The art and science of getting more people to read your blog go hand in hand. Check out these 9 tips for increasing blog traffic.
Anyone who has run a blog has experienced the frustration of trying to gain readers. No matter how much we would like to have readers just come to us, the reality is that it takes some work to build an audience.
It is easy to get frustrated and just give up on blogging, but once you start seeing the benefits, you will realize that blogs can help you build a social media audience and attract traffic to your site, as well as make an impact on prospects and clients.
You can increase traffic to your blog by following the following 9 proven strategies.
1. Write more.
Studies have shown that the more often you update your blog, the more traffic you receive. You should update your blog at least twice a week to attract the attention of the search engines since Google gives more credit to sites with fresh content. Also, be aware of blogging mistakes to avoid.
2. Promote with social media.
Use social media networks, including Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, to promote each new blog post. Social media sites can be some of your top traffic sources if you spend time cultivating your networks and sharing great content. You can also use social media tools like Hootsuite, IFTTT to share content in various social media.
3. Write better titles.
A blog post’s title is almost more important than the content itself. Potential readers use titles to decide whether to click and read more. Pay attention to the titles of articles you see on magazine covers. The title promises solutions and entices readers to read the article. This will increase your readership.
4. Know your niche.
You might like sea life, exotic travel destinations, Little League baseball, or weight loss. If you don’t establish a theme for your content, your audience won’t know what to expect. Identify your target audience, the message you want to convey, and what they will enjoy reading.
5. Include photos.
The use of photos in blog posts has been shown to increase readership. An image not only makes the post more visually appealing, but it can also boost search engine optimization (SEO) for your site, by adding keywords in the Alt Image tag. It is not advisable to pull any image from Google because it may violate copyright laws. Instead, locate royalty-free images from these websites for your content.
6. Incorporate keywords.
When it comes to SEO, keywords play a crucial role. A keyword strategy on each page of your website is a great way to increase traffic to your website. Pick a key phrase for each post you write that you think readers will use to locate your blog. Next, you should incorporate that phrase into the post title, the headline on the page, at least twice within the content on the page, in a featured image on the page, and as part of the page’s link. A keyword-rich page helps Google understand what the page is about, resulting in more search engine traffic.
7. Incorporate links.
Add a link to the page of the company whose product or service you mention in your blog post. In addition to Google’s preference for outbound links on your site, the company you mention may also notice your post and link back to you. Readers are also appreciative when you provide resources to help them find what they’re looking for.
8. Add social sharing buttons.
Ensure that you include social sharing buttons at the top and bottom of your blog posts for Twitter, LinkedIn, and other popular social networks. Let your readers share your content easily.
9. Retweet past content.
Since we aren’t all on Twitter simultaneously, when you post a link to your blog, most of your followers won’t see it at first. Don’t be afraid to share old content, and repeat your tweets. As long as it’s still relevant to readers, it doesn’t matter when it was written.
Happy Blogging
