Blog Advice 1: Increasing Your Traffic

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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

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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

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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.

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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”

  1. Really useful advice Suzi! I will definitely use some of these tips.
    I used to be quite hung up on followers and likes when I first began and I suppose I was writing what I deemed as populist posts. But as I grew into blogging, my writing process became more natural and I just wrote what I felt like writing. I think people appreciate the sincerity.
    Great post!

    • Thank you! Blogging is so often based around the numbers in the beginning, and over time many bloggers start to write just for themselves and enjoy it. Authenticity and honesty is usually much more appreciated than just posting for the sake of it to build up the numbers…

  3. I agree with it all. The follow for follow trick works but I just can’t do it, so agreement with you there as well. I subscribe by email to those I for certain want to never ever miss, like a certain lady from the UK, but I still go through the reader for the others I follow when I can. Normally anyone that Follows me or likes something of my I go and check out their Blog to see if it is something I would be interested in.

    • Thanks Ron – I do exactly the same thing, unless someone demands that I follow, then I ignore. I find the blogging world can be quite political!

      I follow non-WordPress blogs through Twitter or Facebook rather than email – I have too many as it is haha! Thanks, as always, for your kind words and your support!

  4. Hey Suzie! Great tips!
    I went to spam prison for using more than 15 tags. That’s supposedly the limit on WP, but I don’t know how often they throw bloggers in spam these days. It happened to me twice so I stop at 14. Also, tags really help writers get “seen” on WP since they end up in topics. They don’t do anything for SEOs. Google is a moving target!

    I agree with you about following a ton of people. So many of the 250 I follow, don’t blog very often anymore, so I am always looking for new bloggers. Don’t you think many click to follow and never come back? What’s up with that? They must have enormous amounts of email notifications every day!

    • Thanks Susie! I didn’t know about the tag limit – Ive never been told off for it or sent to spam to my knowledge, but that’s something I’ll definitely check out!

      I did a little experiment last year to find out the amount of followers that I genuinely have, and I worked out that hundreds of the names on my list haven’t published anything or visited in over a year… There are a number of blogs that I started following myself a few years ago that haven’t seen anything from in a long time. I’ve left a few messages, but never received a reply from them. I’ll look forward to your next blog party so I can find more – do you mind if I edit this post and include a link to your last party as they’re always epic?

  6. Hi Suzie, can you tell us how to add a pingback to a blog post (in simple terms for the technophobes..by that mean me 😉

    Iv’e followed Daily prompt for a while now, but never taken part because I’ve no idea how pingback works o_O

    Thanks Suzie 🙂

    Kimmie x

    • Thanks Kimmie!

      I’ve looked on the WordPress support for a decent explanation but it’s far more technically explained than it needs to be, so I’ll try and explain it as easily as I can. Here’s how you do a pingback:

      When you writing a post there are a number of little symbols at the top. There is one that has two semi-circles with a little line in the middle of it. You’ll need to use this.

      Go to the post that you want to link up to. Copy the URL of the post.

      Go back to your own post and select a word or a key phrase in your post. So, for example, if the subject of the Daily Post prompt is ‘happiness,’ I would highlight that word in your own post. While the word is highlighted, click on the symbol at the top and it will create a box in which you copy and paste the URL that you’ve just copied (dont forget to delete the http:// that is already in the box before you do this.) Press ok, or done (can’t remember what it says) and that’s it!

      Give it a try, see if you can do it. Domt be afraid to ask any further questions if you need to…

      • Thanks for getting back to me Suzie.. I’m on blogger (not wordpress) but I’m guessing the symbol at the top you refer to is the add link box (not sure without checking if itlooks the same ‘semi circles’ on blogger)

        You’re instructions are clear though, I’ll book mark and refer back to you if I need to.

        Thanks again.

        Kimmie x

  7. Pingback: Blog Advice 1: Increasing Your Traffic | Annette Rochelle Aben

      • Thanks so much my love. The whole thing was just ruined for me and mentally I need this fresh start to leave it all behind. Absolute horrible man, I say! Thank you so much for your support xxxx

  14. Lots of great advice here! Thanks! I’ve tried #sundayblogshare a couple of times with great results. My plan of action is to keep on creating awesome posts to share.

  16. I’m not especially concerned about my numbers. In fact I assume my poetry blog will only have a handful or two of regular readers, but I really did enjoy reading this posting and looking at other things you’ve written. You’ve given bloggers lots of very useful information. It’s so nice of you to put it all together for everyone. Cheers. 🙂

    • Thanks so much Mary! And Happy World Poetry Day to you! I was considering putting a disclaimer at the top of the post, stating that the post would only really be suitable for people that are interested in increasing their stats, but thought I may alienate people. Thanks for the lovely comment!

  18. Some Brilliant advise here. Still can’t quite get my head round the hash tag thing. I have a twitter account, but when ever I log in, I get swamped by some much material, i run away. Thanks for thew advice, I will go back and try again.

    • Thanks Bill! It can be quite difficult to get your head around at first – it took me a good few months to really get into it. Keep trying – you’ll find that it gets easier with time…

  19. Really enjoyed reading this post, lots of great ideas. It’s all good reading blogging tips on random webpages but when somebody with a genuine practical understanding makes a post, it just seems a heck of a lot better.

    • Thanks Alex! When I first started I looked at random posts for advice, but many of them talked about things that I had no understanding of… Glad toy found it useful!

