Blog Advice 1: Increasing Your Traffic

Posted on by

319

How to increase traffic to your blog

One of the most common questions I am asked by fellow bloggers is, in my opinion, one of the most difficult to provide a definitive answer to:

How do I increase the traffic that I receive to my blog?

Before I begin, I think that it is important to note three crucial points:

  • Building a following and, consequently increasing your traffic, takes lots of time and effort. You are extremely unlikely to receive thousands, or even hundreds of views simply by pressing the publish button.
  • Content is key. Well-written posts will draw new people in, and encourage them to visit again. Posting page after page of inspirational quotes looks pretty, but will leave your audience bored after a while. Be yourself, make no apologies and believe in what you are creating.
  • I am not an expert, nor have I ever claimed to be.

I know very little about SEO, so I don’t feel experienced enough to comment on it. However, in my experience, there are number of things that you can do that will always pull in extra views.

1. Visit other sites. Like and leave a meaningful comment (but don’t leave a link to your blog – this is often viewed as poor blog etiquette and could be classed as spam).

2. Tag your posts effectively. I use between 15 and 20 relevant tags on most of my posts, and this will allow others who are writing about similar things to find you.

3. The more you post, the more likely your blog is going to be seen.

4. Share the work of others. There are some bloggers that have been extremely generous when promoting my posts and as a result I have gained lots of new followers. I like to return the favour by reblogging posts from some of my favourite blogs. I have also invited lots of guest bloggers to write post for me, and have guest blogged on other sites. You will find that other people will return the favour.

However, over time I have picked up a few hints and tips that has helped me increase my traffic further.

The Daily Post

When I first started blogging one of the most useful and effective ways of meeting other people and discovering new blogs was by following The Daily Post, which has millions of members. Each day, a prompt is given that encourages anyone and everyone to be able to interpret the prompt in any way they like and link back (these are called ping backs). All of the posts that are created in response are collated under the original Daily Post prompt, making it possible for everyone to visit each others blogs, and some will visit yours in return.

The Daily Post also hosts a photography challenge on Fridays, which is extremely popular, and on Mondays they host the Community Pool, which is essentially an enormous blog party.

Blog Parties

A blog party is simple: create a post that invites others to leave a link to their blog in the comment section. The participants then visit each others blogs. It’s a great way for bloggers to meet each other and will automatically increase your views on that post. You may find that followers of participants will find your blog and join in themselves. (However, it is worth noting that these are unlikely to generate traffic unless you have a larger following to begin with).

There are lots of blog parties that take place across the blogosphere regularly, and I would advise that you take part in as many as possible. Say hi, leave a link to a post with a little bit of information and then go and visit other participants. You don’t have to follow the blog to participate, but it is usually better if you do.

Want to participate in a blog party? There is currently a blog party going on at Hugh’s Views and News. Go and visit – Hugh would love to see you there!

Social Media

image

Love it or loathe it, I’ve found that social media is crucial for building your following and getting others to visit your site. It took me a long time to add social media accounts to my blog and it has always been one of my biggest blogging regrets that I didn’t start sooner, as they are now responsible for about 75% of my overall traffic.

These are my stats that show how many views I have had from my social media accounts from the last two years:

Facebook: 81,000
Twitter: 38,000
StumbleUpon: 17,000
Reddit: 10,000
Tumblr: 3,500
Bloglovin: 200
Pinterest: 50

These add up to almost 150,000 views.

Admittedly, I got lucky with Facebook – one of my posts went viral a year ago on there, but only after I had posted it onto my Facebook blog page and my personal page, where it was picked up and shared by my friends. However, some don’t feel comfortable with doing that. For me, Twitter is the quickest and most effective way of getting your posts seen on a regular basis, and it’s all done through the use of hashtags. Others prefer Pinterest, while others like Tumblr. Some even create Vlogs to go with their posts – my friend Steve often does this for his ‘Now This Is What I Would Call Music’ blog. Regardless of your preferences, create separate social media accounts (don’t use your own) and start linking your blog posts to them.

Twitter Hashtags and Retweet Accounts

image

There are several different parties that go on during the week that are easy to use. Each follow the same format – share your link on Twitter and use a hashtag next to your post. Once posted, visit the hashtag and go and read and retweet other people participating.

