Blogging is a dynamic industry that changes from year to year. What’s popular and trending one year may be gone the next. This is why it’s important for bloggers to familiarize themselves with the latest trends.
1) Video
It should come as little-to-no surprise that video is gaining grounds in the blogging industry. Bloggers can diversify their content while creating a more attractive blog by adding videos to it. In the past, slow Internet speeds and sub-par computer hardware restricted users’ ability to watch videos. But this isn’t an issue now, as Internet users can enjoy seamless videos without interruption. Furthermore, adding videos to blog posts is as easy as grabbing the iframe code from YouTube and pasting it into your blog’s HTML.
2) Minimalism
Another trend that we’ll likely see more of in the months and years to come is a focus on minimalism. Stripping away unnecessary elements like pop-ups, Flash animation, autoplay audio, etc. creates a simpler and more enjoyable experience for the end user. Some bloggers may still feel the need to dress up their blogs with fancy graphics and elements, but there’s a growing trend toward minimalism in the blogging industry.
3) User Engagement
What is user engagement and how is it trending in the blogging industry? User engagement is exactly what it sounds like: engagement between a visitor and the blog. The most common form of user engagement is commenting, in which a visitor submits a comment on a blog post or article. Many bloggers disable commenting on their blogs, fearing it will attract spam. While you can expect to find some unsolicited comments, there will also be real comments made from actual human visitors, which benefits the blog by adding new content to it. This has prompted many bloggers to focus on user engagement, enabling visitor commenting in an effort to create a stronger connection with their user base.
4) Quality Over Quantity
When it comes to blogging, it’s better to focus on quality over quantity. We’ve seen several major bloggers adjust their strategy to align with this belief. Rather than publishing half a dozen or more posts in a week, for instance, they may publish just two or three. These posts are generally longer and of higher quality, however, making it a more effective strategy for blogging. With Google continuing to stress the importance of high-quality content, this is a trend that will likely continue in the months and years to come.
5) Goodbye Guest Posts
Guest blogging was once viewed as a leading SEO strategy, allowing webmasters to generate backlinks by submitting articles to other blogs. While guest blogging is still an effective way to attract new visitors, its SEO value has since been diminished. For this reason, it’s safe to assume that guest blogging will slowly be weeded out, as bloggers seek to disassociate themselves with this outdated practice.
What trends do you predict for the future of blogging? Let us know in the comments section below!
Content will prevail over quantity for sure. It amazes me when people fail to understand this basic task. If you’re not providing a solution, entertainment or something advantageous to your readers, there is not point in them visiting your blog.
My prediction for success is content originality. The internet is now saturated with blogs, many of which contain redundant information. As more people join the blogging market, this will only get worse.
Shane, I think that’s a very accurate thought. I see so many blogs that are similar to others I’ve read. It’s important to find something to make yours stand out.