Traffic is the lifeblood for any blog or website because no matter how good is your content, you need to attract more readers by using different traffic generation techniques. Traffic is undoubtedly the number one concern of every blogger because it simply means more money to them.
“How to increase blog traffic?” is the most frequently asked question in every bloggers or webmasters forum. I have compiled this list after a thorough research on different traffic generation methods.
1. Comment on other blogs in your niche
This is the number one proven method of increasing blog traffic. Make a list of top blogs in your niche with the help of a free tool Commentsniper.com and regularly visit them to see what’s the latest on their blog and make sure you leave a comment in positive way but don’t be too formal while commenting. Leave good comments blend it with humor, controversies etc to trigger traffic to your blog but no offensive comments please.
Another simple way to find where to comment is to search your recent post title in Google search engine and start commenting on top most blogs it will drive a lot of traffic to your blog. This is a very useful way tip to increase back links as well.
You can use iGoogle as your homepage where you can add several gadgets of related keywords on blogsearch then it will show you latest articles on home page and you can regularly comment on top of latest articles. Commenting on top of articles will have a better chance for traffic as compared to bottom of the list.
2. Writing resourceful posts frequently
Returning visitors are the loyal readers of any blog and the returning factor depends upon how frequently you update your blog. So, frequently updating your blog with useful content is the major factor in building your blog’s traffic and audience. The updated content will keep readers coming back for something more on your blog.
Posting frequently will also increase your chances for your blog’s content to be noticed by search engines such as Google or Bing.
3. Submit your latest articles to Social Media Sites
Social media plays a vital role to spread your articles through word-of-mouth marketing on viral basis. Social media sites like facebook, twitter, Mixx, Digg etc. are the best places where you could submit your articles and get an instant boost of traffic to your blog.
The best way to submit it to use Addthis tool to your blog post so that your users can share it easily. Or you can go to Socialposter.com and fill in the exact url to your blog post, title, general summary and tags. Now you can submit to as many social sites as you can. If this is your first time to use these sites then you will need to signup with the social media sites. You can also consider to submit your articles to niche specific social media sites to gain considerably good amount of recognition for your work.
4. Submit your blog to Blog Directories
Submit your blogs to Technorati, Techmeme, Blogcatalog and other blog directories. Blog directories are also a place where you could submit your blogs and get traffic, initially when your blog is fairly new.
5. Submit Your Blog to Search Engines
This should be the first step after you write your first post on your blog. You can get on the radar screen for the popular search engines such as Google and Yahoo! by submitting your blog’s URL to them. Most search engines provide a ‘Submit’ link (or something similar) to notify the search engine of your new blog, so those search engines will crawl it and include your pages in their results. It’s important to understand that simply submitting your blog to search engines doesn’t mean your pages will appear at the top of a Google search results screen, but at least your blog will be included and will have the chance of being picked up by a search engine.
6. Comment on online communities
Join and take part in the online forums and communities. Don’t forget to add a signature with your blog URL. Your comments on these communities and forums would reward you in becoming a respected part of the community as well as get you work.
7. Interact with blog commenter
Make friendly relations with your blog commenter. Make them feel at home and they will make you feel at home. It’s that simple. Always try to help your commenter with some useful resource, if that is not possible lead them to a place which would solve their problems, don’t worry about they leaving your site, if they like your help they will return.
8. Use and Update Your Blogroll
By adding links to sites you like in your blogroll, the owners of those blogs will find your blog and will be likely to add a reciprocal link in their blogrolls. It’s an easy way to get the link to your blog in front of many readers on other blogs. The hope is that some of those readers will click on the link to your blog on the other blogs’ blogrolls and find your content interesting and enjoyable turning them into loyal readers.
9. Syndicate Your Blog’s Content with an RSS Feed
Setting up an RSS feed button on your blog makes it easy for your loyal readers to not just read your blog but also know when you publish new content. Here is a good place to start http://www.earnbonus.com/feed-directories/
10. Use Links and Trackbacks
Links are one of the most powerful parts of your blog. Not only are links noticed by search engines, but they also act as a tap on the shoulder to other bloggers who can easily identify who is linking to their sites. Linking helps to get you noticed by other bloggers who are likely to investigate the sites that are linking to them. This may lead them to become new readers of your blog or to add links to your blog from theirs. You can take links to other blogs a step further by leaving a trackback on the other blog to let them know you’ve linked to them. Blogs that allow trackbacks will include a link back to your blog in the comments section of the post that you originally linked to. People do click on trackback links!
11. Tag Your Posts
It takes a few extra seconds to add tags to each of your blog posts, but it’s worth the time in terms of the additional traffic tags can drive to your blog. Tags (like links) are easily noticed by search engines. They’re also key to helping readers find your blog when they perform searches on popular blog search engines such as Technorati.
12. Remember Search Engine Optimization
When you write your blog posts and pages, remember to optimize your pages for search engines to find them. Include relevant keywords and links but don’t overload your posts with too many relevant keywords or completely irrelevant keywords. Doing so can be considered spamming and could have negative results such as your blog being removed from Google’s search entirely.
13. Link to other’s Article
Linking in and out helps a lot. Firstly, it helps you in providing proof about your thoughts as well as helps you get people link to you for providing a resourceful article.
14. Don’t Forget Images & Videos
Images don’t just make your blog look pretty, they also help people find you in search engine listings. People often use the image search options offered by Google, Yahoo! and other search engines, and naming your images with search engine optimization in mind can easily boost your traffic.
15. Consider Guest Blogging
Guest blogging can be done when you write a guest post on another blogger’s blog or when another blogger writes a guest post on your blog. Both methods are likely to increase traffic as your blog will be exposed to the other blogger’s audience. Many of the other blogger’s readers will visit your blog to see what you have to say.
16. Join Forums, Web Rings or Online Groups
Find online forums, web rings, groups or social networking sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn where you can share ideas and ask questions of like-minded individuals. Add a link to your blog in your signature line or profile, so each time you post on a forum or participate in another online network, you’re indirectly promoting your blog. Chances are many people will click on that link to learn more about you.
Make sure and add your blog url to your forum signature on any forums you are a member. This can be a powerful way to attract visitors especially if you have quality forum posts.
17. Promote Outside Your Blog
Promoting your blog shouldn’t stop when you step outside the blogosphere. Add your blog’s URL to your email signature and business cards. Talk about it in offline conversations. It’s important to get your name and your blog’s URL noticed offline, too.
18. Harness the Power of Comments
Commenting is a simple and essential tool to increase your blog’s traffic. First, respond to comments left on your blog to show your readers that you value their opinions and draw them into a two-way conversation. This will increase reader loyalty. Second, leave comments on other blogs to drive new traffic. Make sure you leave your blog’s URL in your comment, so you create a link back to your own blog. Many people will read the comments left on a blog post. If they read a particularly interesting comment, they are highly likely to click on the link to visit the commentor’s website. It’s important to make sure you leave meaningful comments that are likely to invite people to click on your link to read more.
19. Acknowledge good work
Find one of the top bloggers in your niche then write a good review post of them. Let them know and they will probably link back to you.
20. Be Patient
This last tip is the most important one, this tells you to be patient. Whatever you do, be it building a big house or making a million dollars, everything takes time, so does our online venture. Consider this, if you have stepped in to Internet Marketing, then you didn’t get involved by chance. It’s that even your destiny wants you to get in it. If you’re patient enough to cross the initial period of failure then your future would be full of colors of success.
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