I recently wrote a post on reasons why a blog is not updated regularly and why so many blogs are abandoned. The beauty of a blog is in its regular update.
That is, unlike a static website, a blog brings in new content regularly. That is why search engines love blogs. When there is new content, the bots have food to eat and they visit the blog as often as it is updated.
As you can see, in my earlier post, I have used the word “regularly” instead of saying weekly, or daily.
There are two reasons why I used the word regularly:
1. I wanted to insist that a blog indeed needs to be updated regularly and if it is not done, one should find out why.
2. The word “regularly” is generic and could replace “daily”, “weekly”, “three times a week” and so on. I will explain this point a bit more in detail below.
Okay I am insisting here that a blog needs to be updated by giving a crude word “regularly”. I am leaving it as such because it takes different meanings for different people. Some bloggers post twice a day, some post once a day, some post once in two days, three times a week, 8 times per month, and so on.
The word ‘regularly’ does not precisely define a time scale and that’s why I put that word. You have to fill the right word that should come in place of the “regularly”. This word should be the word that defines a frequency which is convenient for you.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a full time or a part time blogger, you have lots of stuff on your plate. Blogging not only includes writing blog posts, but also involves networking, commenting on other blogs, writing guest posts, promoting recent and old blog posts, writing newsletters, working on products out of the blog and so on.
This is totally about me. There can be others who can put in still more time and effort to generate content daily in spite of working full time. So it all depends on the individual.
Finding the right frequency
Many bloggers leave their blog un-updated because they just couldn’t find out the right frequency to update their blogs. They start with a wrong frequency and then struggle to keep up with it.
Here is how to do it when you start out:
1. Make sure you have at least 10 high quality articles ready to be published even before you launch a blog.
2. Naturally, once you are close to launching the blog, you will have very limited time to concentrate on producing content; you will be busy with the theme, design, setting up certain things, submitting blog to search engines and so on. So your 10 articles will keep you running at this time for a while.
3. After the launch you must start with a very low posting frequency say, once a week. Then on you can slowly increase if you think that you can write more blog posts. Otherwise you can simply stick to what you started with.
4. The key is to stick to the frequency you are comfortable with.
The bottom line is, there is no universal optimal frequency and there is no universal rule telling you to update your blog at a particular frequency. But updating your blog “regularly” is the key, whatever be the update frequency.
I got into writing this post because not only to keep your blog alive, updating your blog regularly also counts towards SEO, so you must take it seriously.
A blog that is updated everyday is fresh and is search engine friendly. Bots love to crawl such sites with fresh content. And one post a day makes a lot of content; so that there is plenty to look for. Such a blog is attractive to readers so that they can come back for something new quite often.
But what if you don’t have the quality content to post everyday and you force yourself to stick to this rule? That will give a pathetic blog to the web and I am sure such a blog will die eventually.
I here exclude those who can write quality content everyday; this depends on various factors: Time to write, ability and motivation to write and so on. And if you have more than one authors on your blog or if you accept guest posts, it is a different story.
So don’t kill yourself.
Find the right blog update frequency that suits you and stick to it. People will love you and so will the bots.
Let me know what you think in the comments below.
Always prefer quality over quantity. Even though if a blog has over 1000 posts, if they lack quality the blog is not going to impress the readers.
My advise is to choose a schedule (need not be daily) and stick to it. After certain time, even your readers will know what and when to expect content from your blog.
Krishna is right. There are no hard and fast rules about posting frequency. It depends on the theme of the blog and your target market. As mentioned, consistency is the key. If you are going to post once a week make sure you keep to this.
Hi Krishna and NRI,
Thanks for your comments. Glad that our frequencies commensurate.
Cheers,
Jane.
Search engines love quality content. Content which is relevant to your keywords will be picked up search engines quickly and others will be ignored. So it is important to write posts which are related to the topic of your blog and not just junk. Also remember not to write posts in a regular pattern i.e. if you are updating your blog daily, change it for 1-2 weeks, skip one or two days and then update. If you write posts in a continuous manner, there are chances that search engines might consider it as spam.
