{"id":2434,"date":"2024-01-15T21:04:03","date_gmt":"2024-01-15T21:04:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/i-wrote-100-blog-posts-for-the-ahrefs-blog-heres-what-i-learned\/"},"modified":"2024-01-15T21:04:03","modified_gmt":"2024-01-15T21:04:03","slug":"i-wrote-100-blog-posts-for-the-ahrefs-blog-heres-what-i-learned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/i-wrote-100-blog-posts-for-the-ahrefs-blog-heres-what-i-learned\/","title":{"rendered":"I Wrote 100+ Blog Posts for the Ahrefs Blog. Here&#8217;s What I Learned."},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p>I\u2019ve finally hit the milestone: 100 blog posts for the Ahrefs blog.<\/p>\n<p>So, I decided to reflect on my journey. I did two Ask Me Anything (AMA) sessions to see what people wanted to know: <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/siquanong\/status\/1737659157803901072\">one on <s>Twitter<\/s> X<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/posts\/si-quan-ong_ive-written-100-blog-posts-for-the-ahrefs-activity-7140166423636537345-Rt5y\/\">another on LinkedIn<\/a>. I was pleasantly surprised that so many people were interested, so thank you to everyone for the kind questions.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-resized\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"762\" height=\"292\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/my-ama-on-linkedin.png\" alt=\"My AMA on LinkedIn\" class=\"wp-image-170770\" style=\"width:566px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/my-ama-on-linkedin.png 762w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/my-ama-on-linkedin-680x261.png 680w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 762px) 100vw, 762px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>Here are the lessons I\u2019ve learned from crossing this milestone.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" style=\"\"><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\"\/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style=\"\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"Think of yourself as a mentor\" data-section=\"think-of-yourself-as-a-mentor\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-170769-_8haobm6duqz6\"\/>Think of yourself as a mentor<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>When a student approaches a mentor with problems, the mentor doesn\u2019t lay out 200+ suggestions. It\u2019s not helpful and causes decision paralysis. Instead, the mentor points out the exact problem and offers one or two specific pieces of advice to help the student get over the hurdle.<\/p>\n<p>I think our content should do the same thing: identify our reader\u2019s exact problem and offer the <strong>best<\/strong> advice\u2014not the entirety of all advice.<\/p>\n<p>For example, I could have listed every potential link-building strategy in <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/white-hat-link-building-techniques\/\">my post on white hat link-building<\/a>. While that might have been useful for some, it would have been overwhelming for most. Not to mention, there would have been no indication of what works in real\u00a0life.<\/p>\n<p>So, I kept it simple and focused only on the tactics that SEOs vouched for.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-resized\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"980\" height=\"346\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/an-excerpt-from-my-post-on-white-hat-link-building.png\" alt=\"An excerpt from my post on white-hat link-building\" class=\"wp-image-170771\" style=\"width:575px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/an-excerpt-from-my-post-on-white-hat-link-building.png 980w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/an-excerpt-from-my-post-on-white-hat-link-building-680x240.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/an-excerpt-from-my-post-on-white-hat-link-building-768x271.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 980px) 100vw, 980px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"980\" height=\"346\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/an-excerpt-from-my-post-on-white-hat-link-building.png\" alt=\"An excerpt from my post on white-hat link-building\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-170771\" style=\"width:575px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/an-excerpt-from-my-post-on-white-hat-link-building.png 980w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/an-excerpt-from-my-post-on-white-hat-link-building-680x240.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/an-excerpt-from-my-post-on-white-hat-link-building-768x271.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 980px) 100vw, 980px\"\/><\/figure>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" style=\"\"><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\"\/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style=\"\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"There\u2019s no correlation between effort and results\" data-section=\"theres-no-correlation-between-effort-and-results\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-170769-_uv1lfxi87dso\"\/>There\u2019s no correlation between effort and results<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>My best-performing article is my post on <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/affiliate-marketing\/\">affiliate marketing<\/a>. I didn\u2019t \u201cwrite\u201d it; all I did was repurpose <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=W-nbsnXtSZI\">Sam\u2019s video<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>My worst-performing article is\u2026 I have too many to count. I put a lot of work into some of them. My post on <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/quora-marketing\/\">Quora marketing<\/a> had me spending time on the platform, but it never got any strong traction. I had to sign up and prompt 39 AI writing tools for my post on <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/ai-writing-tools\/\">AI writing tools<\/a>, but the joke never landed. My favorite post\u2014<a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/marketing-skills\/\">marketing skills<\/a>\u2014was written from my six years of experience as a digital marketer but got nowhere either.