How to Get More Traffic to Blog Sites
Without question, the most frequent email I receive is asking for advice on how to get more traffic to a blog site. There is not a day that goes by that I have a message in my inbox from someone who says they started a website 3 days ago, have followed all the tips listed here, and can’t get enough traffic.
Here’s the deal. There is no big secret that I’m going to reveal to anyone through an email that isn’t already listed here. There may be specific pointers I can give based on your website and market, but for the most part this topic has already been discussed over and over again. If you were to visit an Internet marketing forum, you’d see the same thing — lots of people asking this question and receiving the same response.
The bottom line is that getting traffic to a blog does not happen by wishing for it. Your three day old site will not get any traffic unless you’ve:
- Paid for it
- Generated it
If you want to spend the money on advertising, there is no limit on how much traffic you can get. I’ve had days where I’ve gotten 40,000 new, unique visitors to websites before, but that wasn’t cheap. I’ve also built websites that took 6 months for a single visitors to come to my site by finding me on a search engine, but now that same site is receiving hundreds of visitors a day simply from Google searches — no promotion at all.
You can generate traffic on your own by working at it… the same way we’ve discussed before:
- Visit forums related to your topic and become a contributing member. Leave your link in your forum signature.
- Create YouTube videos with PowerPoint and Windows Movie Maker (both free).
- Build your Twitter, Facebook and Digg profile by being an active member and post back to your website when you have an update.
- Leave valuable comments on blogs and include your web address where asked for it.
Notice that none of these methods are suggesting your spam. Always provide valuable content that contributes to the community or conversation. A blatant link back to your website will always get your link deleted. For example, if you are going to join a forum (which is a great way to drive traffic to your site), you should become an active and recognized member of the community first. Then add your link to your signature once you’ve established credibility and have been around for a while.
In addition to these methods, the best way to get traffic to blog sites is to update your website frequently. Every day, take 20 minutes or whatever it takes for your to write a blog post, and publish. A three day old blog site with a couple blog posts will not cut it. You need to think long-term and big.
Think about this… Google’s biggest job is to make their search engine an easy to use tool for users. That means they have to eliminate spam sites, those that don’t provide value, and those that are not maintained. That means they are less inclined to give your new blog any real value because the likelihood that you will quite in a few days or weeks is high. The truth of the matter is most people do not have the long-term vision or wherewithal to actually create a blog. Most people try it out, don’t see immediate results, and that’s as far as they go.
Update regularly and you’ll eventually enjoy loads of free traffic from search engines. In the meantime, I’m sorry to say, but you willing and hoping for traffic to your blog will not cut it. You actually have to do something to make it happen. There are no secrets here, just the simple fact that the Internet rewards people who work hard.
By the way, I highly recommend you familiarize yourself with Google’s Webmaseter Guidelines. Read it, study it, memorize it. The more closely you stick to their guidelines, the more they will reward your site with better search engine rankings. Take it from someone who has had their fair share of sites banned from Google for violating these terms without even knowing it. You don’t want to go there.
