One of my friends online asked me a few days ago “How do I increase traffic on my blog? How do I attract a good amount of loyal readers?” Although I am not the best person to ask about getting more traffic, I have been blogging for a while now. By blogging a lot, I learn a lot about how traffic comes to my site and all the different ways to attract more traffic. Today, I will share with you 5 of them.
1) Title your content well. I get almost all of my traffic from Google, so it is really important that people can find your content on search engines easily. In order to increase the likelihood of you site coming up on Google, you need to title your posts correctly. Try to think about what a searcher will search for on Google and put those keywords in your title. You also do not want to make posts that only make sense based on the current time. It has to be understandable no matter how long ago the post was written. Also, the most important thing is that the title is relevant. Your title has to be exactly what your post is about. This post’s title is, “5 Tips For Increasing Blog Traffic” because I am giving 5 tips for increasing blog traffic. I wouldn’t title it, “My experience with blog traffic” because no one would search that and it is not good at summarizing the content of the post. A person is much more likely to search “tips for increasing blog traffic” than “experience with blog traffic.” This is why titling you blog posts are so important. You need it to be relevant, catchy, straight to the point and time irrelevant.
2) Use forums and twitter and other social networks. When using these services always put a link to your blog for other people to click on. A good way to do this is to put the link in your signature on all of the forums you use. This way if any reader happens to glance and see a post of yours, they may just end up clicking on it. The more people that see your blog, the more you have a chance for loyal readers. You never know when someone may see your blog and like it. That is why you need to make it available for as many people possible. Whenever you meet someone new online, whether it be facebook, twitter or on a forum, give them the link to your blog. They are almost forced to check it out. Also a good tip is to go to forums that specialize on what you write about. The viewers will be much more likely to subscribe to your RSS feed if they like the topic you write about. For example, I love macs, so I go to the MacHeist Forums a lot and post my link whenever it is relevant. One thing though, do not spam. No one likes spammers…
3) Write well, spell check, and don’t be lazy! If you seem smart to your readers, they are much more likely to stay around. This is because smart people are attractive (no, not in that kind of way). People like smart people because they feel they can learn from them. If they read your posts finding spelling mistakes every 3 minutes, they are probably going to either leave or put up a nasty comment on your blog. You don’t want that kind of vibe hanging around your blog, so don’t be lazy and proofread. I have to say, I am lazy all the time and I do not proofread. This is a really bad habit of mine and it is something I am working on. If you see any spelling mistakes, please point them out to me. If you cannot help your laziness, you can always admit it to your readers, that way they will have more sympathy for you (hehe).
4) Digg almost everything you have. Even if it is not very relevant, Digg it. Every click you can get is worth it and you never know when something of yours will blow up on Digg. There is no harm and it can only help spread your blog more.
5) Analyze your blog statistics. I have an account at Clicky in which I use all the time to look at how my readers are coming to my site. You can see what they search to get there, what links they click to get there and exactly what they are most interested in. If they love one of your posts especially, write more about that topic. If they keep searching the same sort of keywords, write more posts with those keywords. Simply follow your traffic and soon the traffic will follow you.
Really it all comes down to how good and interesting your content is and how much your write. I go by this, don’t write unless you are interested in what you’re writing about. If you are interested in a lot of things, blogging should come easy to you. I love writing so I don’t mind writing a post almost everyday. The more content, the more readers have to read.
If you get frustrated with the amount of traffic you have, don’t worry. If you genuinely feel you have good things to say, you will get traffic eventually. These things take time. I would give it a month or so with good consistent writing until you can get worried. Until then, just keep on blogging!
If you found this page useful, consider linking to it.
Simply copy and paste the code below into your web site!
July 1st, 2008 at 9:48 pm
Great tips! Oh, and thanks.
July 3rd, 2008 at 12:02 pm
I have used these tips [except Digg] so I recommend them as easy methods to increase blog traffic.
I would like to make one comment about laziness and offer another suggestion.
It is very important for the success of any blog to spell correctly and use proper grammar [especially if you are not writing in your native language] if you want search engines to locate your blog and for readers to read your blog. You cannot be considered an expert if you can’t sound like one, and if you are not writing in your native language, ask a native to review your work before posting.
I would also like to suggest, based on experience, that bloggers post on important holidays and events for their niche. As a hockey blogger, my blog traffic increased on free agency day because hockey fans everywhere were tracking hockey transactions. Bibliophiles or bookworms can post book recommendations throughout May for Get Caught Reading Month.
Thank you.
Gabe Jacobs reply on July 3rd, 2008 12:21 pm:
Thanks for the tips.
Instead of writing on holidays, I think a better way to put it is to write on important days concerning your blog. So I love writing about Apple and tech, so I would write on Macworld, WWDC, Apple Special Events, etc.
One thing though, I did not understand this line, “Bibliophiles or bookworms can post book recommendations throughout May for Get Caught Reading Month.” Can you explain that more?
July 3rd, 2008 at 12:38 pm
Gabe,
You and I agree that bloggers should post on important days, but I am not just referring to writing about these important days as with your example about writing on Macworld, WWDC, Apple special events, etc. I also mean posting on these specific dates. For example, bloggers that post on July 1 about free agency day will most likely attract more traffic because hockey fans are tracking hockey transactions. [This also relates to another trip being the first to break news, which will bring a higher traffic volume, too.]
The statement about bibliophiles and bookworms is just another example of an important day or month for those in book niche can write if it is an important day in their book world.
Aneesa
Gabe Jacobs reply on July 3rd, 2008 12:46 pm:
gotcha, thanks for the comments