Now tell me who doesn't want more traffic? Who has already got enough traffic and you’re overwhelmed and you shout “NO” to traffic? Is there such thing as too much traffic? You bet!
Let’s accept this simple fact and let’s say out loud: I want more traffic. Yes, MORE.
No matter whether you receive 100 visits to your site per day or 100K visits per day, you still need more traffic, don’t you?
YES is the answer.
So in this post I am not going to give you the usual traffic generating tips. But I am going to talk to you keeping the big picture in mind – the strategic approach to getting more traffic. Let’s dive in.
#1 Build a community
I can say that Ileane is pretty good at it 🙂 She consistently worked on building a strong community for her blog. Building a community is like building a strong base and an asset for your blog. This is something you build for your blog with the long term benefits in mind. This is not a thing you think about for now and forget.
So how do you build a community?
You can do so in many ways. Usually blog commenting works great for building a community. Now, don’t immediately jump into your blog commenting campaign before you finish reading what I started. Blog commenting, if done correctly, can get you amazing results (apart from building a community you can also get free promotion of your site plus a bunch of backlinks).
But if you do it incorrectly it can bite your back. If you start spamming other blogs with keywords in your name field, “great post” sorta comments and too many comments leaving no room for the others, you will make it work reversely for you.
This recent post by Darren Rowse is a nice guide on how to do it right > The ultimate guide to leaving comments on blogs.
Apart from blog commenting, you can also indulge in conversations in social media, on forums etc. But don’t make this thing overwhelming for you. Just pick up 1 or 2 things that work for you and things that you can handle, and stick with them. Be consistent.
You won’t see a difference overnight. It will take quite some time. But by being consistent you will see you have an awesome community to back yourself up and your blog over the time.
Other than Ileane, other women who rock it are Adrienne Smith and Harleena Singh (and here's the post where Harleena shares commenting tips at Adrienne's blog)! Look at their comments on other blogs. They are long and insightful. And visit their blogs to see how people rush in to leave a comment as soon as they publish a new post! You not only get comments in return, but people share your content and support you when you launch something. That’s the power of having` a community.
#2 Connect with your readers
Stop working on improving inanimate and lifeless things like SEO, rankings, numbers etc. and focus on real living people – your readers. Your readers are the ones who listen to what you say and they are the ones who are going to do business with you.
You are not going to sell your product to the Google spiders, but to your readers.
So in an attempt to mastering SEO, please don’t disrespect your readers. Let your content be created for your readers and make everything about your business useful to them. Make them your priority.
So how can you connect with your readers?
Again, there are many ways to do this. Rather than running a blog by putting yourself behind a wall, put up a photo (a real face of yours) on your blog. Let the readers see the real human being behind the blog they are reading.
I’ll be surprised if you haven’t yet signed up for a free account at Gravatar.com which makes integrating your avatar in many places easy by connecting your avatar with your email. Whenever you leave comments on other blogs, your face shows up. And when people come to your blog, they can see the same face and it is much easier for them to “get” you this way.
Have an About page on your blog that is not all about you but still has some personality injected into it.
And when you create content use a conversational voice. I usually speak out my blog posts as I write them – I imagine my audience sitting right in front of me and that I’m talking to them.
People tend to check out links from real persons and become repeat visitors (sticky traffic) to blogs where they easily feel a connection!
#3 Be honest and open
People love honesty and it is easy to trust people who are honest. What many bloggers try is just the opposite. They try to showcase themselves as successful bloggers and fake things until they make it. This is totally unnecessary and will only hurt their reputation.
Rather by being honest and open you can earn fans for life.
Did you try out something and it failed? No problem! Just share it with your readers honestly. They’ll love you for it and you’ll save them the trouble of going through the same mistake!
This also applies for affiliate marketing in particular. If you find a product to be crappy, don’t write a “Buy it now coz its so good” kinda review. Honestly point out what’s wrong with the product and what’s nice about it.
By being honest you can build a solid base of customers/followers who will trust you. And, the word of mouth is a great marketing tool to get you all the traffic you dream of!
#4 Help others and be accessible
By helping others, you send out good waves. You see, when you started out, you had troubles right? You had obstacles. There were so many things that you couldn't figure out and you were stuck.
At those times, you either sought out the help of other fellow bloggers (lucky you!) or you figured them out yourself.
Now think of other emerging bloggers the same way. Just put yourself in their shoes. When they’re in need of help and if you offer them help, you’re earning fans for life. You are not only going to get “just” traffic but traffic from your fans for life.