Hi Prasanna,
Thanks for your comment. But it seems that you have some wrong notion. Search engines won’t consider you to be spam if you update your blog in a continuous manner. Of course your content should be unique and of good quality.
As far as you don’t run an autoblog or scrap other’s content, you should be fine.
Cheers,
Jane.
Super-Duper site! I am loving it!! Will come back again - taking you feeds also, Thanks.
lovely post. Gives a good insight to bloggers like me. Just started blogging 6 months back.
Just like you mentioned, I started at a much slower pace, but been picking up by the month. My hits have increased linearly and I am now posting at a comfortable pace and happy to do so.
Having joined Indiblogger, now I allot some of my internet time daily to read Indivine posts and that is exactly why I am here right now commenting on yours.
Adding you to my network!
Hi Varun,
It seems that you are going in the right direction. You started at a slow pace, you read others’ contents. That’s good.
Cheers,
Jane.
One way to always stay ahead is to write more posts when you have free time like on a weekend. And schedule your posts for later during the week. So you get more spare time during the week for possibly more ideas for your blogs while your posts are automatically added to your blog.
Hi Ganu,
Yes. It happens to me some days that I am on a writing spree and boom, write about 5-6 articles. And then there are days where I cannot even write one article. So it is always good to make the most use of the outcome.
Cheers,
Jane.
Hi Jane,
Had to read your take on this topic. Many people have their own “take” on the matter. It seems to me that as your blog progresses with time, and you have to respond to others (comments), research your topic, etc., these things will mold your schedule over time. Sometimes when it is time to post, you really feel like throwing the PC out the window though!
Bryan
Hi Bryan,
Ha ha, don’t throw your PC yet. Ya I completely understand that feel. I open up a tab with my draft and before I finish commenting, networking, tweeting, reading other blogs and get back to that draft it will be 2 am.
Thanks for stopping by.
Cheers,
Jane.
Hi, Jane.
Regularity is a very weird notion. For some blogs (i met some) regular means once a month or once a week. Blogger prepare the material in advance and just schedule the time for publishing.
Others prefer ‘regularity’ like twice a day or every day. Why not? If you have time, ideas and desire.
For me, blogging is a part time activity and I post in my blog when I have something to share - no definite regularity.
Hi Anna,
I completely understand. I too am a part time blogger. It depends on your blogging goal. If you are blogging for fun or personal satisfaction, you can post at your convenience. But if you are doing it as a business and if you have a group of people regularly reading your blog, I think that it is a commitment to update the blog at a regular frequency.
It is all suggested best practice; but remember there are no rules in the blogosphere. It is your blog your rules. I have written a guest post on that:
http://comluv.com/guest-bloggers/3-traditional-blogging-rules-i-broke-for-good/
Cheers,
Jane.
Jane, aloha. Like you, I think it is important to post regularly. If a blogger does not post on a regular and consistent basis, readers will evaporate. People forget to go back to blogs if they are not updated regularly. Not everyone likes to subscribe by RSS or e-mail so it is frustrating to go to a blog only to find out it has not been updated.
In terms of what’s the right frequency, it is strictly up to each individual as long as they are consistent. Also, of course, it depends on what the purpose is of the blog. If they are sharing personal reflections and family outings, frequency is not so important.
However, if they want to make money from their blog or be perceived as a professional, then they definitely must post at a minimum of once a week.
That’s good advice, Jane, to have the articles ready ahead of time. If people cannot come up with 10 articles when they are starting their blog, either they have not selected the right nice or blogging is not for them.
As always, Jane, I appreciate the clarity of your actionable steps. Aloha. Janet
Hey Janet,
Thanks for the valuable comment as always. I am glad that you like the idea of having posts ahead of time. I think it gives the blogger some window to breathe while concentrating on other important things simultaneously.
Cheers,
Jane.
