Blogs are one of the greatest ways to increase traffic to your site. You can’t go by the old saying, “If you build it, they will come,” though. You must work on it to increase your blog’s traffic. It is not difficult, but you do need to know what to do. The following are 47 ways to increase your blog’s traffic and many of them can be automated, which means you will have more time to work on the other more hands-on types of traffic generating techniques.
#1: Use Udemy.com
Udemy.com is a site with hundreds of courses you can take online. One of the best ones is the Search Engine Optimization – Keyword Research course. You will learn how to choose keywords your consumers are using, so you can write blog posts that meet their needs and wants.
#2: Pay Attention to Bolded Words in Google
An advanced keyword research tip is to search for keywords pertaining to your niche and then pay attention to bolded words on the search engine’s results pages. Those are the words that Google perceives as related, so you should use them in your blog.
The image below shows an example of the bolded words you can find when you type in the search phrase careers in nutrition:
As you can see, registered dietitian and M.D. come up as related terms. You should use those in your content in addition to the original keyword “careers in nutrition.”
#3: Use the Related Searches in Google
Google does everything for a reason, and that includes the related searches below the search results. Most people will click on one of those search times if the first page of results does not give them what they want. What that means for you is that you should use them in your blog.
In the image below, you will see the related terms in blue. You should try to incorporate those terms in your content since Google finds them to be relevant and interesting to users.
#4: Use a Headline Formula
Did you know that 50% of sales and website traffic are lost due to unattractive headlines? Headlines grab people’s attention to bring them to your blog. Use headline formulas such as this one to attract consumers.
#5: Write a Compelling Introduction
Getting people to your blog isn’t all you have to do. You have to get them stay on your blog. A compelling introduction will do that.
Start with an engaging first sentence. Usually, identifying the problem or question users have will do that. You can then move into letting the person know there is hope for an answer. The third sentence should lead the person into believing the article he/she is about to read will give him/her that answer.
#6: Use Quote Boxes
People do not want to read online. They want to scan and pick things up quickly. A quote box can do that in a blog post.
Here’s an example of a quote box, but you can use any style you would like as long as it stands out from the content.
#7: Embed AdWords Copy
When you use AdWords copy in your blog, it will have a better chance of ranking highly on the first page of search results pages. This is because Google finds their ads to be highly valuable to users. They know this because they place ads in the first position and receive click through rates of more than 7%.
#8: Use HARO
HARO is a place for journalists and experts to connect. Journalists are looking for experts on specific topics for a good reason. They know what good topics are for their audience, and you can use that information for your blog.
For example, the HopeFULL Company doubled their sales using the site. They even appeared on the Nate Berkus Show in New York. That one appearance brought in 600 website hits in an hour, brought in 40 new likes, and sales increased by 95% that day.
#9: Use Long Tail Keywords in Title Tags
Since the average keyword search is a length of eight words, Google considers long tail keywords when they are in title tags. People will be more likely to click on title tags when they are exactly what they just typed into the search bar. Furthermore, statistics show that users who use four-word searches are more likely to convert.
The following are some examples of title tags that are using long tail keywords:
#10: Use Wikipedia for Topic Ideas
The reason Wikipedia has gained so much popularity is that they have information people are searching for online. Look up keywords in your niche and see what Wikipedia shows you.
Just studying the top Wikipedia articles every week is an education in what topics people are searching. While many of them relate to pop culture, you can get a glimpse of what is popular and why from these articles.
#11: Find Popular Content for Posts
Use social media to find content people have shared and liked a lot. Study that content and create similar blog posts to seek just as many likes and shares.
A great tool to help you is BuzzSumo.Com
#12: Make Existing Content Better
Find content that has ranked highly or is popular on social media and make it better. Add to it or put your perspective on it because 80% of marketers share 3rd party content to improve visibility. Three to four million blog posts are written every day. It is virtually impossible today to create something 100% unique. Therefore, you need to focus on making existing content better, and putting your spin on the matter.
#13: Promote Posts with Email Outreach
According to a study by ExactTarget, 77% of consumers prefer permission-based marketing via email. Starting an email list is a good idea. You can then promote your blog posts to them to bring people back to your website.
