Setting up a blog is not a challenge; generating blog traffic is the real challenge. And though there are many bloggers who blog about, Blogging Basics and How to Grow Blog Traffic, there are still many people who get it all wrong when it comes to traffic generation.
You may have already read some blog posts about generating blog traffic and ignored them. So, this is a great opportunity to revisit and think carefully about what you blog traffic strategies are. Don’t ignore these strategies; they really matter when it comes to generating and sustaining blog traffic.
1 – It All Starts with a Good Blog Name
Like I said before, the selection of a blog name is a decisive factor. It not only influences your visibility, but also your ability to attract traffic. Don’t just select the first name that comes into mind. Think about a simple but effective blog name that resonates with your broader goals or purpose. Ideally, your blog name should say something about what your blog is all about.
2 – Select the Right Niche for Your Blog
Before you start blogging, you should think carefully about the niche you want to blog about. This is a very important decision that could make or break your blogging goals. So, don’t rush over it. Apparently, not every niche will generate the interest of an audience the same way. Some niches will obviously do better than others in terms of traffic generation. As you choose your niche, you should also think about the needs of your audience and visitors who will visit your blog.
3 – Link Your Blog with Social Media
Without a doubt, social media channels wield great power over the fortunes of many bloggers. You cannot afford to ignore social media when it’s already proven to be a great avenue for generating blog traffic. To generate a steady flow of traffic, you need to create back links from your social media sites to your blog. Fortunately, all the major social networks (Google+, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook) allow you to add URL links to your site. Take advantage of this simple strategy to steadily increase traffic to your blog over the course of time.
4 – Focus on Your Target Audience
When blogging, you need to target your audience with the right stuff and content. You won’t be writing for all and sundry; instead you will be writing for a specific group of people who have particular interests and desires. Think about the interests of your audience and align them with what you intend to write. The best way to understand your target audience is to research about their desires, aspirations, personalities, and interests. These details will help you craft powerful blog posts that draw the attention of your target audience.
5 – Write For Readers Not Search Engines
Blogging is neither a one-way conversation directed to your readers nor is it a way to feed the search engines. It’s a two way conversation between you and your audience. So, when blogging, you should write while talking to your readers. To make your blog posts more riveting, you should ask questions, reply to comments, appreciate your audience, and whenever you are hard pressed, don’t hesitate to ask for help. However, do not keyword stuff your content, make it as natural as possible so that whoever comes across it will quickly see the value and read it.
6 – Use Compelling Headlines
Your blog titles are so powerful. The way you craft them will determine whether or not visitors will stick longer enough to read the entire post. So, if you want to draw the attention of readers, you have to nail the headlines of your blog posts. Sloppy headlines will not get your readers or traffic when it appears in the search engine. Instead, it will lessen the desire of readers and visitors to your blog.
To make your blog posts effective, keep the headlines short, interesting, and relevant to the subject you are blogging about. Also, use the targeted keywords in your titles so that they can show up in the SERPs when people search the keywords.
7 – Network with Niche Leaders
If you are starting a blog, then you should be ready to network with niche leaders and influential personalities. It can be quite tough if you are shy, but it’s worthwhile considering the massive traffic potential it has. Look for influential niche personalities and experts and start building relationships with them. You can network by seeking niche experts to feature in your podcasts or Q&A section. If you leverage the power of networking, you can drive traffic and increase credibility of your blog and information as a whole.
8 – Share Resources and Freebies
It’s not enough for you to just write and publish blog posts; you need to provide free resources to your target audience. The reason is that some visitors will not be attracted to your blog posts. Instead, they will be drawn to the free resources you provide. It could be a free downloadable eBook, free tools, or links to useful resources across the internet. Sharing resources will draw visitors searching for specific resources and also encourage them to share links to the resource page across your social networks.
9 – Build Good Relations with Fellow Bloggers
Finally, if you want to build traffic to your site, you should connect with other bloggers. Do not only focus on your audience when blogging, but expand your focus to other bloggers in your niche. When you connect with other bloggers and share valuable information with them, they will reference you in their blogs and even add you to their blog rolls.
As they keep referencing your blog posts, you find visitors streaming steadily to read some of the powerful posts you have written. Besides that, you’ll also learn a great deal from fellow bloggers. You can start searching for reputable bloggers in your niche, in niche communities and forums, and even Facebook and LinkedIn Groups.
Hi Annetta,
Bloggers would do well to pay close attention to this post. So many times I come across bloggers who aren’t getting any comments on their blog or others who bemoan on the forums that they’re not getting any traffic. Usually it’s because they are failing in one or more of the areas mentioned here.
I’m glad that you mentioned point number 5, this is something that I feel needs to be given particular attention to anyone wanting to succeed. While it’s important to be SEO conscious, it’s far more important to be people conscious. If you write for people and ensure to engage with them you will build relationships and your reputation. This is something that no amount of SEO can do for you. It’s also much more enjoyable to write naturally and connect with people rather than be constantly worrying about what the almighty Google will ‘think’ of you.
Thanks for the great post, Annetta 🙂
Regards,
Glenn
Hi Anetta,
Everything you said is true and correct. No need to add something. I just want to summarize and emphasize the most important things:
Choose your right niche from the beginning, identify that specific group of people you write about and focus on it, link to social media, connect with other bloggers.
I like the idea of sharing resources and freebies. A resource page is an interesting way to do this. I would like to see a resource page on your site. It might exist but I cannot find it.
I want to say that I really appreciate what you are doing here. Whenever I come to this site I find interesting articles and useful information. The only thing I can do for the moment is to share your posts on all my social media accounts. In time I will be able to do more.
Have a nice day
@ Glenn Shepherd:
Hi Glenn, thanks for your nice comments. Yeah, as bloggers we have to express ourselves and inform our audience well. It feels really good to rank high in Google search engine and know that your target audience appreciate your content. It’s all about going deeper than the numbers 😀
@ Silviu:
Hi Silviu, I am very happy and pleased with your comments. I also appreciate you taking the time to share my content. I’m excited to return the favor and see what you’ve come up with on your blog. Thanks a bunch buddy 😀
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