I use 3 times a week posting frequency when just start a blog since as you said, I need to do a lot of other work such as design and SEO when just starting. And after I am not that busy again, I will add the frequency become 5 times a week.
Hi Dana,
3 times a week is a great posting frequency. Many of my successful fellow bloggers are on that frequency. I am on 3 times a week but when some important announcements or timely posts have to be made, I increase that to 5. Your “other” works are as equally as important as writing blog posts.
Cheers,
Jane.
Well I think updating blog on daily basis or weekly basis is important for those people who blog for money making . But if you are an expert then whenever you blog an article and audience will be there . I know many top blogger which don’t update on regular basis but whenever they update a new content , all reader are either shocked or amazed by new information from them . Its all about the quality you publishing on your blog .
Hi Atul,
You are very right. Quality is what matters in the end. As far as you stick to a regular schedule, you don’t have to worry about the quantity of posts you publish.
Cheers,
Jane.
I guess 3 times/week is perfect frequency for updating your blog.
And if you 2 times a day then that is just for sake of traffic, because can not create quality material for visitors 2 times a day.
Because its hard to create once a day (regardless of guest articles)
Hi Usman,
Thanks for telling your view on the topic. 3 posts per week works fine for many bloggers. But updating multiple times is also possible for multi-author blogs. For instance Mashable is updated multiple times a day and they have a quite-sized team.
Cheers,
Jane.
Hi Jane,
This is something I have struggled with. I work a full time 9-5 job as well as a 5-9 job plus I have a family to spend time with so it can be tough sometimes to find the right kind of balance with blog posting.
I’m starting to blog more frequently now. I was going down the path of creating monster blog posts say once per month but I figured that people, like me, are busy and don’t want to read a 3000 word beast. I’ve started writing 600 word posts which is easier for me and hopefully easier to read. Some posts will always require greater detail so I wont stop writing the monster posts entirely.
I’ve also started a new ‘series’ based post which allows me to break it up into parts which should be interesting although I’m not sure how often to update that, perhaps weekly.
Hi Geek,
When it comes to working and blogging part time, you are just like me. I know, you cannot keep writing killer and pillar posts everyday. They occur once in a while. Series posts are excellent and they help in gaining loyal readership.
BTW like your commentluv link on Fiverr.
Cheers,
Jane.
Hi Jane,
I agree that successful blogging is much more than just putting out content. Networking with other bloggers is essential, and you have to make sure your content is high quality from which others will derive some value.
Posting regularly can be challenging. I find being a member of a tribe helps a lot in this area.
Hi Gregory,
Exactly. It is quite true that being a member of a tribe gives the necessary motivation to post regularly. It comes from the fact that a mob is watching you and following you closely
Cheers,
Jane.
Hey Jane,
Blog update frequency. It makes a whole lot of sense to post “regularly,” the perfect word to use to set up a post frequency that is right for you. But every blogger has to keep in mind of those search engine bots love frequent post. Therefore, we should not let the broadness of that word to put a lazy factor in our posting schedule, non of us want our blog to die.
Hi Tisha,
Ya the lazy factor is what breaks the regularity. That is why we should create some push that keeps us committed to the regular schedule.
Cheers,
Jane.
Hi Jane,
thanks for sharing your insights. Most people underestimate the fact that blogging isn’t only about blogging - it’s also about promoting it and networking with other bloggers. Without these two activities a blog is dead no matter how often we blog.
Take care
Oliver
Hi Oliver,
Very true. Without promotion and networking there is no use in producing content. I would say there is no use in blogging altogether.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Cheers,
Jane.
Good points Jane.
I like #4 - Stick with the frequency you are comfortable with. There’s no point in struggling to rush out posts which are incomplete or of inferior quality, or writing solely for the sake of fulfilling a pre-determined quota.