<\/p>\n<p>I think that\u2019s the nature of content creation. Most things just don\u2019t work, and for those that do, you can never predict prior.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m not saying to stop putting effort into your content. I\u2019m just saying there\u2019s no correlation between how long you work on something versus its \u201csuccess.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But at the end of the day, if you want to create unique content or offer a unique viewpoint, you still need to put in the work. You need to be an operator (see next point) or do hard things.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"small\">\n<div class=\"quote-content\">\n<p>Great writing should feel hard. If you can crank out an article by opening a few browser tabs, so can everyone else. But interview someone, read a book, find an esoteric research paper, or collect some data\u2026 and your willingness to do something difficult gives you an\u00a0edge.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"quote-info clearfix\">\n<div class=\"quote-photo\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Ryan Law\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/ryan-law-pic-425x425.jpeg\"\/><\/noscript><img class=\"lazyload\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Ryan Law\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/ryan-law-pic-425x425.jpeg\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" style=\"\"><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\"\/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style=\"\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"When something is working, keep it working\" data-section=\"when-something-is-working-keep-it-working\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-170769-_pkt92qxsirjq\"\/>When something is working, keep it working<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Rankings don\u2019t last forever. That\u2019s why refreshing content is an integral part of <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/seo-content-strategy\/\">our SEO content strategy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1564\" height=\"990\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/how-often-we-republish-content-via-ahrefs-content.png\" alt=\"How often we republish content via Ahrefs' Content Explorer\" class=\"wp-image-170772\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/how-often-we-republish-content-via-ahrefs-content.png 1564w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/how-often-we-republish-content-via-ahrefs-content-671x425.png 671w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/how-often-we-republish-content-via-ahrefs-content-260x166.png 260w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/how-often-we-republish-content-via-ahrefs-content-768x486.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/how-often-we-republish-content-via-ahrefs-content-1536x972.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1564px) 100vw, 1564px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1564\" height=\"990\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/how-often-we-republish-content-via-ahrefs-content.png\" alt=\"How often we republish content via Ahrefs' Content Explorer\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-170772\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/how-often-we-republish-content-via-ahrefs-content.png 1564w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/how-often-we-republish-content-via-ahrefs-content-671x425.png 671w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/how-often-we-republish-content-via-ahrefs-content-260x166.png 260w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/how-often-we-republish-content-via-ahrefs-content-768x486.png 768w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/how-often-we-republish-content-via-ahrefs-content-1536x972.png 1536w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1564px) 100vw, 1564px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">You can see how often we update our content via <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/content-explorer\">Content Explorer<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>For example, I\u2019ve updated the post on affiliate marketing twice. I\u2019ve also updated <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/alternative-search-engines\/\">alternative search engines<\/a> twice, <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/seo-statistics\/\">SEO statistics<\/a> twice (and counting), <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/evergreen-content\/\">evergreen content<\/a> twice, and <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/top-google-searches\/\">top Google searches<\/a> countless times.<\/p>\n<p>Each time we update our posts, traffic spikes.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1524\" height=\"756\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/traffic-spikes-aligning-with-content-updates-data.png\" alt=\"Traffic spikes aligning with content updates. Data via Ahrefs' Site Explorer\" class=\"wp-image-170773\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/traffic-spikes-aligning-with-content-updates-data.png 1524w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/traffic-spikes-aligning-with-content-updates-data-680x337.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/traffic-spikes-aligning-with-content-updates-data-768x381.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1524px) 100vw, 1524px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1524\" height=\"756\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/traffic-spikes-aligning-with-content-updates-data.png\" alt=\"Traffic spikes aligning with content updates. Data via Ahrefs' Site Explorer\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-170773\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/traffic-spikes-aligning-with-content-updates-data.png 1524w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/traffic-spikes-aligning-with-content-updates-data-680x337.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/traffic-spikes-aligning-with-content-updates-data-768x381.