7 Ways to Increase Your Blog Traffic
By Nikoleta Ljuljdjuraj - 10:30 AM
To
be a blogger and do blogging isn’t as easy as people think. You write a
post and hit “publish”- but after you’ve published your content you also
need to get people to read it and of course help them in any kind of way.
When
I first started this blog I would publish my posts and that would be it. I had
no idea how to grow my audience. I just hoped that eventually, my potential
readers would just “find” me.
In
today’s post, I’m sharing a few ways that have helped in a way to increase my
audience.
POST MORE FREQUENTLY
This
is my number #1! I noticed that my traffic started to grow
substantially once I started posting more frequently. If YOU write
more that will not only keep your readers coming back, but it’s also great for
bringing organic search traffic to your blog- Google gives higher priority to
websites with new and fresh content.
With
that being said always go with quality over quantity. Don’t post crappy
content, for the sake of posting. It all depends on the type of content you
create. I know some of my favorite bloggers post only once in a month, but when
they do the audience simply loves it.
WRITE SHAREABLE
CONTENT
Pinterest and Facebook send me a ton of traffic. Pinterest alone refers tens of thousands of new visitors to my blog, on weekly basis.
Pinterest and Facebook send me a ton of traffic. Pinterest alone refers tens of thousands of new visitors to my blog, on weekly basis.
So
what does “shareable content” mean? It means creating content that
is somehow helpful to your readers. If they find it helpful or useful in some
way, they’re much more likely to share it with others, pin it for future
reference or bookmark it. Analyze your posts, see which ones get the most hits,
what are some things you often get asked about? What are your strengths?
Focus on that. You also need to make sure that your content can be easily
shared with others- installing “share” buttons like Pinterest, Twitter and
Facebook are crucial.
CONNECT WITH OTHER
BLOGGERS
As
your audience grows, responding to each and every comment can be a bit
overwhelming. Nowadays, it usually takes me a few days to catch up with
comments on my blog but interacting with other bloggers and readers is what
makes blogging so special. It lets you build a relationship with your
audience and grow your blog’s community. Commenting is not just about “plugging
in” your blog link- they should always be meaningful and bring some value to
the conversation. Getting a ton of traffic is great, but engagement is worth a
lot more.
BLOG DESIGN
Your
blog design should be easy to navigate. When I visit a blog for the first time,
one of the first things I want to know is the blogger’s name- so make sure that
it’s visible somewhere right away. If you have several categories on your blog,
make sure that it’s easy to navigate and search through those as well. If you
want people to comment, you also have to make it easy for them to do. Last year
I switched from Blogger to Disqus and I love it. I’m getting a lot fewer spam
comments and don’t have to moderate them anymore- which saves me a ton of time.
PROMOTE OLD POSTS
Don’t
let all that great content get buried! Reference your older content whenever
it’s appropriate, always link within your posts. Re-share it on Pinterest, Facebook. Some of the most popular posts on my blog, are ones that I’ve published years
ago. They still continue to bring me traffic, on regular basis.
BE CONSISTENT
Be
consistent and stay patient. Most of the emails I receive say “I’ve
been blogging for x amount of time, but it seems like no one’s reading my blog.
What am I doing wrong?” Truth is, growing your blog is a lot of
work, but one thing that will definitely help you is being consistent- with
your content, images, posting schedule. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t
try new things it means that you should pay attention to things like your
analytics. Which posts are most popular? What type of content does your
audience seem to enjoy the most? Whatever you blog is about, make sure it’s
something you love, otherwise, you’ll get bored easily.
Bottom
line is, blogging is a lot of work. If you want to expand and grow your blog,
you have to put in the work. This doesn’t mean that you have to spend every
single free minute you have working- if you’re smart enough you can have a
blog, a job, AND a life.
What
are some of your favorite ways to grow traffic and promote content? I’d love to
share them with me!
Nikoleta Lj,
xoxo.