Use a tools like GetResponse, AWeber, or MailChimp to create a double opt-in list, so your visitors can sign up and come to your site repeatedly. Quality email traffic can do wonders for your website.
#14: Post on Facebook
Publish Facebook posts about your blog posts. Be sure to include an enticing teaser to convince users to click on it.
This image offers some great tips on how you can do that:
#15: Tweet on Twitter
Use 140 characters to attract followers to your blog. Use a URL shortening tool for more characters.
This image helps you compose the perfect tweet:
#16: Publish on Google+
Seventy-two percent of marketers report that social networks like Google+ help them close business. Google+ is a social network for businesses. Post attractive images with your text to grab users’ attention.
#17: Post on LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a professional network. In a LinkedIn study, 80% of leads came from the social network when compared to the others such as Twitter, Facebook, and Google+. Tell people about your blog posts, especially if they help them grow their business.
#18: Use Instagram and Pinterest
Snap photos of your business, services, and products and upload them to Instagram and Pinterest. Attach a link to the photos of your most recent blog posts with information about what is in the photos.
Pinterest has been known to drive massive traffic to sites. Take BuzzFeed. Their first pin on Pinterest in 2012 has over 2.3 million hits for that one post.
#19: Join LinkedIn Groups
LinkedIn Groups are great to join because you can become an authority in your industry and share your blog posts. They also provide a way to connect with professionals in a specific niche.
#20: Track Results
It’s important to track the results of your efforts. You can then find out which efforts are effective and which ones you need to change.
#21: Add Images to Blog Posts
People process images faster, which attracts them to the text. Make sure to include related images in your posts.
The image below show you how important visual content is in blog posts. Posts with images get shared 50% more on social media than text alone. You can’t deny the value in it.
#22: Reference Authoritative Websites
According to Consumer Reports and Content Marketing Institute, credibility is incredibly important to consumers. You can do that by referencing authoritative websites just like what is being done in this sentence. Use authoritative websites such as those that are published by the government, organizations, associations, etc. to gain the most credibility.
#23: Guest Blog
Ileane Smith from Basic Blog Tips was looking to increase traffic on her site. By guest posting on a few different sites in her niche, she increased her traffic by 8% and decreased the bounce rate by 15%.
She is not alone. Guest blogging is a tremendous outreach tool to connect your ideas and information with other audiences. The right blog post on the right site can have a tremendous effect on your traffic.
#24: Improve Your Website’s Design
According to Econsultancy, 9 out of 10 people say that good user experience makes sense when marketing online with a website. An attractive website gets more traffic because people like to visit it and tell people about it.
#25: Comment on Other Blogs
Visit blogs in your niche and comment on articles that your audience is reading. People are reading comments just as much as the articles these days and if you say something worthwhile, they may want to learn more about you.
Use a tool like CommentLuv to find targeted sites in your niche that can provide you with links back to your own blog.
#26: Get Involved in Q&A Sites
People ask questions on sites like Quora. Answer questions to peak people’s interest in you, and they will likely follow you to your website.
One untapped aspect of Quora that has brought tons of traffic for John Paul Aguiar is to set up your blog and post the contents to Quora. He has 27 posts on the site with a total of 3,117 views. Roughly 115 views per post. Pretty good for free traffic.
#27: Enable Subscriptions on Your Blog
People may visit your blog once and never again if they are not reminded of it. When you enable subscriptions, people can request an email every time you publish a new post. This will increase the chances they will visit your site again.
We mentioned in #13, a few free and paid services like AWeber and GetResponse. You can use them to automate the process.
#28: Start an Email Newsletter
Did you know that 57% of email subscribers spend 10-60 minutes browsing marketing emails each week? Sending a newsletter every month or two weeks will remind your followers that you have a blog with a wealth of information. Add an opt-in form on your site and start sending newsletters.
#29: Attend Networking Events
Networking events are great times to let people know about your services and products. You can hand out business cards with your website’s URL, which will lead to more traffic.
#30: Host Networking Events
People want to know who is hosting networking events. They look up to the host, and for that reason, they often browse their website to see what they are all about.
