In today’s society, it’s hard to get noticed. What has been unique and unheard of, has now become common-place. Celebrities like Lady Gaga and Miley Cyrus, who once shocked the world by their fashion choices, are now starting to be a “been there, done that” situation. We all get bored and we think we’ve seen it all.
Okay, so how do we get noticed? When it comes to blogging, so much content has been created, rehashed and rehashed again. It’s virtually impossible to reinvent the wheel when it comes to creating unique content. What’s a blogger to do when trying to boost their amount of traffic, while every other blogger is trying to do the same?
It’s time to step up the game and think outside of the box. At the end of the day, don’t forget the reason behind blogging. It should be something you enjoy. It should not feel like you’re pulling teeth. Below are 10 different ways to get your gears turning when it comes to increasing your blog traffic:
Be Proactive
1. Write, Write, Write
Writing unique content or appealing to a specific niche is not always easy. Ultimately, blogging takes commitment and passion in order to get your message across and attract readers. Take the time to write meaningful content and make sure your blog is updated frequently. That way, readers that were intrigued by your first post will most likely stop back to invest their time in your blog.
Additionally, make sure you establish your reader relationship from the start. Always make it a point to respond to feedback. This shows you care about what your audience has to say. If possible, set up an RSS feed to update your followers when you’re posting new content.
2. Research Keywords
Naturally, a large factor of successful blogging lies in appearing in search engines. This is done by pinpointing phrases and keywords your readers are inputting. In order to conduct research on keywords, Google has a free program called the AdWords Keyword Tool. The program is meant to match your words with the intent of your phrase. Possibilities are endless for discovering broad and exact matches.
3. Tag Your Posts
Employ a strategy that doesn’t monopolize your time, but still provides you with the best return on gaining traffic to your blog. It is especially important, even vital, to include tags in your posts. Hashtags are easily noticed by search engines. Ultimately, this is the key to readers discovering your blog space. Also, this can help your blog’s popularity in search engines.
4. Utilize Links and Trackbacks
Another successful way to boost your blog traffic is to include links. Search engines and other bloggers notice links very easily. This is beneficial because you can take this information and investigate sites to invite new readers of your blog, but to also add links from their sites. It’s a win-win situation, as trackbacks can be used on the other blog to show you linked them. What’s great is that they will appear in the comment section, which ultimately boosts the amount of traffic from those that comment.
5. Maximize Your Efforts with Analytics
Any blogger can use Google Analytics as it is a free service that helps you generate data about your blog. From this data, you can track how much traffic your site gathers and what people may be divulging about your content.
Additionally, this is a great opportunity to evaluate what is working and what’s not, to help you improve your content and presentation. For example, if you were a company blogging about the quality of preowned equipment, you could see how many authentic visitors searched for this keyword. Besides this, you could track how many people originated their search with this term. It will give you, as a blogger, an accurate account of how successful your content reads to others.
Be Present
6. Explore Other Social Media Outlets
Social media has enlisted so many users in the past couple of years. For example, Facebook has reached a whopping 850 million plus users, while its competitor, Twitter, is not far behind with 465 million people. With these platforms shaping the way we communicate, it’s no doubt these sites would be great outlets to get the word out about your blog. Streamline these social media accounts with your blog. These sites allow sharing to happen at the click of a button. Therefore, if someone likes your content, they share and others see it. Your blog will spread like wildfire. The amount of exposure you’ll receive is worth the extra time posting to multiple sites.
7. Be a Guest and a Host
It’s certainly true that the Internet has made connecting to people around the world plausible. However, that should not discount face-to-face meetings and gatherings. Making your presence known in real-life events and functions is a great way to network and get noticed. People you meet and connect with are likely to spread the word about your blog, because they’ve gained your respect and appreciation. Another great resource is Lanyrd, which is an event directory that connects people from social media to their real-world locations. This makes networking a bit easier while remaining connected.
8. Conduct Surveys
Engaging readers in online surveys is a great way to get honest, instant feedback. Including open-ended space for comments allows your readers to discuss a topic that will interest them and you can get a sense of what is important to them. This can help you influence the way you run your blog and interact with your readers. SurveyMonkey is a user-friendly tool to use when trying to generate a solid survey.
Be Bold
9. Pin It
Pinterest has flourished over the past two years, generating wish lists, interests and home Pinterest parties. This platform with the infinite scroll is an excellent platform for pinning your blog on individual boards or connecting and sharing with others. Having access to contributor boards makes it easy to generate more traffic and increased exposure with followers. Just make sure to choose an engaging image, make your title visible and always include keywords in your description. Stand out in a non-conventional way and track how successful this method of exposure is for your blog.
10. Design Vines
Owned by Twitter, Vine has become a new phenomenon. This six-second looping video has encouraged others to feel inspired, connect with others and laugh a little. Think outside the box to increase traffic and create a “teaser” of sorts about your blog content. Once designed, you can easily share your Vine on Twitter and Facebook by linking to your blog post using hashtags. Plus, your unique approach to advertising your blog will definitely spark a conversation. Many will want to view your blog out of sheer curiosity to figure out your Vine and its appeal.
Yes, It’s Worth It
When it comes to increasing traffic for your blog, what have you got to lose? It’s a risk to create content and post it publically for the world to view, so why not take an even more giant leap to make your blog a success. Whenever possible, think outside of the box and try some non-conventional approaches. You’ll be sure to be noticed.
Image by Alex Talmon
Kayla Matthews
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#1 is so simple Kayla, I wonder why few follow this advice? I publish 5 to 7 video and written posts daily. I write, and create, to boost my blog traffic and I’m just about ready now to get that writing thing going again ;) Thanks!