Monday: #MondayBlogs. This is the ultimate hashtag party. It’s been going for two years, and was started by @RachelintheOC. Thousands participate each week.

Wednesday: #WWWBlogs (Women’s Writer Wednesday) and Ronovan’s #BeWow.

Saturday: #ArchiveDay (for sharing old posts from your blog), #WeekendBlogHop and Part Time Monster’s #WeekendCoffeeShare.

Sunday: #SundayBlogShare, which I created. I started it last November and within just a few months there were hundreds of people participating. Last week there were over 1500 posts shared, and my traffic each Sunday has increased considerably because of it. This is how I did it:

  • I decided on a hashtag name and checked to see that it wasn’t already in use (just type your proposed hashtag into the ‘search’ on Twitter and see if others are using it).
  • I created a post on the blog which explained what it was, the rules for using it and invited all of my followers to participate.
  • I registered the hashtag via Twubs.
  • I created a basic button that advertised the hashtag.

Note: it isn’t possible to own a hashtag like you can a domain name. However, if you register it against your name you can at least have proof that you host the party regularly. And here, regularity and consistency is key. #SundayBlogShare has happened every single week, and when I haven’t been able to do it, I’ve invited other bloggers to host it for me.

However, there are more hashtags that I have found useful and use them at any point.

Are you a beauty blogger? Use #bbloggers after your post.
Life Blogger? #lbloggers
Fashion Blogger? #fbloggers
Parent? #pbloggers

There are also several accounts that exist simply to retweet your posts, and you can include them next to your link if you want them to do so. For me, some of the most effective ones are:

@FemaleBloggerRT
@UKBlog_RT
@TheBlogGuideRT

Note: there are no rules when it comes to the amount of times you should tweet. However, I find that once or twice every few hours is enough, and I try and retweet others where I can.

image

Follow For A Follow?

Some very popular, or ‘Power’ bloggers, gain lots of new followers by following them first. The blogging world seems to be very divided about this process. For me, I don’t do it myself – I follow about 250 as any more than that would be impossible to keep up with, but I don’t have a problem with those that do. It has worked for them, with great success, and kudos to them! However, don’t go and start demanding that people follow you just because you have clicked on their blog – it’s more likely to have a negative effect.

Other Ideas

I enjoy trying out new ideas. Some have worked, some haven’t, but like everything, blogging is a learning process.

Competitions: Lots of beauty and fashion bloggers regularly hold competitions, with the prize being a beauty product of some description. As I barely how to know how to use make-up without looking like an inexperienced drag queen, and have the fashion sense of a teenage boy, these sorts of things wouldn’t be of much use to me or my followers. However, I have done several lots of free advertising in the past as a competition prize and I have always received a good response from this.

Questions: On several occasions I have created a set of questions in an attempt to get to know my fellow bloggers. I have then collated their answers into a single post. Again, I received new followers when others reblogged the post.

Join other networks: I am a member of Mumsnet Bloggers, despite not being a parent myself, and I post on the weekly link up on the SITSGirls website. I’ve been featured twice on both, generating several thousand extra views to my posts.

Phew! There you go – some ideas to increase your traffic. Hope it’s useful! 

What about you guys? Have you got any hints and tips to increase traffic on your blog?

You can also find me on Twitter and Tumblr @suzie81blog, and don’t forget to check out my Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/suzie81speaks

319 thoughts on “Blog Advice 1: Increasing Your Traffic”

  3. Reblogged this on Realists Inc. and commented:
    Reblog comments: Excellent DIY methods to supplement traffic to your blog pages. SEO is less of a DIY. And there are SEO Masters selling ABC followers for $XYZ etc. at Twitter / WP etc.; which in my opinion is inflation of reality that CAN miserably mislead the blog owner.

  7. Pingback: Seven Basic Ways To Increase Your Blog Traffic in Thirty Minutes | Suzie81 Speaks

  10. Pingback: The A to Z Lowdown on Blogging: X is for X-Ray Vision | Serins Sphere

  11. Wow. Thank you. But – don’t you get overwhelmed with all the social medias? Like, isn’t it hard to keep up with every single one if you sign up to all of them? I’m already overwhelmed with the facebook page and pinterest page 😀 Everyone is talking about instagram and twitter but I’m not sure I’m ready to sign up to yet another social media device which sucks time to cater for. But it would help the traffic I guess… hmmmm…^^

    • I’m overwhelmed by everything at the minute but that is because work is quite hectic so I’m struggling to keep up. After a while you’ll find that a quick tweet or Facebook share will make a huge difference for very little effort, but it takes time to build it up.

