Ways to Increase Blog Traffic
There is one thing all of us writers who blog have in common, and that’s the desire to grow our traffic. Increased traffic helps grow our business in countless ways. Therefore it’s one of the many aspects of marketing we lose sleep over. At least I do anyway.
The challenging part of growing traffic is balancing it with content creation. You can’t have one without the other, and it can be a hard act to pull off because both take a lot of time.
I wanted to share with you some best practices that have helped me in growing my traffic.
Be consistent. Nothing is more frustrating to your audience than inconsistency. It’s also frustrating to me as I can see my traffic ebb and flow in direct correlation of my activity and even knowing this I still struggle with consistency. Let’s face it. Life happens. It’s better to post once a week, every week, than post 5 times this week and not post at all the following. Set up an editorial calendar, create your routine, and stick with it.
Pick one or two platforms at a time to master. Social media gives us the potential for great exposure for our content. However, there are so many social media channels out there that it can be overwhelming to know where to put in your time and effort.
Don’t try to master all the platforms. Look at your Google analytics and see where your traffic is coming from. Set goals and focus on growing those channels first. Then once you’ve got your routine down you can work on adding to your platforms. It’s better to be good at a few things than mediocre at many.
Outsource. Do what you do best and outsource the rest. That’s been my motto for years. I read the book Good to Great years ago and it talked about not spending so much on working to improve what you were bad at, but instead, you should focus on getting better at what you were already good at. It’s easier to improve a natural talent than one you’re not talented at.
Interact in peer groups. Interaction takes a lot of time, but it is so worth it in the long run. I belong to several different groups, mostly on Facebook, that are targeted to growing different areas of my business. Growing my Facebook Page, getting likes on various platforms which helps your visibility, connecting with peers its time very well spent.
Accountability partners. Blogging is hard. It’s not some get rich quick scheme. I sure wish it was but no making a living as a blogger is a labor of love. As with anything, there are good times and hard times. It is so easy to just give up when things get hard and having someone who understands your world, who’s got your back, and will be your personal cheerleader is invaluable. Find that person. An accountability partner isn’t directly going to increase your traffic, but that person will keep you committed to doing what needs to be done every day to get where you want to go.
Have realistic goals. If you currently have 100 page views a day don’t set a goal to hit 1000 pages views by the next week. You will get frustrated and be more inclined to give up. You want to strive for consistent growth even if it’s slow.
Just keep in mind being successful at blogging isn’t a sprint. It’s a marathon. Keep at it and you will accomplish everything you wish to!
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