#31: Try to Get the Same Backlinks as Competitors
Use a research tool such as Open Site Explorer to research the backlinks your competitors have and then reach out to those sites to see if you can get links as well.
#33: Blog Regularly
It can be easy to get out of the habit of blogging, but it is important that you continue to do it. The more you blog, the more traffic you’ll receive. HubSpot discovered that bloggers who consistently blog and prioritize blogging have 13x greater chance to enjoy a positive ROI.
#34: Share Content from Other Blogs on Social Media
When you share other people’s content, they will be more likely to share yours. When other people share your content, you end up getting more traffic.
#35: Ask Influencers to Guest Blog on Your Blog
People want to read articles written by experts. Ask influencers in your industry if they would be willing to write a post for your blog.
Note: You should have some content created and a bit of a reputation before you do this. No influencer wants to write the first post for a blog. Instead, once you have steady traffic reach out to influencers to entice them to write for your blog.
#36: Interview Influencers
Ask influencers questions and then publish the questions and answers on your blog. People will appreciate that you asked those tough questions they wouldn’t get to ask. Plus, you can leverage their influence to get more people interested in your content.
#37: Repurpose Content
Use content on your blog more than once. Take a blog post and use it in an email newsletter. Use a series of blog posts and turn them into an eBook. Market these new pieces of content and then direct people to your blog for more information.
#38: Test Your Site’s Speed
Internet users do not want to deal with a slow site. Test your site’s speed and correct coding to make it faster.
#39: Test for Mobile Friendliness
Since most people do research on their mobile device, it’s crucial your site is mobile-friendly. Google ranks sites according to how responsive they are as well. Test the mobile friendliness of your site with Google’s tool.
#40: Syndicate Blog Content with RSS Feed
Aggregate your blog content by making sure that it is visible on RSS feeds. People will be alerted when you have a new post published, which increases the chances they will visit your blog again.
#41: Use Google Alerts to Stay On Top of Trends
You can get a spike of traffic when you publish blog posts having to do with current trends. You can use Google’s Trends tool to learn what people are searching for today.
#42: Set Up an Advertisement Exchange
Connect with other blog owners who want to promote their posts. You can let your followers know of their blog and they can let their followers know about yours. This can be done with banner ads or with a mention in a blog post or email newsletter.
#43: Publish at the Right Times
Buffer reports that there are “right” times to publish posts on social media. Find out when your audience is most likely to be online and then publish blogs and social media posts according to those times. This will increase the chances of them seeing your posts.
#44: Share Your Blog with Organizations/Associations
Contact organization and associations in your industry and share your blog posts with them. They find it interesting enough to share it on their blog, social media, or with their email list, which could lead to a great boost in visibility.
#45: Use YouTube to Direct People to Your Blog
People are watching videos more than ever now, so it’s a good way to direct people to your blog. Create a video about a topic you’ve blogged about and then tell people to go to your blog to learn more about what the video is about.
Check out our post on YouTube Marketing Strategies to learn more about how to use this strategy effectively.
#46: Use SlideShare
SlideShare is a great tool to create an online slideshow. SlideShare sees 500% more traffic from business owners than Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn, and 20% of those visitors came from Google. Choose a topic related to your services/products, and create a slideshow about it. At the end of the slideshow, you can encourage people to go to your blog for more information.
#47: Include Sharing Buttons
Sharing buttons make it easy for your followers to share blog posts with their followers, according to Social Times. This increases your visibility, which can lead to boosts in traffic.
Start Increasing Your Blog’s Traffic Today
Do not wait any longer to increase traffic to your site. Many of these can be set up and forgotten such as adding your blog to your email signature, speeding up your site, social media sharing buttons, blog URL on receipts, checking on mobile friendliness of your site and making it mobile friendly, and enable subscriptions.
The others will need continued work, but once you get used to it, you should become faster. Before you know it, you will be increasing traffic to your blog day after day. Get started now!
One Response
Very valuable information, but right now my site is only four Months old. I am new blogger and learning from other’s experience as well as my own hard work.
Thanks for sharing with all of us.