Following a publication schedule can be as critical to your blog’s success as following the best web writing practices, recommended advertising approaches, and search engine optimization standards. Yet the question of how often you should update your blog can yield a variety of answers.

As you discuss the matter with your blog posting service, bear in mind that publishing as much and as often as possible is not necessarily the way to go.

Daily can be detrimental

Several years ago, industry experts believed that posting several times a week—and even daily—was essential to building audiences and search engine visibility. Their logic was clear: a blog constantly needs fresh content to attract and engage readers, as well as inform search engines that it is an active website.

While this holds true today, posting multiple times a week has been proven counterproductive to achieving goals like a dedicated readership. As SmartBlogger.com explains, publishing too frequently damages the following:

• Social proof. This refers to likes, comments, shares, and other signs that people endorse your blog. If new posts are continuously pushing down earlier ones from the top of your blog, there are fewer chances for each post to be read. Less exposure means less social proof. A blog with fewer endorsements is less likely to gain new followers.

• Reader engagement. Online readers are pressed for time. If they get updates every single day, they are also less likely to read every single post. This decreases the chances of them connecting with the meaningful content you share.

• Subscriber count. Ultimately, when readers get overwhelmed with updates, they may simply unfollow you.

Consistency beats frequency

By the new consensus, blogs don’t need to publish fresh content daily; they just have to do it regularly.

EntrepreneursUnstuck.com advises setting a schedule that enables you to produce valuable posts. This may involve posting twice a week or twice a month, every Wednesday or every 15th. The important thing is that readers know when to expect your new post, and that they get it when they’re supposed to. Anticipation helps build engagement; inactivity and inconsistency bring it down.

To cultivate loyal readership, Forbes.com recommends posting weekly:

Posting at least once a week is usually sufficient to establish a regular core of readers, and these readers are typically the ones who will form the core of your brand community. Without consistency, it’s difficult to build brand loyalty.

That said, Forbes notes it is sometimes necessary to publish more posts more often, in order to attract these core readers:

To use a fishing metaphor, it’s like casting more hooks into the water; the more you cast, the more fish you’ll catch.

Yet this comes with a caveat:

If the number of posts you make is like the number of hooks in the water, then the quality of your content is like the tastiness of the bait you use on your hook.

Consistency is key, but the quality of content is still king.

Always value quality over quantity

Ultimately, whether you update your blog once a month or once a day, you have to make that post count. Readers will embrace the occasional post if its quality makes the wait worthwhile. They can also appreciate frequent updates if these offer information that is timely and necessary.

So how often should you update your blog? Alongside your content marketer, endeavor to create a schedule that strikes a balance between frequency, consistency, and quality—eventually leading your blog to greater visibility.