Blog traffic, when you are just starting out, can seem impossible to boost. Especially if paying for advertising or traffic is out of the question, getting the word out about your blog can be a frustrating endeavor with no success in sight. Website traffic can get your site more money by increasing the amount of advertising revenue, and it can also increase your search engine page rank and guarantee more hits in the future.
Aside from having unique content, there are ways you can get creative to increase the amount of visitors to your blog on a daily basis. Some of them are easier than others, but all of them will get real people on your site, instead of paid traffic bots. Employ these ten methods to boost your site hits and watch your website traffic increase steadily.
1.) Post your Website to StumbleUpon
StumbleUpon is a free service for people who are bored around the Internet. When they don’t know what else to look at, they can click “StumbleUpon” and be directed to a random site. Putting your website on StumbleUpon is free, and it could put your site in front of the eyes of many people. If they like it, they will give it a thumbs-up and it will be recommended to other users. It is also a customizable service, so your shoe review website will show up on a shoe-lovers random click, which can drive targeted traffic to you.
2.) Write a Guest Post on Another Site
Before even asking if another site might need a guest blogger or post contributor, write up a guest post that is a natural plug for your own site and include a link. Make sure you write a guest article for a site that has the type of visitors you want. Then, email the webmaster saying you thought of a great idea for their site and offer your article to them. If they accept it and put it on their site, it is as good as free advertising for you.
3.) Tag Images Properly
Say you have a picture of your cat on your website or blog. You might be tempted to make a simple, personal tag for it such as “my cat” or “Fluffy”, but reconsider. Tagging your image with words that other people might search for can bring traffic to your website. People will not search for your cat’s name if they are looking for a similar-looking cat on Google images. If you have a black Persian cat with yellow eyes, make very general tags such as “black Persian cat,” “cat with yellow eyes,” or “fluffy black cat.” When people inevitably search for these types of cat pictures, they will be linked to your blog or website.
4.) Comment on Other Websites
When you post comments on other websites or blogs, there is often a space for you to enter your URL. Doing so can increase your web traffic, especially if you are posting on sites with a similar audience to the one you want.
5.) Cite your Website in Yahoo Answers
Look for questions asked on Yahoo Answers that are relevant to your website. If you find one, answer the question accurately based on the content you provide. Then, in the section for the “source” of your answer, include a link to your site. That way, whenever people search the same question, they will look to your site for answers.
6.) Respond to Visitors’ Comments and Emails
If a visitor asks a question about your site or content, whether it is in the comments section or via email, answer it promptly. It may seem like a lot of work at first to keep up with it, but it will have more people coming back to your site. If they post a comment, they will undoubtedly come back to see the reply. If there is no reply however, a conversation will not start and it is unlikely that they will ever come back. Additionally, new users will see that you are a mindful webmaster if you leave a lot of replies, and they will give your website more credit for being well-maintained.
7.) Ask Your Readers Questions
Similarly, promoting interaction with your visitors is an excellent way to keep them coming back to your site over and over. Consider asking your readers a question in your content about the topic. For example, if you’re writing about an upcoming election, ask “who do you think will garner more votes from the left?” to promote discussion. Readers can interact with each other and start a conversation. If a conversation starts, all contributing parties will keep coming back to put in their two cents until the topic has been discussed in full.
8.) Host Contests or Giveaways
By hosting a contest or a giveaway on your blog or website, you are giving people a reason to keep coming back. Once they have entered, they will return daily to find out whether or not the grand prize is theirs.
9.) Pay Attention to your Analytics on Google
With Google, you can look at the analytics and stats of your website. This allows you to see which links are being clicked through, and which keywords are being searched the most to get to your site. If you pay attention to these factors, you can tweak your site and Meta tags to better reach the audience you are striving for. For example, if one of your keywords is “snowboard footwear” but more people are coming to your site looking for “snowboard boots,” consider adjusting your keywords and descriptions accordingly.
10.) Create a YouTube Channel
Create a YouTube channel and post videos relevant to your website’s content, or make them yourself. As in the example YouTube video in the picture on the right, you can include a link to your site in the description, and fans of your video content will probably follow.
Sometimes excellent content is simply not enough when trying to boost website hits. That’s why these creative methods are a good way to get people interested in your website or blog.
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