So you finally launched your much anticipated blog?
Excited to take on the world and share your genius?
Maybe you’re even ready to earn some passive income?
There’s just one problem… No-one is reading your blog yet!
Don’t worry, we’ve all been there.
Fortunately we’re here to show you the best ways to increase blog traffic fast.
This article is for those who have already started a wordpress blog (← click here if not) and are ready to learn some tricks to increase blog traffic.
Why Driving Blog Traffic Is Vital
Blogging is a great way to build up your business and brand, but it can take time to become established.
You could spend months with little or no traffic and not see the results you want. Worse yet, you could invest time and money into a blog and receive no traffic at all.
This can be disheartening… but don’t give up! There are ways to increase blog traffic, and it doesn’t have to be difficult. We’ll soon discuss some simple suggestions on how to increase your blog traffic.
But first, why is it so important to increase blog traffic?
Well, because your blog is your business!
Unless your blog is a passion project (which is still awesome) then you want your blog to make money. Most blogs make money from advertisements and affiliate marketing. There is therefore a direct correlation between traffic and income.
Consequently, whilst it’s super important to work on your blog design and content – treat it like a budding business! Work on driving blog traffic and the income will follow.
Of course, it won’t happen overnight, but if you’re patient, you’ll see a significant increase in traffic to your blog.
What Is Good Blog Traffic?
There are many ways to get targeted traffic and it’s important not to over-promote your website.
Your content needs to be high quality and interesting for visitors if you want them to keep coming back. If they like your content, they will share it on social sites and tell their friends about you. This type of organic growth is the best way to increase your blog traffic.
People often assume that blogging is all about traffic numbers, but that’s not necessarily true. In reality, it’s better to have a smaller number of long-term visitors than a large number of short-term visitors who never return to your site.
For this reason we would strongly advise against paying cheap advertisement agencies to widely promote your website.
If you want more targeted traffic from search engine listings, social media sites, and other sources, take a look at these methods you can use to get visitors interested in your blog.
How to Increase Blog Traffic Fast
Increasing blog traffic fast takes some extra work and it’s important to pay attention to certain details. You’ll need to make sure that your site is search engine optimized, ensuring readers can easily find you online. Your content also needs to be top-notch, outshining your competitors.
Here are 11 tips for building the traffic your blog deserves:
1. Find the Right Keywords
One of the best ways to get more traffic to your blog is to target the right keywords. When you know what potential readers are searching for, you can create content relevant to their needs. This will help you rank higher in search engine results pages, and it will also help you attract visitors from social media sites, forums, and other sources.
There are a number of tools that you can use to help you find the right keywords. Our preferred methods:
There are also some free tools including Google AdWords Keyword Tool and semrush.com. You’re looking for high volume (lots of people search for it) with low competition (few articles on the topic, or the top ranked ones are no good). If you’re struggling, pay someone to do it for you!
Creating a focus keyword for your blog is equally important, as it helps you to rank higher in search engines. You can also target the right keywords during your writing. Choose one broad keyword that you want to rank for and then create several more specific, but related keywords that people might use when searching online.
2. Keep Your Content Fresh
Ok, this seems obvious.
But it’s important to update your blog regularly!
With millions of new blogs being created each year, only those that stay up-to-date will rise to the top.
However it’s equally important not to overwhelm your readers with too much new content all at once. If you post more than three times a week, you might want to split up the content so each entry is focused on one topic or idea. This will help to keep your readers interested and coming back for more.
In addition to posting regularly, you should also make sure that your content is fresh and interesting. When you’re writing about the same topics all the time, your blog can start to look a bit spammy. Mix up your content and be sure to write about a variety of topics that interest you and your audience.
PRO TIP – Longer articles will still generally rank better.
Google Rankings Vs Word Count (Image courtesy of Neil Patel)
Longer articles generally acquire more backlinks and more social media shares.
However don’t just write longer, write better!
Google knows when you’ve padded your article with empty words.
For competitive topics, try to create the most detailed and helpful article out there. Look at the top 3 articles and blow them out of the water. Increased helpfulness is a surefire way to increase blog traffic fast.
3. Use Social Media to Promote Your Content
Social media has taken over the world!
Take a look at every passenger on the subway or bus… how many are transfixed by their social media feed?
When you post links to your blog entries on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media sites, you’ll reach people who might not have otherwise seen your content. Make sure you’re using social media sites to their full potential by providing interesting and engaging content. DEMAND ATTENTION. The average attention span on social media is just 2-seconds!
Adapt your content depending on the platform – visual content for pinterest, satirical for twitter and awkward dancing for Tiktok (you don’t have to do this one).
You can also use social media sites to drive traffic to your blog by running contests, giving away free products or services, or encouraging people to leave comments on your blog entries.
4. Use Headlines That GRAB Attention
One of the best ways to increase blog traffic is creating headlines that culture curiosity.
This Easy Trick Can Make YOU A Millionaire!!
When you come up with a catchy headline, you’ll encourage people to click through to your blog post and see what you have to say. You can also use headlines to tease your readers by hinting at the topic of your blog post without giving away all of the information. This helps to build your reader’s interest and they’ll be more likely to visit your blog.