  12. I’ve revisited this post a couple of times now and there’s always something new for me or something I can finesse on my blog. Thanks for sharing your insights in what is often a very closed and secretive world. cheers!

  16. Hi Suzie. I was going to do your last blog party but life caught up with me and two blogs plus a book I’m writing get a bit full. I was looking at the stats you posted and there is one missing. How many hits do you get from search engines?

      • I was just wondering because you didn’t mention it. Some bloggers only look for other bloggers and ignore search engine. I write so that it gets picked up by search engines so I spent time trying to learn how to tag and how to have tags in the body of the email etc. You have a really nice blog. It’s obvious you’ve put a lot of time into it. My main topic with Jamie’s blog is definitely not a happy topic. I often don’t get a lot of comments because they say they don’t know what to say. It’s hard to”like” something when you don’t like what it’s about. But it’s important to me.

      • That’s the beauty of blogging – it’s an open forum where you can discuss any topic that is important to you, and it doesn’t matter what others think. It’s been the best form of therapy I have ever had!

      • I agree. When I started my blog it bwas at Blog.com. Terrible place. I didn’t know the people who ran it had basically abandoned ship. There was also NO community so I didn’t know how to get started. I had to get readers by going to articles of similar subject matter and leave links to my blog. Sometimes their server would go down for days! It took 3 months to change everything over and when I did it took awhile to see the community and it was like WOW! It changed the entire experience and I’ve made some great online friends. Is one of the best experiences. My mother, who dislikes her computer doesn’t understand how I can devote so much time to it. The world is a smaller place when you can reach every corner and know people.

  17. Pingback: Me, Myself and I #3 | Suzie Speaks

  20. Pingback: Blog Envy | Suzie Speaks

  21. Hi Suzie,
    Thanks for following me on Twitter and re-tweeting some of my posts.
    This was really helpful, especially the advice about blog parties – I’m trying to get my foodie Meet and Greet going, so will definitely look into registering an associated hashtag.
    Thanks again for stopping by. 🙂

  24. As a beginner, I have already learned so much from you! Thank you for posting tips like this for those of us who are completely intimidated by this whole process!

    Do you have any tips for someone writing under a pen name who cannot generate traffic using their friends/colleagues?

    Thanks again for the great post!

  33. Thanks for all the advice. I’ve been blogging my Mum’s 1965 diary, along with my brother, for all this year, but am struggling to get it to a wider audience. Trouble is. I don’t really know what I am doing…….

  36. Pingback: Vegan Blogging Tips & Resources (and an Old Person’s Manifesto On Blogging)

  39. Reblogged this on Pink Elephants and commented:
    Being a newbie, it has been incredibly helpful to get blogging tips from the wordpress community. The blogging community I surprisingly found to be incredibly support! What a delight to my liking that was!

    So, here goes my very first reblog!
    I found a peaceful aura to her writing and was suddenly inspired to reblog.
    Enjoy!

  40. Pingback: Vegan Blogging Tips & Resources (and an Old Person’s Manifesto On Blogging) – Spice Box of Earth

  41. Pingback: 5 Reasons Why Automated DM’s on Twitter are A Bad Idea – The Gay Stepdad

  42. Pingback: Vegan Blogging Tips & Resources (and an Old Person's Manifesto On Blogging) - Jenny Marie

  44. Awesome tips! Wrote down all those hashtags so I can up my twitter game. Are tags on a blog post the same as labels? Not sure how to comment on a pin so here I am lol I’d also like to be added to the Share Your Blog Board if possible? Thanks a bunch for all this information ❤

    Jaimee

  45. Thanks for the awesome advice and tips! I am a new blogger and very slowly increasing my traffic. These tips will be super helpful. I was surprised you didn’t mention Instagram. I am having some success there but still working on it. I would love to be added to the Share Your Blog group on Pinterest. That’s how I found you! Thank you!

    • Instagram is my least favourite, the least authentic and brings me little traffic, but I don’t put in much effort with it haha! Can you send me a message on Pinterest please?

Comments are closed.