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Are you a new blogger wondering how to increase your blog traffic?
Or perhaps you have been blogging for months now, but still not seeing the traffic you (almost desperately) want?
I get ya! I was in the same position as you!
In fact, most (if not all) bloggers were struggling to get traction to their blog at some point at the beginning of their journey.
It can be a confusing, slow, and frustrating process.
But guess what?
It CAN be done.
If you are persistent and dedicated to growing your blog, you WILL be able to generate a steady stream of blog traffic THAT CONVERTS, in no time.
I mean, honestly, it’s not rocket science. You just need to know what you are doing!
And I’m here to help you!
Below are some KEY strategies you can implement to step-up your blog traffic game and increase your blog traffic.
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1/ Provide value to your target audience
Now that you’ve started a new blog, what are you going to write about?
Well one thing’s for sure, you need to create quality content and provide value to your target audience!
Focus on writing posts that interests your readers, and less about yourself.
You need to be able to get into the mind of your ideal reader so that you know what problems they have. It will make it easier for you to write engaging posts to help them solve those problems.
So, make sure you get to know your readers and that you are targeting the right audience.
2/ Work on your Headlines
Let’s face it – no one is going to click through to your post if you have a lame headline or uninteresting blog title.
Consider this, which headline would you click on?
Places to visit in Italy
Or
Top 5 Incredible Places You Must Visit in Italy
You get my drift?
You need to incite curiosity.
Get to them on an emotional level.
Throw in a little sense of urgency even!
HOWEVER, you need to make sure you deliver what you promised with your headline.
Empty click-bait titles will hurt your brand.
3/ Write evergreen content
Writing timeless blog posts (which have no expiry date) will bring in traffic for a longer period of time.
They are the type of content that is always relevant to your target audience, and therefore, you can constantly promote it and get a more consistent traffic stream from it.
Do your research to make sure your evergreen content is something that your readers want to read though!
RELATED POST: HOW TO WRITE A BLOG POST
4/ Write viral posts
Part of your strategy should be to weave in a few viral posts here and there.
Not only will it help you get boosts of increased traffic to your blog, those people may become engaged subscribers!
And plus, viral or trending posts can be fun to write!
Keep in the loop with the latest trends by actually being present on the social media platforms that you are on.
You can also check Google Trends or you can check what is trending on Pinterest by clicking on the Pinterest Search Bar and having a look at what’s trending at the bottom of the dropdown menu.
5/ Update and re-publish popular posts
It is always a good idea to schedule some to go through and update your popular posts.
Things are always changing, so you need to make sure you are kept on top of the changes!
You really don’t want people to be coming on to your site and presenting them with outdated information.
Jazz up your posts with new points, affiliate links that may help them, or even new images!
Remember to change the date to the current date and re-publish the post.
6/ Create infographics
If you didn’t know, Pinterest users LOVE infographics.
Although the click-through rate is naturally lower than regular pins, infographics circulate well on Pinterest and generate tons of saves.
This can help get your brand “out there” and as a result, increase traffic to your blog!
You can make them easily and for free using Canva. There are heaps of pre-made infographic templates on there, so you can whip one up in no time!
7/ Optimize your posts for SEO (do keyword research)
The concept of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) may be overwhelming, especially for beginners, but I promise you that basic SEO is not that complicated.
It is definitely important that you know and implement basic SEO from the get-go.
To help you out, you can get the YOAST SEO plugin. It’s what I use to make sure I don’t miss anything!
Make sure you do keyword research (on Google and Pinterest) so that you know what people are searching for.
The more you include your keyword in your post, the better optimized your post will be for that keyword.
Avoid “keyword stuffing” though and incorporate keywords within your post in a natural and understandable way so you don’t disrupt the reader experience.
8/ Interlink your posts
This is an awesome way to help readers stay longer on your blog.
In the blog post you are creating, always put links to other related posts in your blog
Not only will this help increase the bounce rate for your website, your readers will also find it helpful that you have presented other useful articles to them.
9/ Promote your posts
To increase the chances to people visiting your blog, you need to promote each blog post that you publish.
Promote it on all the social media platforms you are on (Facebook, Twitter, Youtube etc), send out an email about it to your subscribers and make sure you are creating a few different pins on Pinterest for the post!
Let the world know about your post and increase your blog traffic!
10/ Include Social Share Buttons in your blog post
To encourage and make it easier for your readers to share your blog post, make sure you have social share buttons included in your post.
There’s nothing more annoying than landing on a kick-ass blog post and wanting to share it, but then there’s no social share buttons to do it easily.
I mean, no one’s got time to manually copy the blog URL and then pasting it to their social media! Am I right??
The plug-in that I use is Grow by Mediavine (previously Social Pug). It’s so easy to install and use, and fits in seamlessly to my posts.
And don’t be afraid to add a call-to-action at the end of your blog post to remind readers to share your content. Sometimes, your readers just need a reminder to share!
11/ Use Pinterest (and Tailwind)
If you are not utilizing Pinterest to increase traffic to your blog, you are missing out.
I can attest that it’s the fastest FREE way to get traffic to your blog.
It’s how my other blog was able to get accepted for Mediavine 5 months after launch!
I know right, I couldn’t believe it either.