But setting a realistic rhythm which suits you and sticking to it is a good idea. I’ve experimented with once a week, 5 times a week, regular and irregular and here’s some things I noticed from increased and regular posting:
1 - Your Traffic increases
2 - Subscriptions and Comments Increase
3 - You get better at creating high quality posts (because you’re writing more)
4 - It improves your SEO (as you noted)
Thanks for this post, it’s an important topic for bloggers to consider!
All the best,
Jym
Hey Jym,
Thanks for the wonderful additions. It is great that you have done a lot of experimenting. After posting everyday, I finally came to a conclusion to do 3 posts a week. If I have guest posts or timely posts, I do more per week.
Cheers,
Jane.
Hi Jane - You are so right! Do not kill yourself; find what works for you so long as it is regular.
If there is a plan, staying regular should only be a matter of finding the time to write/present the content. However, and I have had this happen to me more than once or twice, when there is not a plan, that’s when the “block” sets in and the tendency is to just stop blogging til it goes away. A plan helps break that.
Cheers,
Tia
Hey Tia,
Good to have you here. And that is a good note- “when there is no plan a ‘block’ sets in” - quite true. A blogging plan is essential to give us the kick, break the ice and to keep us moving.
Thanks for your wonderful comment.
Cheers,
Jane.
During the early stages of blogging we can just stick with the frequency that we are comfortable with but once we decide to take blogging as a career then its a must to update the blog regularly.
In my blog I want to post some content everyday but it’s hard for me to do.
Hi Mukund,
Producing content everyday will really be squeezing especially when starting out. But you can still cope up; it depends on your ability to produce content and the time constraints you are having.
If you open up guest posting opportunities in your blog and contact other bloggers in your niche to write for you, you could fill up the gaps.
But it really isn’t that important that you produce content everyday!
Cheers,
Jane.
Jane,
It’s true we should be consistent with our site updating. Even if it’s consistently once per week it’s important not to break routine. If we do so even once, it’s even easier to skip out on the next due date.
I’m a fan of quality. If a site owner only posts one mega-post per week; then I’ll be patient. If the one post they publish is a phoned-in mess, forget it.
So, I agree with many comments in this thread. Quality first, quantity second. And your point about having your own comfort level is important. Don’t over-commit and under-deliver
Thanks!
Jon
Hi Jon,
You got my point. I would basically aim at over-delivering in every post of mine. So if I have to make my readers wait for 1 week to give one quality piece, I will have peace of mind.
Cheers,
Jane.
Interesting Post.
It is very important that one should update the blog regularly but i think it’s more about quality then quantity. For Example - Glen Allsop doesn’t update his daily instead he write quality articles in a week or 2 and those go viral, each post get 100+ tweets. So I think it is more about quality then quantity.
Thanks for sharing.
Hi Devesh,
Thanks for supporting my point with an example - Glen. Oh ya, his posts just go viral. It is all about the quality, and as long as your readers know when to expect a post, they should be fine.
Cheers,
Jane.
Hi Jane,
As you rightly say, how often one posts to one’s blog depends on one’s goals but at least three times a week equals regular for me.
Also whatever one decides one has to stick with it. I also think it’s worth announcing to your readers when you are going to change the frequency for whatever reason.
~Marcus
~
~
Hey Marcus,
Ya that’s a good point. Announcing the readers about our schedule makes them expect correctly and makes blog owners to stick to their schedule.
Cheers,
Jane.
HI Jane, I read this post the other day and neglected to comment. Thankfully I leave tabs open!!
I agree that blogging regularly is very important. You would not believe how my alexa has dropped in just a few weeks.
I have to admit, although I currently blog every day, I will have to cut back a bit after the ProveIt challenge is over next Friday. I’m thinking 4 days per week!
I agree with Oliver too… that Networking and socializing is very important… but more than that, I cannot believe how much I have learned since mingling with others. It has been a huge blessing!
Hi Jane,
Updating your blog regularly is very important. For example, I try and write 2 or 3 new posts a week and doing this has raised my alexa rankings steadily for the past few months, but last week I didn’t write any new posts. To my surprise, my alexa ranking started going the wrong way, not good.
