It takes a lot of hard work to build an audience. Writing a blog could be said to be just about 20 percent of the process. Marketing the blog and gaining traffic is the larger chunk of the pie.
Actually being seen by people and serving readers rather than bombarding them with marketing material is a process. And some basic guidelines help in simplifying and accelerating reach.
Here, are some ways blogger can increase traffic to their blog:
Find your threshold
Before anything else make sure there are no second thoughts as to the kind of blog that is created. Because unless a niche is confirmed, a constant dedicated stream of viewers can not be achieved. One can post as frequently as they like, but unless a blogger is aware of their niche and removes random and out of place content, the blog will continue to look average.
Start by defining what kind of readers does the blog aim to serve, and then build a strategy about how to reach them. Be true to the goals set out for the blog. If a blog post isn’t useful or worth sharing, it won’t produce any value for the reader or for the blogger.
Content is Everything
Once a threshold has been figured out, it becomes easier to focus on the content. A blog should first and foremost be useful for the reader. If not, no matter how many different strategies are incorporated, traffic will be inconsistent at best.
If users can’t find what they are looking for, or simply don’t find the content to be useful, they’ll bounce away.
- Research, analyze and present data backed information.
- Make headlines that grab attention but do not click bait the user.
- Pick a length that best fits the content. Longer content has been found to do better as there’s more room for detailed reports and higher SEO integration.
Form a Community
Blogging is not a solo thing. Connecting with other bloggers is a great way to get noticed. This connection helps provide learning experiences from other bloggers’ instances and opens up many opportunities to invite them for speaking, interviewing or blogging activities. This is beneficial as it helps the blogger leverage traffic from other blogs to their blogs as well.
Incorporate Links
Linking to the relevant posts of other blogs, to give a better experience to the blog readers ensures that the reader leaves satisfied and fully informed.
This strategy will also help build great connections with the bloggers that one constantly links to. Sooner or later they will notice and also start doing the same which brings up the next point…
Guest Posts
Many in the market and the online community believe guest posting to be a dying concept but it only really comes down to the main takeaway it still can deliver; Connection formation.
One should treat guest posting as a way of building relationships, not backlinks. With the right approach, both parties can still gain a lot from guest posting. It is a great opportunity to tap into a brand new audience network and share knowledge, expertise, and experiences.
Writing for other blogs is also an opportunity to demonstrate the authority and authenticity of the writer as a blogger in their chosen niche.
Commenting
After publishing a blog, users should browse and search other blogs in that niche and comment on them. This is a surefire way to get a blog and website noticed today.
When a user leaves meaningful comments on other blogs, it encourages people to add their own views at the bottom of the posts and have discussions. This helps encourage return visits to the blog.
Some SEO experts believe that Google treats blog posts which generate a lot of community discussion preferentially to those without any comments. This is most probably due to the presence of discussions in the comments section which increases “dwell time” on the post.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
A deep keyword research is essential for content to be discovered organically. Getting smart and finding the best way to incorporate the targeted keywords into the title and body of the post effectively brings substance to the content. The earlier in any sequence of words those keywords appear, the stronger the signal Google will receive.
Keyword research is not only about finding keywords with high search volume. Rather new bloggers should always try to find keywords with less competition that usually have lower search volume.
Additionally, Optimizing the URL slugs, titles and meta descriptions brings an edge to the content as these are the first things that pop up when one searches for the query.
A lot of research goes into finding keywords that not only suits the chosen niche but also incorporates both commercial and informative keywords. This is why using tools or other softwares is really helpful.
Rankwatch is one of the best SEO agency, that helps take care of all SEO realated activities.
Build an Email List
Grow an email list. There’s no better way to promote a brand new blog post than to send an announcement to a dedicated email list about it.
Build an email list that is responsive and aids in stronger relationship building. People don’t buy from strangers especially in online business. Gaining the trust of the viewers and building a rapport with them can be accomplished through constant email interactions.
Having once attracted a visitor to the site, capture their email address. This allows the website to notify visitors via e-newsletter of new blog posts, which can result in more traffic and shares.
Use innovative ways to ensure a viewer’s participation. Like, rather than using a boring ‘join the mailing list’ call to action, highlight the sort of resources a subscriber can expect to receive fron the subscription or the skills they’ll learn.
Encourage Social Sharing
Actively encouraging rhe readers to share blog posts and being explicit will not only increase traffic but also notify the search engines as to the popularity and quality of the posts.
Interacting and being helpful to potential audience, even before they engage with the blogs, on various forums builds trust and shows dedication.
Answer queries and give valuable information to viewers and Keep an eye out on sites that can help provide insights as to recurrent questions by people.
Add social sharing icons to various parts of the website, as well as data capture forms. And make sure to display only the main websites target audience is known to interact with most, rather than all social media handles for reposts.
Conclusion:
Blogging is an ever growing opportunity in a constantly changing and growing market. Which is why various blogger outreach programs help guide users through the process of blogging, it’s intricate details and trends with ease.