Here’s a bonus tasty tip for you – use odd numbers in your title.
This can increase click-through-rates (CTR) by over 20%.
A simple trick to increase blog traffic, but it genuinely works.
Don’t believe me!?
Check out the title of this article – you clicked on it after all.
Pro Tip: One of our super secret ways to increase blog traffic – try using the number “7”. Humans are fascinated by the number 7 and are therefore more likely to click your article. Give it a try, you won’t regret it.
5. Use Pictures And Videos To Engage Your Readers
Images and videos are a great way to engage your readers.
However, they should be useful and relevant to your blog. The picture above is not – although I bet it got your attention!
Search engines reward pages which hold onto a readers attention. Which page do you think will engage the reader more?
- A super informative large block of text that looks like a word document.
- A less informative post that includes audio, pictures and videos.
In the age of visual media, I think you can work out the answer to that one.
Additionally Google (and Co) place SEO value on posts which include helpful images. Try to find visual representations of your keyword, as these will be the most effective at attracting attention on social media sites. Utilize infographics, screengrabs or handy diagrams. Anything that adds to the user experience can increase blog traffic (via improved search rankings).
In addition to adding visuals to your blog posts, you should also create a Pinterest board of your favorite images and share it on social media sites. This will help you attract a wider audience and encourages people to click through to your website.
6. Submit Your Blog to Directories and Online Communities
There are many online directories and communities where you can submit your blog for inclusion.
This is a great way to get traffic from people who are looking for information on specific topics. It’s important to do your research before submitting your blog to any online directories or communities.
Make sure that you’re choosing sites where people interested in your content are likely to visit. Otherwise you’ll be wasting your time, submitting your blog to irrelevant sites.
Our Top Three Blogging Directories:
When submitting your blog, make sure that you’re following the site’s submission guidelines carefully. You’ll also want to include a brief description of your blog and its content so people know what they’re getting when they visit.
7. Use Guest Blogging Opportunities To Reach A Wider Audience
You’ve probably already been told that you should be guest blogging…
But is it still worthwhile?
Yes!
Guest Blogging is still one of the best ways to increase blog traffic fast.
It allows you to reach a wider audience and introduce them to your blog.
When writing guest posts for other blogs, make sure to include links back to your blog. This allows readers to learn more about you and your work. Backlinks also increase your trustworthiness in the eyes of the big G… Google.
Make sure that you’re targeting the right blogs to write for.
- Choose the same (or very similar) niche as your own.
- Aim for sites with higher traffic and domain authority.
- Avoid sites with lots of spammy content. You don’t want to be associated with low quality content.
You can also delegate this step if you want to focus on content. But don’t skip it! Make sure you vet the sellers of these services carefully – some will be selling cheap and useless articles or backlinks.
Fiverr is a great place to start:
8. Analyze Your Traffic Stats And Make Adjustments As Necessary
It’s important to analyze your traffic stats to see where your readers are coming from… and what they’re interested in. This information will help you make adjustments to your blog content so you can better serve your audience.
Use Google Analytics to track your website traffic. Monitor the stats for social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.
By analyzing your traffic stats, you’ll be able to see which blog posts are getting the most attention. Make more of these! Write what the audience need, not what you want to write.
This is a sure-fire way to increase blog traffic faster.
9. Publish Viral Content - Be Controversial!
Viral content is the stuff people love to share on social media,
How do you create viral blog content?
Certainly not by playing it safe!
Your content needs to be contentious or stir up emotion. Play devils advocate, question the status quo. No-one shares neutral content these days.
An exception to this rule is when providing a useful “life-hack”. These spread like wildfire! However they have already been covered extensively. If you have some new ones… goldmine!
Ultimately, if you can create content that is interesting and relevant to your audience, they higher the likelihood of them sharing it with their friends.
One of the best existing ways to create viral content is to write a list post. People love lists and they also tend to share them on social media sites. By coming up with a unique or interesting list post, you can develop blogs that will go viral and attract more attention from readers.
10. Promote Your Posts On Other Sites
Sometimes, the best way to promote your blog is on other sites.
This allows you to steal some of their traffic and drive it to your blog. Cheeky!
There are many communities and forums where you can submit links to your work. You can encourage people to share and comment on your posts. When people like what they read, they’ll be more likely to return to your site for more of the same.
Consider posting on Reddit and other communities.
Warning: expect brutal honestly but ignore the trolls.
11. Keep Your Content Relevant
Above all, one of the most important ways to increase blog traffic is to keep your content relevant.
Make sure that everything you post on your site is related to topics that are of interest to your audience. If you can deliver what they want, they will be more likely to come back again and again for more. You’re more likely to attract new readers if your blog is focused and relevant. Google will also better understand your blog and drive the right readers your way.
Bonus: How to Increase Blog Traffic For Free Using Pinterest
The above tips aren’t just great ways to increase blog traffic, they’re also examples of how to increase blog traffic for free.
One very effective free method to expand on is how to use Pinterest for blogging.