I then put up 2 new posts in 2 days and now my ranking has started moving in the right direction again, phew!
This just shows you how important it is to keep posting new content “regularly” however often that may be for you.
Thanks for sharing Jane and have a great day!
Hi Jane,
To me, there are two times it’s really important for newbies to receive advice about blogging: before they write their first blog and during the initial phase of learning. As an example finding a good host site and and selecting a domain name. These decisions are so much easier if made BEFORE you begin blogging.
I like your advice to have multiple blogs written and ready to go before you start because once you begin your time will be tugged at from many different directions.
Riley
I am running a tech news blog, so I need update it daily.
I am a new blogger and I find it very difficult to find the right schedule. You could say that I am a full time blogger, as I have “nothing better to do”, but I am very aware of the fact, that I need to provide quality content. On the other hand, I feel the itch to post a lot, so I am torn between getting a lot of content online and delivering quality at the same time.
Jane,
Finally, someone who puts this all into perspective. In the last three days, I have read umteen posts by “professional” bloggers on how often you should write. Most of them recommend posting daily for the best SEO. However, that isn’t always what’s best for each person.
My experience is that people are busy. When they visit my blog, they only comment on my most recent post and then move on to the next blog. Very few people go deeper into a blog to see your previous articles. If I have a post that I really, really want people to read, I have to let it sit for any number of days before putting up a new one, otherwise when they visit, they miss it because now they’re seeing the new post and not the one before it. The more frequently I post, the less comments I get per post. I’m looking for exposure on my posts, not quantity.
Posting daily isn’t what’s right for me. I think that each person has to find what’s best for them and their goals. Seeing you use the word “regularly” really puts this issue to rest for me.
Thanks for putting everything into perspective. Perhaps all those other “professional” bloggers should read your article.
Matty
I try to schedule my blog posts, but if it happens that I don’t have anything to write about than I don’t write. I myself like to read good blog posts, so I want to provide my readers with the same.
Regular, quality posts are the key of succes. Content is king!
Well, it totally depends on the niche….I usually update my tech blog daily but only twice or thrice my music blog in a week
Hi Jane,
you are absolutely right saying that the content is the food for google and also your visitors need fresh content as well. To solve that ther is a feature called schedueling the posts, which you can use pre-loading your articles. Besides, you can outsourse the posting as well.
Regards. George
In my opinion, if you’re blogging for business then it’s really necessary to write quality content that gives valuable information to your readers. You should consider both quality and quantity. Nowadays, blogs are frequently updated due to the Google Panda update. If you want to stay ahead in the game, then motivate yourself to write articles and post them in your blog regularly. In my experience, 3 posts in a week should do fine if your keywords are in low to medium competition.
I try to stick to a routine but this is becoming increasingly harder to find good content. I now blog at least once a week and I hope this is enough.
ED says
Creating quality post is a must for every blogger. Foir older blogs, I try to update them at least once a week, for the newer blogs, a must is 3 posts a week to get them more visitors.
Producing content on a regualr basis is a great way to build traffic to your blog and to maintain a healthy readership.
The more content you produce the happier your readers will be and the more visitors search engines will send you. You then have to convert the search engine visitors to regular readers. If you are doing everything right and creating great content this should be easy.
And regularly was definately the right word to use. With blogging there is no one size fits all. Especially when it comes to post frequency. I try to blog as often as I can but I struggle with a schedule due to other commitments. I do however advocate using a schedule if you can. It did work for me when I was able to stick to it on one of my older blogs.
Well I agree that the beauty of a blog is in its regular update.. I have a Blog though, but seldom updated it.
Method generally would be to keep on writing more threads, once you have time ,like on a weekend or so. So you have more time through the full week pertaining to perhaps more suggestions on your websites whilst your current threads are usually instantly combined with your site.
