer, I have clients and I have a life. That makes the requisite three times a week too stressful.
Experts will tell you there are certain days of the week and times of day that are better than others for posting. I just can’t be bothered. I post on Thursday because it suits my schedule.
2. I rarely look at Google Analytics.
Oh my. Unique pageviews versus pageviews, traffic sources — I can’t even tell you all the stuff that can be tracked, should one be inclined to track them. I am not inclined.
3. I am only on two social media platforms.
Though social media does not at this time directly contribute to SEO, it is said to play an indirect role. But if you want the details, I’m not the person to ask.
Okay, I am on Twitter and Pinterest; but I’m not on Facebook, Instagram, Yummly, Google+ or any of the other such things that seem to just keep on coming (and going).
And paid promotions on any of them? Uh-uh. Not for me.
4. I post what I like.
Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t care what recipes or subjects are trending. I eat what I like and cook what I like, and that’s what I’m going to write about for my readers.
Call something “trendy” and I’ll go out of my way to avoid it. When I write a travel review or product review, it’s about a place or thing I like and feel good about recommending.
In conclusion, I try to write a blog post that will inform and, sometimes, entertain my readers. I try to write a recipe that is original, appealing and clearly written so cooks at any skill level can make a success of it.
So if you are a hobby blogger, don’t sweat the SEO stuff. Write blog posts that are only as long as they need to be. If your recipe has a story, tell it. If not, don’t force one. And like me, you won’t need to bloat your posts with gimmicks to help your SEO.
* * *
As a freelance writer, Jean has written for many magazines and newspapers as well as the web. She started DelightfulRepast.com in 2010 to share her favorite comfort foods along with a bit of tea, travel, wine and wellness. Find her on Pinterest and Twitter.
I’m in the same boat and whole heartedly agree. I think SEO etc. is a formulaic way to try and take shortcuts to what it sounds like you are already providing, quality content.
I so dislike the phrase “hobby blogger,” though. It implies amateur, unprofessional content, when in fact we are just offering our passion, expertise and posts without bloat literally for free. My blog was my training ground and now my testing ground for my food writing career.
Thanks for giving voice to this!
Faith, thank you for your thoughtful comment. I also dislike the phrase and would like to find the perfect replacement for it. Perhaps something like nonbusiness blogger?
You echo my thoughts–and the reason for writing my monthly enewsletter
The Kasbah Chronicles, for the past 12 years.
SEO is great, but the process of writing my chronicles even more so:
I may be missing the mark with only two social platforms, but the inspiration remains without the pressure of constant posting. Write on!
Thank you!
Kitty, twelve years! Very impressive. Keep up the good work. Just learned something new at your blog–I had never heard of France’s Fête du Muguet (which happens to be my grandmother’s and my favorite flower).
Having spent the last several weeks in too many corona-lockdown-Zoom meetings, I applaud your anti-SEO (and by extension, anti-tech) position. Something about food (especially comforting food like your blog celebrates) is deeply connected to human senses and emotions which can’t be bullied into data points. I feel a guilty anti-tech twinge as I write this, knowing that I do actually want my blog to get more SEO results and/or someone searching for how-to-make-pork-chops should be able to find helpful links. I’ve followed the ever-changing guidelines and gurus of SEO and noticed only minimal differences. So why should we listen to techies about how to write posts on shrimp or scones or the magic of one’s first encounter with wild honeysuckle? We write the words we have to say when the spirit moves! That same spirit is what our readers really seek – thoughtful words, visuals, and those ephemeral human connections we make through food. Or maybe they just want to know how to fry a pork chop? I guess there is room enough for all of us, and I’m on your side 🙂
I’m so totally on the same page as you. I post because I want to, because I like something I cooked or some place I visited, or feel I have something to say or something to contribute to a wider conversation.
Again, like you, I’d love to have a more successful blog, especially after writing mine for 10 years now, but SEO requirements and Analytics just do my head in and cause me stress, so I don’t get too wrapped up in all of that stuff.
As mentioned earlier, I’m not keen on the ‘hobby blogger’ title either. I have formally studied the academic side of food and gastronomy, and have 10 years experience in the field, so bring a considerable amount of educated thought and lived experience to my writing. I’d love to be able to reflect that in a better title for what I do – I just can’t think of one.
Susie, I love what you said and *how* you said it. I’m sure you can reach your career goals without worrying too much about SEO! As you said, there is room for all of us.
Amanda, yes, there has to be a better name for us that ‘hobby bloggers.’ Cooking is not my hobby. Writing is not my hobby. So how can I be a ‘hobby blogger’? I think we should all really give some serious thought to this.
Thanks! And I like Kitty’s advice above – write on!
Yes, Susie!
