One thing every blogger wants is more traffic. The desire of bloggers to get more blog traffic is stronger than the Cookie Monster’s desire to eat through an entire box of cookies. A strong desire to get more blog traffic comes along with a strong desire to know how to get more blog traffic and how to sustain the traffic once you get it.
Knowing how to get traffic is the first step towards getting more blog traffic and eventually making that traffic sustainable. In this blog post, I will reveal 8 top tactics you can use to get a ton of blog traffic.
#1: Write More Guest Posts On Different Blogs
Writing guest posts on numerous blogs in your niche expands your reach which allows more people to hear your message. I have written several guest posts on blogs like Business2Community, and guest posts that I wrote years ago still lead to more blog traffic for this blog. These guest posts also resulted in backlinks that help out with my blog’s SEO.
Writing more guest posts does allow you to get more blog traffic, but there is a secret advantage to guest blogging that not as many people are initially aware of. Guest blogging allows you to connect with other bloggers in your niche, and a connection can lead into a strong relationship. Having strong relationships with other bloggers may lead to more exposure for your content and products depending on how well you develop those relationships.
#2: Get On More Podcasts
Getting on podcasts serves the same function as writing a guest post, but there are some difference. The main difference is that people get to listen to you talk about your expertise, so they’ll get more out of the podcast. Writing guest posts and blog posts also allows your audience to get value from your expertise, but while many people skim through blog posts, they won’t skim through a podcast as much.
Podcasts also result in more promotion for you because when you get on a podcast, the host will introduce you by stating some of your credentials. Then, at the end of many podcasts, the host will give you the opportunity to tell the listeners where they can find you on the web and what your latest product is.
Last year, I was on dozens of podcasts, and on those podcasts, I discussed social media, blogging, and other digital marketing related topics. Getting these podcast opportunities is a combination of luck (don’t rely on it) and contacting people who have their own podcasts. Some people found me on Twitter and invited me for an interview. However, I directly contacted many of the people who had me on their podcasts prior to getting the spot. I made my quick pitch and then they contacted me saying that they wanted me as a guest.
#3: Share Your Blog Posts With Your Social Media Audience
The easiest way to get more blog traffic is to share your blog posts with the audience you have already built. Not only can your audience lead to more blog traffic, but the more often you share your blog posts on social media, the more traffic you will get.
When I was starting to get the hang of Twitter, I tweeted once every hour. As I got better and experimented, I decided to tweet once every 30 minutes (and 90% of these tweets promoted my blog). My blog traffic from Twitter doubled. Feeling confident about the results, I decided to send one tweet every 15 minutes, and my blog traffic from Twitter doubled again. As you continue sharing your blog posts with your social media audience, experiment to see what elements and posting frequency allow you to get the optimal blog traffic and social media growth. Here are some elements you can experiment with:
- The picture you use for your blog post. Pictures are very important for social media engagement. Posts with pictures receive more than twice the amount of engagement compared to posts without engagement. My most retweeted tweets (the ones with hundreds of retweets and favorites) all include a picture. The color of your picture, the background, and what your picture looks like are three factors that determine how well your picture does on social media.
- Word choice. Some words attract our attention more than others. Do you want a good guidebook to getting more Twitter followers or a secret guidebook to getting more Twitter followers? One word can make all of the difference, but when you use different words, make sure you use 6th grade level words. You don’t want to confuse anyone with an SAT word (i.e. propensity which means a bias or tendency).
- Hashtags. The ideal number of hashtags to use in a tweet is 1-2. The total number varies for each social network, but if you use too many hashtags, it will become difficult for your audience to read your social media posts.
#4: Optimize Your Blog For Social Sharing
When you get traffic, you must be prepared to expand upon that traffic. Getting enough traffic can create a momentum that leads to sustainable traffic. The preparation for long-term traffic is to optimize your blog for social sharing. You must make it easy for visitors to share your blog posts on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and the other social networks. That way, when these people share your content, your reach expands, and you get to reach new visitors. Here are some ways that you can optimize your blog:
- Include social sharing buttons at the bottom of every blog post. If people enjoyed your blog post and read it from top to bottom, they will see your social share buttons which will entice they to share the blog post.
- Use Click To Tweet. Click To Tweet is a tool that allows you to create a link that, when clicked on, will take your visitors to a prewritten tweet that you want them to send out. It is easy to create a tweet with Click To Tweet and also easy to get the link. See Click To Tweet in action!
- Make sure people can pin your images just by clicking on them. Some blogs automatically set this up for you while a WordPress plugin will do the trick for other blogs. If people can pin your images just by clicking on them, sharing your content on Pinterest will be easy for your visitors to do, and all of those extra pins will lead to more blog traffic.
#5: Promote Your Blog Posts Within Your Other Blog Posts
When most people think of traffic, they think of getting a visitor to come from an outside referrer. Whether that outside referrer is Google, social media, or any other place on the web, that’s where most people think the traffic will come from. When you get traffic, you want people to stick around for as long as possible. The visitors who spend the most time on your blog are more likely than any of your other visitors to buy your products.
One method to get people to stick around for a longer period of time is to promote your blog posts within your other blog posts. For example, take a look at my blog post 70 Amazing Twitter Tips. That blog post includes several links to my other Twitter related blog posts, and this strategy increases the amount of time people spend on my blog. Visitors who spend a lot of time on your blog are more likely to become returning visitors.
#6: Write Better Headlines
When people share your blog posts, they often write the headline, include a link, and then post your blog post on one of their social networks. When most people share this blog post on their social networks, the social media post will look like this:
“8 Top Tactics To Get A Ton Of Blog Traffic. [LINK]”
The more enticing your headline is, the more people will click on the link to read your content. The enticing headline will also encourage your visitors to read your entire blog post and leave a comment. Here are some methods to write better headlines.
#7: Blog Consistently
One of the most important blogging tips for success is to blog consistently. Writing several blog posts every week allows you to improve your writing and rank higher on the search engines. In addition to better writing and more traffic, your loyal visitors will know when to go on your blog to read new content. If you consistently publish your blog posts on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 9 am eastern, then your loyal visitors will know when to visit your blog for the update.
#8: Analyze What Works
One of the universal truths about every blog on the web is that some blog posts do better than others. Some blog posts don’t get much traffic while other blog posts on the same blog may go viral. Every week, I take a look at my most popular blog posts to see what type of content my visitors like the most.
This analysis allows me to see patterns that let me know what my audience likes. I noticed that my blog posts about Twitter and blogging are the most successful which is why most of my blog posts are either about Twitter or blogging. I will occasionally experiment and write about other social networks and topics related to digital marketing, but I usually write content based on what I want to write about combined with my audience’s interests.
In Conclusion
We all want more blog traffic. The blog traffic allows our reach to expand, and as we get more blog traffic, the dream of making a full-time income will get closer towards realization. Getting more traffic, and eventually getting consistent traffic, requires preparation. You must optimize your blog to effectively generate more social shares and keep your visitors’ attention.
Which tactic of generating more blog traffic was your favorite? Do you have any additional tips for getting more blog traffic? Please share your thoughts and advice below.
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