Pinterest is a free social media site where users can share images of things they like. The posts that get the most attention are called pins, and people often repin these from other sites into their own boards on Pinterest. A pin has 100x more reach than an average tweet! It’s pretty easy to see how pinterest can become a great way to increase blog traffic for free.
Here is our 9 step guide on how to use Pinterest for blogging:
1. Create An Account On Pinterest
The first step is to create an account on Pinterest and start creating boards for your blog. Pin images from your own blog or find pins that are related to your topic. Then repin them onto your own boards.
2. Add A "Pin It" Button To Your Blog
The next step is to add a Pin It button to your blog. When readers like your images, they can repin them to their own boards on Pinterest. These images will then appear in front of a wider audience. Result!
3. Start Pinning Other Bloggers' Content
One great way to get more traffic from Pinterest is to pin other people’s content onto your boards. You can find pins that are related to your topic, and then repin them onto your own boards. When other bloggers see that you’re pinning their content, they may be more likely to visit your blog and share your posts with their readers. Hey presto… you’ve increased blog traffic!
4. Use Popular Pinterest Tags
When you’re pinning content on Pinterest, it’s important to use popular tags so that your pins are more likely to show up in search results. You can find a list of popular Pinterest tags on the site’s official blog.
5. Use Images In Your Posts
When you’re writing your blog posts, be sure to use images to break up the text and make your posts more visually appealing.
More time on the page means more engagement.
This signals google to drive more readers to your blog.
Optimising your blog post with pinterest images is therefore one of the best ways to increase blog traffic. Readers are more likely to pin images directly from your posts to their own boards. Make sure that you’re using high-quality images that will catch their attention.
6. Use Eye-Catching Titles
When you’re creating titles for your Pinterest posts, be sure to use eye-catching words that will get people’s attention. You can also use numbers in your titles to make them more appealing. For example, “5 Ways to Get More Traffic from Pinterest.”
7. Take Advantage Of Pinterest Boards
Pinterest boards are a great way to organize and collect pins related to a specific topic. When you create boards for your blog, you can attract more followers and encourage them to visit your blog.
8. Follow Other Bloggers On Pinterest
Introducing the infamous “follow-unfollow” method.
This involves following people who are interested in or involved in the same niche. A percentage of these people will then follow you back. Subsequently you may decide to unfollow them, so as not to end up following huge numbers of people.
When you follow other bloggers on Pinterest, they may also be more likely to pin your content to their boards. This is a great way to get your content in front of a wider audience.
9. Use Eye-Catching Images
When you’re pinning images on Pinterest, be sure to use high-quality images that will catch people’s attention. Readers are more likely to repin images from your posts to their own boards, so make sure that you’re using eye-catching images that will get their attention.
Consider making your own unique pins (like ours). If you can’t do this yourself, once again – we recommend Fiverr.
Bonus: How To Promote Your Food Blog
We threw this one in to complement our much requested guide to food blogging.
Most of the previously mentioned ways to increase blog traffic also work for food blogs. But here are a number of specific strategies to promote your food blog.
1. Post Regularly
One of the best ways to get readers to your food blog is to post regularly. By posting new content on a regular basis, you’ll keep your readers coming back for more. Food blogs have a higher turnover than other niches! Many offer daily recipes.
2. Create High-Quality Content
When you’re writing content for your food blog, be sure to create high-quality posts that are both informative and interesting. By providing valuable content, you’ll keep your readers coming back for more and they’ll be more likely to share your content with their own followers.
3. Be Lively And Interactive
Food blogging is a great way to share recipes with friends and family, but it’s also a great way to connect with people from all over the world. By writing opinion pieces and sharing personal anecdotes, you’ll make your blog livelier and more interactive, which will keep people coming back for more.
4. Be Consistent
When you’re trying to increase traffic to your food blog, it’s important to be consistent with your postings. By posting regularly on a set schedule, people will know when they can expect new content from you, and they’ll come back for more.
5. Use Social Media To Promote Your Blog
As above, social media sites like Facebook and Pinterest are great ways to promote your food blog and attract new readers. By posting links to your latest posts on your social media profiles, you’ll reach a larger audience and encourage them to visit your blog.
6. Make Your Blog Easy To Navigate
If people have trouble using your blog, they won’t come back for more. By making sure that your site is easy to navigate and provides valuable content, you’ll be able to attract a loyal audience who will visit your site regularly.
By posting regularly, creating high-quality content, and promoting your site on social media sites like Facebook and Pinterest, you can attract readers who will visit your blog regularly.
Use these tips for how to promote your food blog and take over the blogging world!
Conclusion
Okay, we titled the article “ways to increase blog traffic fast”.
Perhaps we should have said fast-er.
When starting a blog, you need to remember that it takes time and effort to attract a following. There are very few ways to garner immediate traffic for your blog – unless you’re already a celebrity. However, following the 11 steps above offers the best chance of driving traffic to your blog quickly.
It’s also important to make a commitment and post on a regular basis. By posting high-quality, informative content that appeals to your target audience, you’ll be able to get more people coming back for more.
Go get some!
