Increasing Traffic
Before I get into the innumerable ways to increase traffic to your blog, it’s vital to note that you shouldn’t try to expand your platform if your site isn’t ready yet.
Always keep in mind that only great content can result in long-term traffic increase. Having someone read your site once is one thing; having them return again and again is quite another, which is why great content is a must if you want to make money from your blog.
Here are some tried-and-true methods for increasing blog traffic:
Word-of-mouth marketing
Word of mouth is a terrific way to get people to read your blog – you tell your friends about it, and they tell their family and friends, and so on, until your list of readers grows – assuming your content is worth reading.
Spend some time preparing your elevator pitch before you start talking to people about your site. This is a 30-second summary of your blog’s topic and how readers will benefit from it. Once you’ve perfected your pitch, practice, hone, and own it.
Here are some suggestions for increasing your blog’s word-of-mouth exposure:
When you publish a new blog post, why not send a brief reminder to everyone in your address book?
Every time you publish a new blog post, share it on Facebook with a remark and get comments from family and friends.
Print a cheap bumper sticker with your website address; this is how a lot of people will learn about your blog and start reading it.
Request that people you know and trust help spread the news – you can do this in person or by including a link at the bottom of each blog post.
Remember that most first-time bloggers are self-conscious about advertising their site and soliciting criticism. This is quite natural and should not deter you from assisting. At first, your pals may make fun of you. Again, don’t be discouraged by this; just keep going and advertising it as if it were any other business.
Leaving Comments on Other People’s Blogs
You may have heard about the practice of anonymously commenting on other, larger blogs in order to increase traffic.
Well, here’s the deal: Although most bloggers enjoy receiving comments, it’s crucial to remember that they despise spammers. You simply CANNOT scam the traffic that these seasoned bloggers have worked so hard to build.
A better method is to read the blogs that interest you, especially those that you believe have a lot of crossover traffic, and only post insightful comments with your blog URL if you truly have something to say. This means that your remarks must be honest and come from the heart. If your comments are genuine and informative, they may encourage other blog readers to contact you through your blog.
Other blogs should be promoted.
This pay it forward technique might work wonders for your own site if you already have a solid database of readers.
Linking back to another blogger whose post inspired one of yours is an easy way to promote another blogger. Most blogs include trackbacks on their blog posts, which means that if you link to someone’s blog, they will receive an immediate notification. Now, I can’t speak for others, but everytime I get an alert like this, I immediately go to the blog of the person who linked me. And it is human psychology at work; most people do it unconsciously!
Remember that the more time you devote to creating other people’s blogs without expecting anything in return, the more it will come back to you in a variety of ways.
Collaboration
Your blogging business can benefit from networking. You have the opportunity to build your blog as well as form true friendships. I feel compelled to point out that truly genuine friendships come first. If you create friends with the goal of expanding your business, your friends will be able to see right through you.
Blog conferences are the most effective way to meet other bloggers. This is a widely misunderstood industry, and I can’t express how wonderful it is to be surrounded by like-minded individuals that appreciate what you do for a livelihood.
Here are a few suggestions for your first networking event:
Make an effort to make new connections: Even though you’ll be tempted to attend every session to make up for the money you’ve spent, resist the temptation and, if possible, spend some time going out for coffee with a girl you met at breakfast or taking a short nap because you were up all night chatting with your roommate, who has now become your friend.
Find a roommate: Most blogging conferences offer a Facebook group with a roommate connection thread; take use of this to find a roommate. Even if you and your roommate do not become instant best friends, knowing at least one person in the group provides a sense of security.
Listen more than you speak:
Listening is the most effective technique to learn; ask as many questions as you can and listen to the answers as honestly as possible. God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason.
Listening and being truly engaged in the topic is a gift you can give to others at the conference, and it will help you make genuine friends in the process. You’ll be astounded at how much you’ll learn as a result of this.
Participate in meaningful discussions:
Consider meeting someone new and simply handing out your business card. What a snoozer!
Focus on genuine discussion rather than card-swapping. I don’t even keep business cards from folks with whom I haven’t had a good interaction. If you don’t know what to say and are really interested in creating a relationship, ask a question.
Don’t lose sight of your newfound friendship:
If you have the opportunity to form genuine friendships and are fortunate enough to meet someone as amazing as you are, don’t allow the friendship fade away after the conference. Start reading their blogs, responding to their comments, and connecting on Facebook to develop the relationship.