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1524px) 100vw, 1524px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>But it isn\u2019t all about SEO and gaining more organic traffic. If you\u2019ve learned something new about the topic, you\u2019re doing your audience a disservice by not telling them about it. So, make sure you\u2019re consistently renewing and refreshing your existing content.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" style=\"\"><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\"\/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style=\"\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"Writers should be practitioners\" data-section=\"writers-should-be-practitioners\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-170769-_6dadhgcb0ykb\"\/>Writers should be practitioners<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Your readers are not dumb. They can tell when an article is a mishmash of scraped \u201ctheoretical\u201d advice or written from experience.<\/p>\n<p>Someone writing from experience can pinpoint challenges and obstacles. They will identify nuances and spot specifics. They will have strong opinions. They will be able to provide evidence.<\/p>\n<p>In short: They are believable.<\/p>\n<p>If you want to be believable, you need to have skin in the game and test things against reality.<\/p>\n<p>For example, I\u2019ve done several guest posts myself. That\u2019s how I could offer plenty of unique tips when I wrote <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/guest-blogging\/\">my post on guest blogging<\/a>. I even presented plenty of evidence of my guest posts, my interactions with publishers, and\u00a0more.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, one of the blogs I wrote for even broke down my pitch email to them\u2014evidence that I knew what I was talking about:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"\/>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" style=\"\"><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\"\/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style=\"\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"Good writing is mostly organizing\" data-section=\"good-writing-is-mostly-organizing\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-170769-_jk2efn8w01x3\"\/>Good writing is mostly organizing<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>I once heard bestselling author Ramit Sethi say that he spent 80% of his book-writing time on the table of contents.<\/p>\n<p>I believe him. Because I struggle the most trying to organize each article I write. Case in point: I took way too long trying to come up with the best \u201carchitecture\u201d for this post. Eventually, I settled on\u00a0this.<\/p>\n<p>But once I\u2019m satisfied with the structure, the writing just\u00a0flows.<\/p>\n<p>Searchers are sick of every blog post being the length of a Tolstoy book. They don\u2019t want to see content with the typical \u201cSEO\u201d stuff: <em>what is X<\/em> and<em> why is X important<\/em>. They can get those answers from AI\u00a0now.<\/p>\n<p>If you want your content to stand out and be unique in this new world of generative AI, you need to break out of the mindset of being an\u00a0SEO.<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t simply copy what the top-ranking pages are writing about or fill content gaps. Think about how you can add, improve, or reframe the conversation around the topic you\u2019re writing about.<\/p>\n<p>For example, our <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/long-tail-keywords\/\">post on long-tail keywords<\/a> tried to correct the misconception that long-tail keywords are long (i.e., 3+ words) keywords. In reality, they are long-tail due to their position on the search demand curve.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-resized\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1228\" height=\"430\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/our-definition-of-long-tail-keywords.png\" alt=\"Our definition of long-tail keywords\" class=\"wp-image-170774\" style=\"width:545px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/our-definition-of-long-tail-keywords.png 1228w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/our-definition-of-long-tail-keywords-680x238.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/our-definition-of-long-tail-keywords-768x269.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1228px) 100vw, 1228px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1228\" height=\"430\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/our-definition-of-long-tail-keywords.png\" alt=\"Our definition of long-tail keywords\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-170774\" style=\"width:545px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/our-definition-of-long-tail-keywords.png 1228w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/our-definition-of-long-tail-keywords-680x238.png 680w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/our-definition-of-long-tail-keywords-768x269.png 768w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 1228px) 100vw, 1228px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>It\u2019s a similar story for my <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/seo-campaign\/\">post on creating an SEO campaign<\/a>. Most guides on that topic were simply a masquerade for another \u201cbeginner\u2019s guide to SEO.\u201d I tried to focus specifically on what a \u201ccampaign\u201d was and the three major steps to setting one\u00a0up.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" style=\"\"><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\"\/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style=\"\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"You can always use fewer\u00a0words\" data-section=\"you-can-always-use-fewer\u00a0words\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-170769-_dkqo4g1mr9n\"\/>You can always use fewer\u00a0words<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>My first few posts on the Ahrefs blog were long. Too long, in fact. They were rambly and meandering. This was partly because I believed that long = good. <a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/skyscraper-technique\/\">Skyscraper<\/a>, right?<\/p>\n<p>But the truth is, I was wasteful\u2014I used too many words to say something. Nobody wants to slog through 5,000 words to learn something. As author Morgan Housel says, \u201cWriting is an efficiency game. Whoever says the most stuff in the fewest words\u00a0wins.