Jean ( and Dianne), thank you for this post! And I appreciate the many right-on comments as well. This is me too. I have been blogging for almost 10 years now. Never hit the “big-time”, worked at it hard for a long time. (as you did Jean). It never happened and I beat myself up. Last year due to life and health challenges I had to just let it all go and stop posting for awhile. The earth did not come to a halt. It was freeing. I agree that I do not like the term “hobby blogger”. Its more than a hobby, and I like how you phrase it. My blog , too, is my platform for self-expression, where I share the recipes I’ve developed with some education on nutrition and health tips intertwined. I’m a professionally trained chef and have developed recipes for two NYT best-selling books. What I love is helping people, sharing my passion for food, cooking and all things related. I’m starting up again and it feels good to post when I can, when I want to. I’m thankful (to my successful husband) that I don’t have to make a living blogging and be driven (crazy) by every whim of SEO and the almighty Google.
Well said, Sally. And I’m glad your back to the blogosphere, on your own terms. Like you, I’m thankful to not be dependent on my blog (and SEO and Google) for my livelihood
A voice of reason! Fantastic post, thank you so much Jean and Dianne! If I get one comment on a blog post I am well chuffed and if someone emails to say they enjoy my blog I am ecstatic. I write because it makes me happy, and if it makes others happy too that is a mega bonus Thanks for the encouragement to write without stressing about SEO, I think the best blog posts are from the heart, no matter how many likes/comments/views they get. Jenny of Silver Screen Suppers (a hobby blog).
Jenny, thank you for your comment and for introducing me to your delightful new-to-me blog. I’m going to enjoy checking out all the commenters’ blogs. I liked your notice of the idea of blogging without stressing; life puts enough stress on us without our putting it on ourselves.
I agree with this – to a point.
I don’t want to spend my writing and cooking time worrying about long-tail keywords and metadata, but I do want to find an audience of readers, and that’s what SEO helps to do.
I think high-quality content is key, but if you don’t give SEO a passing glance, no one except your mom will read your blog (except in the case of my mom, who was booted off my email list because of a WordPress glitch and now never gets my blog).
There is a balance there, but it definitely helps to think of it as a marathon, not a sprint. Learning a few SEO techniques and applying them consistently, along with setting up your site so it runs itself to take advantage of SEO doesn’t take much effort and helps more people see your writing.
Suzannah, I don’t disagree with you! And, as you say, it’s a marathon, not a sprint. I’ve found over the course of my marathon that, despite my lack of tech knowledge and interest, I must be doing something right! Despite myself, I have an ever-increasing audience as well as good engagement with my readers. So I can’t complain. If someone has an interest in SEO/tech, I’m not saying they should suppress it! 😀 No, have at it! And if someone has a need for more SEO/tech (their blog is their sole means of support, or they would like it to be), then of course.
Thank you Jean, for articulating so perfectly what I have been thinking about for the last few years. I just don’t get the ‘bloated posts’ thing (great expression, Dianne!) – it’s SO unfriendly to the reader and such a UX nightmare. I hope there will always be a place for blogs like yours (and mine). Just because we don’t earn mega-bucks from doing what we love doesn’t mean we’re not good at it or that we’re wrong to enjoy doing things ‘our’ way. Right?
Thanks so much, Lucy. Yes, we can do things “our way.” There’s room for all of us. When I come across a “bloated post,” even though I recognize the reasoning behind it, I have to bail. I just don’t have the time to wade through the “bloat” to get to the point.
I write blogs for small businesses, so I have to worry about SEO to a degree, but I tell all my clients up-front that what I will provide is organic traffic through quality content, and I will sacrifice SEO in favor of quality if need be. I absolutely hate opening an article that’s probably great for SEO but completely useless in actual reading.
Jasmine, excellent point. I’ve come across too many blog posts that have sacrificed quality at the altar of SEO, rendering the article “completely useless.” It shows such a lack of respect for one’s readers who are looking for actual information or entertainment.
Jean, I totally get that. I just wrote a similar post myself. Well said! For the brief spell that I tried monetizing my blog, I found it negatively impacted my creativity.
Michelle
https://mybijoulifeonline.com
Thank you, Michelle. I’m glad you were able to reexamine your reasons for blogging and get refocused. I think when something is stifling our creativity, it’s time to let it go.
Yes: when I teach blogging I always tell my students to “do you Boo Boo!”
#TrafficJamWeekend
Antionette, thanks for stopping by. I’m afraid you’ve stumped me, though. I have no idea what “do you Boo Boo” means! 🙂
You gotta do what makes you happy 🙂 Thanks so much for linking up with me at my #UnlimitedMonthlyLinkParty 12, open May 1 to 26. All entries shared if social media buttons are installed.
Dee, thank you. Wanted to share this with as many bloggers as possible.