Some of us write for a hobby. Shoot, sometimes we just write to express our feelings. Chances are, if you own a blog, that you also are writing to gain an audience. We all have seen those bloggers that have a mass following. They made a viral post at some point and got thousands of followers overnight, or they have been posting quality content for years and slowly grew their readership. I have been asked before, “What is the secret to growing your blog traffic?”. Here is the truth: there is no magic trick that will gain you more followers. It all boils down to hard work and connecting with your audience. Need a little guidance on where to get started? Here are some easy ways to drive more traffic to your blog.
KNOW :clap: YOUR :clap: NICHE-
I cannot say this enough. Stop trying to be a jack of all trades! Instead, be a master of one niche. Your audience will be drawn to your authentic passion of one subject. Think about it, if you are going to get a recipe would you trust a food blogger or a product reviewer more? The product reviewer would be a great source next time you are planning a new purchase but maybe not for meal prepping ideas. Pick a lane and stay in it.
Write-
What is a key element of a blog? CONTENT! You should be writing. You should be writing often and consistently. Make a posting schedule and stick to it. Write a few blogs in advance of your posting schedule so they are ready to go. Put in the time and the work.
Titles-
There is a reason why click bait works. Those titles are catchy. Create titles that will draw people in. Make your audience want to read more. Be sure to back up those titles with quality content. You want to copy the idea behind click bait titles, not actually be click bait.
Links-
You want to keep your readers on your page. Include links in your blog posts that lead to other relevant blog posts you have created. You also want people to know you have not just made up facts or plagiarized so be sure to include links to your sources. The bonus is that search engines will think your page is more credible if it includes both internal (other pages on your site) and external (other sites) links. Be careful though. Try to keep the amount of links in any given blog post to under 4. Too many links will make search engines suspicious of your page.
Keywords-
If you were searching for your blog what would your search be? You must include keywords in your blog post if you want it to appear in search engine results. Again, you have to be careful about placement because too many uses of your keywords will make search engines suspicious of your blog and you could get flagged as spam. For a little more information about keyword placement, check out this helpful page from Google.
Social Media Links-
If you want your readers to be able to click that share button, make sure you include a share button! People are more likely to share a blog post if it is only a click away rather than having to copy and paste a link. Let your readers share your blog posts easily so they can expose you to more potential followers.
Engage With Your Readers-
Your readers have a relationship with you. They value your opinion and trust your judgement. If they are taking the time to reach out to you, take time to reach out to them. You appreciate that they showed up, read your content, and took time to comment on it, so be sure to voice that appreciation. Reply to comments on social media. If you have comments turned on for your blog, reply to those comments too. Followers that feel values are more likely to be loyal readers and even recommend you to a friend.
We hope these tips gave you a hopeful place to start. Thanks for spending time on our blog, and if you are interested in becoming a Social Insider you can learn more here.