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>These days, I try to keep my posts as short as possible. I\u2019ve even seen 20-30% decreases in length after rewrites. As a writer, you have to be ruthless and cut out sections that don\u2019t\u00a0work.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" style=\"\"><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\"\/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style=\"\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"Stop focusing on silly details\" data-section=\"stop-focusing-on-silly-details\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-170769-_zgvljhuh0me1\"\/>Stop focusing on silly details<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>I got so many questions during the AMA about how long I take to write each blog post and the average length. Some even wanted to know the breakdown of each section (researching, writing, editing).<\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t think I gave great answers because I\u2019ve never tracked that. And I\u2019m not sure my answers would even be helpful anyway.<\/p>\n<p>So what if I took two hours to write a blog post? Does that mean you\u2019re better or worse than me if you took more or less time? I don\u2019t think so\u2014and frankly, I don\u2019t see how that improves my work as a content writer or marketer.<\/p>\n<p>Details <strong>do <\/strong>matter. But not all details are made equal. Accuracy, uniqueness, word choice, and phrasing are important. Not article length or how much time someone took.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-nav-link clearfix\" id=\"section1\"><a class=\"subhead-anchor\" data-tip=\"tooltip__copielink\" rel=\"#section1\"><svg width=\"19\" height=\"19\" viewbox=\"0 0 14 14\" style=\"\"><g fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><path d=\"M0 0h14v14H0z\"\/><path d=\"M7.45 9.887l-1.62 1.621c-.92.92-2.418.92-3.338 0a2.364 2.364 0 0 1 0-3.339l1.62-1.62-1.273-1.272-1.62 1.62a4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.885 5.884l1.62-1.62L7.45 9.886zM5.527 5.135L7.17 3.492c.92-.92 2.418-.92 3.339 0 .92.92.92 2.418 0 3.339L8.866 8.473l1.272 1.273 1.644-1.643A4.161 4.161 0 1 0 5.897 2.22L4.254 3.863l1.272 1.272zm-.66 3.998a.749.749 0 0 1 0-1.06l2.208-2.206a.749.749 0 1 1 1.06 1.06L5.928 9.133a.75.75 0 0 1-1.061 0z\" style=\"\"\/><\/g><\/svg><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"link-text\" data-anchor=\"Peer review is underrated\" data-section=\"peer-review-is-underrated\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-170769-_p76a0y1bewqs\"\/>Peer review is underrated<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>I don\u2019t think I could have created my best content without peer feedback. It\u2019s one of the best things we introduced into our content marketing workflow. Knowing that someone will point out and challenge you on the inaccuracies, logical loopholes, phrasing, and more <em>really<\/em> makes your work better.<\/p>\n<p>Case in point: my first draft of this very post. I wrote about one more lesson, but Joshua\u2019s feedback was that it was convoluted and confusing.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-resized\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"682\" height=\"510\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/joshuas-comment-on-my-recent-draft.png\" alt=\"Joshua's comment on my recent draft\" class=\"wp-image-170775\" style=\"width:439px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/joshuas-comment-on-my-recent-draft.png 682w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/joshuas-comment-on-my-recent-draft-568x425.png 568w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 682px) 100vw, 682px\"\/><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"682\" height=\"510\" src=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/joshuas-comment-on-my-recent-draft.png\" alt=\"Joshua's comment on my recent draft\" class=\"lazyload wp-image-170775\" style=\"width:439px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/joshuas-comment-on-my-recent-draft.png 682w, https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/joshuas-comment-on-my-recent-draft-568x425.png 568w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 682px) 100vw, 682px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>It was hard to hear, but I agreed. So, I removed the\u00a0point.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a id=\"post-170769-_4560cn1h0urh\"\/>Final thoughts<\/h2>\n<p>Some people asked me how they can be good at writing. I\u2019m not sure I have the best advice here, because I\u2019m far from being good. But I believe one thing: If you want to be good, you must aim to be prolific.<\/p>\n<p>100 seems a lot, but I\u2019m just getting started. There\u2019s more to explore, more to learn, and more to improve. I\u2019ll aim to write 200, then 300, maybe even a thousand.<\/p>\n<p>If you want to improve your writing and content marketing, why not <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/siquanong\">join me on the same journey<\/a> to write 100 and\u00a0more?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/ahrefs.com\/blog\/100-blog-posts\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I\u2019ve finally hit the milestone: 100 blog posts for the Ahrefs blog. So, I decided to reflect on my journey. I did two Ask Me Anything (AMA) sessions to see what people wanted to know: one on Twitter X and another on LinkedIn. I was pleasantly surprised that so many people were interested, so thank [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2435,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2434","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-seo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2434","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2434"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2434\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2435"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2434"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2434"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ewebtoolz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2434"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}