  20. Thank you so much for this advice. I am very new to this exciting world of blogging. I have found out that they is so much to learn. Thanks for making the process easier by sharing your experience. Have a good day.

    • Thanks Yvonne! So pleased you found it useful! I haven’t been on here that much recently so I’m going to be catching up on your blog ASAP as I was really enjoying it!

  21. “content is key” — Yes, it makes no sense to drive traffic to an empty experience – and I also agree that you have to help people find you- this is great advice.

    • Thanks Wayne! I agree – I see people working really hard on Twitter to always promote their posts, and when I have visited I have found just a whole list of inspirational quotes on every page. Of course, anyone can post whatever they like, but they can’t complain about a lack of interest if they aren’t prepared to put the effort in…

  22. I read a post mentioning the issue of the number of tags in WP, although there it said that over 15 gets knocked back by WP and it’s less likely to be found, so now I do count them. Thanks for this post. Very interesting reflections.

  25. Thanks Suzie, your posts are always so helpful. I have participated in the sundayblogshare and am always amazed at how many times my tweets are retweeted. I’m not sure if it drives anyone to come over and check me out but it’s nice to know I’m not alone out there in the twitter-sphere. I really appreciate your efforts and encouragement and willingness to share your knowledge. The point about writing honestly and authentic posts is so true, and hey if they get read they get read, if not I’ve enjoyed writing my little pieces 😊 I might start using some of the other hashtags too. Thanks again.

  26. Excellent advice. I don’t know much about Twitter and the tiny writing with blue letters is a strain on the eyes, so I have to find the best strategy that has the most impact. Would that be TheBlogGuideRT and WWWblog?

    Rarely have I received any negative comments, but if I do, I’ll know the best way to handle it.

    Thanks. 🙂

  29. I wish I’d read this post two years ago when I first started blogging! I was very reticent to put myself out there at first which was a mistake. Thanks for the tips!

    • You’re very welcome Jan! It’s definitely a trial and error process – there aren’t any ‘how to’ guides as the experience is different for everyone, but I wish there was something for newbies!

  32. Hi, Susie. I have a question. If people leave their links in comments does not it interfere with processing real comments? For example, I have daily 20-30 comments plus some people leave links. If i don’t remove links it is difficult to find real comments and to answer them.
    Should not these links be kept separate from comments?

      • You’ll see nothing on my blog as I eliminated daily all links to it. The reason I do it is that every link is among comments to the blog. When I left them for one week there were more than 40 links in “comments” plus daily 20-30 comments more. It became difficult to handle answer daily comments.

    • I think, for me, comments should contain links to someone’s blog unless they want to share a post that is relevant to your own. I’m going to do a post about comments tonight so if you have any moe questions feel free to ask!

  35. Suzie, your posts are always so very informative and helpful. Glad I stumbled upon this one tonight. I’m still working on my hashtag usage, and try to participate in the #sundayblogshare also #weekendcoffeeshare. Trying my hand at tumblr and stumbleupon and all that other jazz. I have a Facebook page set up, separate from my personal one, but I notice I get more views and traffic from twitter as well. I think it can be hit or miss. But then again, I’m not promoting the Facebook page too much. Still much learning to do, but it is fun. 🙂 ~Paula

  37. Reblogged this on Mel Cusick-Jones and commented:
    Just spotted this fantastic post on increasing your blog following via The Story Reading Ape. It has some great, simple suggestions to get your new blog up and running, or for revitalising one that may have dropped off a little. Take a read and follow the tips you think sound best for you 🙂 Maybe you could try the Sunday Blog Party today, I might…

  38. Great advice thank you. This is the first post I’ve read that didn’t suggest the same things as everyone else.

  39. Thanks for all the tips! Learned some new ‘stuff’ from your blog today which I am going to try out. I write in a very small niche, and have found that regular fresh quality content is key and keeps pulling people back in. Building up a following takes time and effort, but slowly my followers have increased with every new post I write. You have to love what you write, I think. People wont follow if they dont get a sense of how genuine you are, and they love personality, not a dry textbook spouting of facts. I dont have a lot of followers compared to many other blogs, but always get a good level of interaction, which I adore! I’ve met some wonderful people through blogging!

    • I totally agree with you Ali – regardless of your niche it’s important to be passionate about what you are creating and others will respond to authenticity far quicker than just page after page of words. So pleased you found it useful!

  42. Whew … that is an incredible amount of info to absorb. All of it is outstanding. I’ll just have to read it again and break it down into bite size pieces of action. Thank you for taking the time to write such an informative post. It’s excellant. I hope to do at least one thing everyday until I’ve accomplished more blog visitors. Thanks again …!!! 😃

    • Thank you very much! I’m pleased you found it useful – I think that your approach is the best idea. Don’t try everything at once, just try one thing and be consistent with it before trying something else!

  44. Thanks for listing some of the hashtags for Twitter parties – I didn’t know about all of those. Everything else very helpful as always too!

  45. Great post thanks. I do a lot of these things. And you’re right it does take a lot of time and work but I’ve had my blog up for only 35 days and already have almost 1000 hits and 127 followers.

  49. There’s some really great advice here. I’ve developed a bit of a blogging-advice addiction and I’ve read so many posts and some of these ideas actually sound like I could use them to take my blogging a bit more seriously. Thanks for the tips.

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