Get blog traffic strategically: Takeaway
I know you might have been disappointed after reading this post. You might have expected tips like “do blog commenting”, “do guest posting”, “promote posts on social media” and so on.
But the tips I've shared here are the core factors that will provide you with long term sticky traffic. You've got to try these out to believe me!
Hi there!
It’s been a week since the last time I read some articles about internet marketing and blogging.
I will always suggest building community Jane. I believe it is a great way to start a good blog traffic this 2014. And yes, I concur that blog commenting is one way, I must say it is effective.
Hey Metz, thanks for seconding that – blog commenting is simply awesome.
I will say good content backed up with a good social media promotion will give you your desired traffic result
Jane, you are right – it’s really about building a community on your blog. People have to get to know you first to become part of your community. Ileane, Adrienne and Harleena do an excellent job of this! Being accessible is key. I’ve known several big name bloggers who never responded to email or tweets and I’ve since stopped following them. They did not appear to be genuine and usually just sent emails to make sales and not oriented toward me personally. So being accessible is key for me!
Lisa that’s a good point about the big names. While they don’t respond to emails, tweets etc. some are so keen on bombarding us with sales pitches. I often wonder how they get the time for that alone 🙂
Thanks for your comment.
Powerful.
“Let your content be created for your readers and make everything about your business useful to them. Make them your priority.”
The only problem with a piece this valuable is how high you’ve raised the bar for yourself.
Hello..
Super like to this article…..Great tips…
I want to add few lines in your article that,you should be the helping nature in the blogging field.That is also the way to increase your circles which automatically leads to Traffic increase…:)
Riya, yes I’ver personally earned many fans via helping them out at the right time – not boasting, but emphasizing that it works.
Hi Jane, I am not dissappointed with the post! At least, it provided some fresh perspectives from what I am already used to. It expounded on how to do comment and how to connect with the audience.
The guide on commenting published by Darren Rowse of Problogger is awesome. Its definitely a must read guide.
The strategies discussed in this post can be summarized in one sentence “connect with the audience by offering value” ( this is my take :D)
That’s right Sunday! Connecting matters a lot nowadays.
Jane,
These are the most simple traffic tips you can give out and often the most underused.
Glad to see you bring that back up again since there are many out there looking for that “magical” technique that brings them hundreds of views for their website.
Nothing beats he connection aspect of driving traffic and you do that best with producing your best content, nothing else.
What’s nice about the connection is that we have help in creating more and more. Social media! Remember?
We can use social media to create connections and in return get traffic to our sites through these connections.
Remember, social media is not to meant to be spammed with our links but instead use the platform to connect with other.
Thanks for writing.
– Samuel
Hey Sam, that’s the key. Social media is certainly not for spamming and most people don’t get it lol. Thanks for your insights.
Hi Jane,
You’ve made some excellent points.
I’m so tired of blogs that showcase the blogger as a mega superstar, while many of the things they say suggest they are just starting out. Why don’t they just address their readers from where they are at? Some of my most popular posts have been those in which I openly admitted that I was preaching as much to myself as my readers. When someone’s real and open about the path they are on, I feel very comfortable joining the conversation, and judging from the number of comments usually already there, so do the other readers. After all, isn’t that the way we relate to those closest to us? We share the things we’ve just experienced and learned.
Wishing you a very prosperous and memorable 2014,
Cole
Hey Cole – certainly! Being open makes it much easier to connect and makes the connection genuine as a whole.
Hi Jane and what a great subject to write about at the beginning of the year here at Ileane’s place.
I would love to meet the person who isn’t eager to get more awesome targeted traffic to their blog. I mean at times I’m overwhelmed with all the comments I receive but that’s just because I have built up an awesome community as you mentioned here. Thank you by the way, I appreciate you using me and Harleena as an example.
I use to worry so much about doing the right thing and not ticking of the search engines but I soon learned that I just didn’t have what it took to be on top all the time with Google. Once I let that go and just started sharing what I knew and what worked, the people came. Okay, I put myself out there and got noticed of course through commenting but I think when you’re just honest about who you are and why you’re here then people can relate so much more to you.
Everything you’ve mentioned here is spot on and I think anyone eager to get more eyes on their content needs to take your advice.
Thank you again for mentioning me here, it’s always appreciated.
I hope you ladies have gotten your new year off to a great start and may there be many more wonderful things coming your way in 2014.
Happy New Year!