Post by a guest author
Guest posts, when done correctly, have the ability to attract a lot of attention to your own blog. The key to a great guest post is to create something so good that your host’s visitors are drawn to your site to read more of what you have to say. If you want to guest post on other websites, be sure you follow the criteria and always submit original content. Also, since this isn’t ‘your’ audience, don’t try to be overly familiar. You’re writing for a different audience. Submit your best work and avoid being self-promotional in your posts.
Create an email list.
When you want to reach out to an audience that can be converted into a sales funnel that you can utilize to sell your expensive courses or physical things, building an email list model is incredibly effective. For Internet marketers, this technique is incredibly effective. This concept, however, can backfire for stay-at-home moms, as most of them will never be interested in purchasing a $450 course.
Having said that, I continue to believe that cultivating an email list is critical. You may stay in touch with your audience by sending out newsletters and informing them about upcoming ebooks and courses. I personally use Aweber to grow my list, but I’ve heard great things about MailChimp as well.
Remember to put the Subscribe button in a prominent location on your blog as you build your email list. Make some great freebies for your subscribers – these might be anything from recipe books to goal-setting and time-management guidelines – just make sure they’re useful.
Always use social media to publicize the reward you’re offering.
Recognize the importance of search engine optimization.
Remember to develop material that is SEO-friendly as you develop it. It’s important to remember that Google’s sole purpose is to provide the best possible results for a given search. The highly complex Google algorithm considers everything from the page’s content to the amount of time visitors spent on the page. Another thing to keep in mind is that Google cannot be deceived through SEO. Here are some things to keep in mind while writing a blog article that is optimized for search engines.
When you open a web page, the title tag refers to the words that appear at the very top of your browser window. The title of your post is usually the default title page. It can, however, be improved; keep in mind that you may edit the title tag and make it as lengthy as you like, but Google only reads the first 70 characters. As a result, you should concentrate on the first 70 characters.
The first 150 words of your post are used as the default meta description. You can also edit it; it aids Google in determining the topic of your post.
Keywords in the meta description
The search phrases you’d like to have connected with your post are known as meta keywords. In browsers like Yahoo or Bing, they’re more useful.
Recognizing the value of social media
You’re undoubtedly familiar with Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Google+, StumbleUpon, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Reddit, and other social networking platforms.
Now, here’s the thing: I don’t want you to use all of these options. In truth, the vast majority of social media is a waste of time. Because you’re running a business with your blog, your time spent on social media should be measured in terms of return on investment. You might have a million or more Twitter followers. However, if none of them convert into readers, then there’s no point!
You should work on expanding your presence on platforms where your target audience hangs out. Facebook or Pinterest, for example, would be an ideal social media site for blogs aimed towards women aged 25 to 55. LinkedIn is the best social media network for a blog that focuses on entrepreneurs or job seekers between the ages of 25 and 40.
Determine where your target audience is and make advantage of that platform; you want people to return to your blog to learn about what you have to offer.
As you work to increase your following, keep in mind that quality always takes precedence over quantity. While having over 1 million followers may appear appealing, I am confident that the majority of them will be disengaged. It is preferable to have roughly 10,000 actively engaged followers.
Make careful to use your blog name as your Pinterest and Facebook names when creating your Pinterest and Facebook pages. Include your blog link so you may join as many collaborative boys as possible, and be active by pinning relevant information to various boards. On Facebook, you can join the Pinterest collaborative boards.
Now it’s time to put this chapter into action:
Begin talking to your relatives and friends about your blog. Print some business cards and come up with an elevator pitch. Make it a habit to practice it at least once a day and to own it!
Read other people’s blogs and leave comments on them.
By showcasing their post or linking to a blog post that you enjoy, you can help other bloggers.
Attend blog conferences to meet other bloggers, network, and make new friends.
Create a reward for those who join your email list. It may be anything from a free book or course to an actual object that they may get when they make a purchase.
Optimize your website and each blog post you produce, but avoid spamming your visitors with a long list of keywords.
Do not concentrate on every single social media channel available. Instead, concentrate on the platforms that will bring you the most readers.
Before you invest in a paid Facebook ad, be sure you know what you want to achieve.
Make an effort to convert new visitors to regular blog readers.