Prior to launching my other blog, I had NO IDEA about Pinterest. I was a COMPLETE newbie and had never used the platform. So I did a ton of research and invested in a few e-courses to learn how to use it to my advantage.
My absolute favorite e-course and the one I always recommend, is Ana’s AFFORDABLE course, Making Pinterest Possible.
After implementing her strategies and getting Tailwind, I experienced an increase in visitors to my blog!
Her course is great for new bloggers who are just starting out on Pinterest.
12/ Comment on other blogs in your niche
Interacting and getting to know other bloggers in your niche may sound like a daunting task to some (I admit, introvert me had a hard time with this when I first started out), but once you do it, it’s actually surprisingly fun!
I’m not talking about spam commenting on other people’s blogs. I’m talking about writing genuine, thoughtful comments because what you write, is a reflection of your brand.
The more you comment, the more other bloggers and commenters are going to notice you and get curious.
This, in turn, helps you build brand awareness which lead to more people wanting to check you out!
13/ Guest post
If you’ve heard of back-linking, you have probably heard that guest posting is a great way to get those backlinks.
And they are right!
Not only that, but guest posting is an awesome way to engage and collaborate with other bloggers in your niche.
And because your content will be presented directly to the readers of the other blogger, it is also another way to give yourself more exposure!
So it’ll be really helpful when trying to increase traffic to your blog.
When guest posting, ensure you follow all the rules and ALWAYS guest post on blogs similar or related to your niche.
14/ Social media
A lot of people are on social media these days, so it would only make sense to participate and engage in them yourself.
It’s basically a free and fast marketing channel for growing your blog!
However, if you are just starting out, don’t overwhelm yourself with getting on all the social media platforms out there! Take it one at a time!
15/ Make use of your email list to increase traffic to your blog
Even if you have a small email list, make use of it.
By updating your subscribers of new posts, email lists are great for getting consistent traffic.
In doing so, you will also be fostering a relationship with your readers!
16/ Be consistent
Consistency is super important in the blogging world. You’ll hear it all the time.
But why is it important?
Well, posting regular content give your readers something to look forward to and they will stick around longer because of it. It will help you maintain a steady traffic, and therefore, income stream.
Also, Google will favor you more because your website is constantly being updated!
17/ Make sure your website is user-friendly and clean
The user experience of your website is extremely important.
Nobody’s gonna hang around if your blog is slow to load, messy, the writing is difficult to read, the color theme is irritating, etc.
That’s why it is vital that you have a good theme in place, use simple fonts, ensure your categories are clear, and you are with a host that is fast and reliable.
My blogs are now hosted with Siteground (after horrible experiences with other hosting providers) and I couldn’t be happier. They are fast, reliable and have excellent customer service!
18/ Constantly implement new strategies (invest in education)
The blogging world is constantly changing.
I hate to break it you but if you don’t evolve and adapt to the changes, you are going to get left behind.
You always need to be experimenting with new techniques and strategies, and utilizing Google Analytics to see how your blog performs after a certain change.
It’s not a set and leave type of game.
19/ Treat your blog like a business
Blogging is now extremely competitive. It’s still a lucrative market for new-comers but we really need to get serious with it.
You need to treat your blog like a business. And like all businesses, you need to make some initial investments.
When I decided to get serious with this blogging thing, I KNEW it wasn’t completely free… but I was also a little strapped for cash.
So to make it easier for myself, I made a mini budget for my blog.
I sat down and wrote a list of all the things I thought I needed to invest in and put a reasonable approximate dollar amount I was willing to spend on each thing. Then I went through the list and prioritized it in the order of importance. That way, I bought the things I knew I needed first based off what I can afford at the time.
Among the top items to invest in are to be self-hosted and self-education.
The reason self-education is important (and I was willing to spend money on it) is because I didn’t want to mess around. I wanted the best start and didn’t have time to lose.
I always recommend investing in good, quality courses by people with experience and a great track record.
In the end, you’ll be able to retrieve your expenses from your blogging success anyway!
As mentioned above, I was so happy with my decision to purchase Ana’s affordable e-book Making Pinterest Possible. Being a total beginner in blogging and Pinterest, this course was a total life-saver because I was just SO confused and overwhelmed with all the information that is out there. Just for a little investment, it saved so much time and confusion!
If you’re still a bit unsure, check out Ana’s FREE Start A Money-Making Blog Course then!
I really cannot stress the importance of self-education enough, and I don’t want you wasting too much time researching and feeling confused like I was!
20/ Set some goals
I am a huge believer in goal setting.
It’s hard to achieve all that you can, without getting focused and setting goals.
Set aside some time to figure what your purpose and what you want to achieve with your blog. Then, write down some goals that are important to YOU and fit in well with your vision.
After you have your goals in place, you’ll know what to work towards!
Prepare action plans to achieve those goals in a timely manner.
Related:
10 BLOGGING GOALS TO ACHIEVE THIS YEAR
8 GOAL SETTING MISTAKES TO AVOID TO FINALLY ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS
Just keep learning, just keep trying and be consistent.
Sooner or later, you’ll figure out what works for you, and what doesn’t.
If you implement all the above tips, you are off to a great start!
If you found this post useful, don’t forget to pin this for later or share it with others!
Thanks for these tips
You’re welcome! 🙂