Hi Jane,
I have my own blog but i don’t get free time to update on daily basis. I appreciate to you for putting efforts and taking care of tearing
Once a week for each of my blogs!
And sometimes I am late for some of these…I am very busy offline with my activities.
As you said, Jane, the important point is sticking with the frequency you feel comfortable with.
Thanks for sharing!
Hey there Jane -
When I first started blogging I use to do it everyday. I try now to do it twice a week. If I’m working on a major project even that may go down. I’ve let in go for two weeks but then my ranking suffers for it.
But no matter how often, it should be your best.
Thanks Jane and have a great day.
Donald
Hi Jane,
You know I am a nut
4-5 times daily posting here but I do not recommend this for everybody. Post as frequently as you can without compromising quality. Since my readers love my quality - at least they tell me this 
- I am all good. but find your sweet spot.
Feeling OK? I hope so!
Thanks for sharing!
Hi Jane,
I tend to agree with you on this for the most part. I think that there comes a point though when that which might be convenient for you might also be inconvenient for your audience. In the end, you are your own blogger and so you set the rules of the game.
Nonetheless, most would argue that what makes a blog a “blog” are the readers and their support for the content there. If the readers support the frequency of your posts then I would argue that you’re doing it right. Some (like Ryan Biddulph) can pull off several articles a day, but other blogs (that aren’t run by someone as awesome as Ryan) are simply not capable of doing well with this.
Very interesting post though and thanks for sharing!
Josh May
Ya, it’s true that it’s not easy to write blog posts initially when starting a new blog. I’m too an upcoming blogger and like your saying that ‘keep 10 posts ready even before you start a blog’. This was what I exactly did! Soon I shall gain a momentum to write 2-3 posts/week. And I like your way of writing- simple, clear and focused on the topic.
Hi Jane, I never miss reading your articles, as they are very informative and useful too. They give us great tips and knowledge about blogging. Yes, this is very true and I believe that we need to update our blogs regularly so our visitor get to read something new every day when they visit our site.
Totally agree with everything you’ve said. And by coincidence, I read this post immediately after reading bloggingedge.com/blog/working-out-your-blogging-schedule-how-much-is-too-much on the same topic :p They basically say the same stuff as you do. I don’t have time to blog daily but try to post at least once a week - I’ll try to post on the same day each week though moving forwards, so my readers know when to expect a new post.
Agreed with some points and disagreed with some - Whenever i am trying to launch the new blog i usually work for the search engine to get some traffic. After getting the traffic i started to write the content for real people. I usually post 1 article in a week just to update the blog.
Hey Jane,
You mentioned that writing more frequently is a positive point for SEO. That, I fully agree with you. It has a lot more positive phases - You get more traffic, more activities on your blog, more engagement, more business and more money.
For 1 month of posting daily on my new blog, I got really good stats. Though this is not in any way easy to keep up, it is worth the effort.
Thanks for posting and have a wonderful weekend
Informative post indeed! Well I think post consistency is really important to gain more user engagement and to get good traffic. If we can’t able to post regularly then scheduling post will be ultimate option.
Cheers!
Wonderful keys for posting the articles. I think consistency in posting is the most important thing in blogging. And finding the right frequency is thing which we need to find out.
The tips are really helpful.
Frequency doesn’t matter its the quality of the content that wins at last.So its better to post a good content weekly than posting less quality content daily.
Nice tips Jane, even people somehow confused in between regular word. This does not means that one should post daily but it suggest to maintain frequency that once follow. It could be daily, alternate day or weekly as you suggests. But one should follow those frequency. Nice to come again on your blog.
Jane, I love this one - blog when it is convenient for you - and choose quality over quantity. That is so important. I try to post at least 2x a week but sometimes life gets in the way and go 10 days in between. I don’t sweat it anymore. I’d rather have a great post than a weak one just to post for the sake of posting. Thanks for this post and clarifying what so many fail to do.
One of my blog has been inactive for few months. does this have seo impact on my blog and how can i bring it to life again? please help.thanks