~Adrienne
Ileane and Jane,
Far from being disappointed, this was a real boost for me to kick off the new year! I just finished my first year as a blogger and it’s been so much fun! It is also a lot of hard work. Of course I want traffic because that tells me that my blog is making a difference in other’s lives.
What I like best about your article is that you totally point it back to the readers. The relationship is what it is all about. I don’t think we can ever hear this enough. I’ve met people in my niche, and then I’ve met people who are other bloggers. They all make up part of the online community that keep us all going.
This is my first visit to your site and I am so happy that Adrienne hooked us up through google+. I can’t wait to click around on all of the links in the blog and on your site.
Thank you!
Karen
Hey Karen, I’m so glad the post helped you. Yes its all about the readers indeed! You keep them as the focus and its much easier to get sticky traffic (not for the sake of it!).
Thanks for your comment!
I think the “community” aspect is why I enjoy Facebook marketing so much. On my various blogs I tend not to get too many comments (boo!) but over on FB I have a number of very active pages, filled with people who like, share and comment. Several pages even have people actively uploading photos, sharing tips and more – and I absolutely love to hang out there. I agree with you Jane – community rocks 🙂
Great tips Jane! I often run into “blocks” while writing articles and posts. I think I worry about making them sound too “professional” instead of just writing to the audience. I really like your advice to speak out loud when writing content, I will give this a try!
Oh yeah, I’m very aware of that block Matt! I used to try very hard to be a professional in my early days lol.
hello Jane,
Building Community is very hard need consistent smart working for that. For Online marketer Facebook is good for making healthy community. I’m glad you discuss serious matter for blogger are facing in 2014. Thanks for informative post.
Hi Jane,
Traffic is what determines the success ratio of one’s blog and the tips you’ve mentioned here are the ones one should keep in mind. Commenting is one of the best methods in driving some targeted traffic. Being a honest blogger is that one point which makes a blogger’s reputation go high. Thanks for this post Jane, wishing you a Happy and Successful New Year…
connecting with your readers is very important as it will gain re-visitors to your blog which is addition to your organic traffic…
Hello Jane,
I’ve been to a pretty number of blogs where all the webmaster cares about is organic traffic. With such a mindset, keywords are stuffed everywhere and nothing really flows…
Guess what happens after such crap is published? You lose both the respect of search engines (whom you are trying to please) and your visitors simply go get an alternative elsewhere! What do you call such a situation? Lose – Lose!
Google has got smarter…the best way to rank higher is simply concentrate on providing value and ‘all other things shall follow!’
Thanks for reminding me of what is necessary!
Always,
Terungwa
Hey Terungwa, lose-lose is what happens recently with most cases. The more the webmasters try (in the wrong way) the more they lose. The key is very simple and indeed an enjoyable task – to connect with people.
Jane, I think playing the long game and building a solid reputation over time is likely to reap greater dividends. Originally, I did not focus on blogging or social media because I did not think it was that so important in my sector, but I have since embraced it and I am gaining extra benefits through building a strong reputation. In particular, I echo your point about being open and honest as you need to be relevant and credible in your niche (or blog space) to be able to engage effectively with your readership and build a strong reputation. Regards, Nick
These are soooo important especially since google hit us with that whammy and traffic almost disappeared over night! We are all in this together and connecting to those within and out of your niche is the best way to stay afloat.Plus you get to meet a bunch of amazing people!
Martha, yes the last part is what interests me. This is one particular to-do thing of running a blog or business that I totally enjoy – who doesn’t like meeting and connecting with new people?
Thanks for your comment!
You are absolutely right here. One of the easiest ways to gain more traffic (and keep it) is by engaging and being open with your readers. People will return to your site if they like what you have to offer and they feel they can trust you. Working on building relationships is a sure way to gain new readers and keep them coming back for more 🙂
Hey Jane,
You know what? You are right on point with this post. The best way to build massive blog traffic is to just be human! People want to fellowship with good, honest, down-to-earth, transparent humans. Bring you personality to your blog posts so that people can like the real you instead of a fake facade you put it to make yourself look like a success. When people can feel how genuine you are, then that’s when you’ll start to see much more traffic and build true friendships! Thanks for the reminder!
The tips you mentioned is just fantastic.Quality contents is key to drive large amount of traffic on your blog.So Be unique…
You are absolutely right here. One of the easiest ways to gain more traffic (and keep it) is by engaging and being open with your readers. People will return to your site if they like what you have to offer and they feel they can trust you. Working on building relationships is a sure way to gain new readers and keep them coming back for more
Thank you, Jane for this very useful article. I’ve quieted blogging for a while, and I just created this new blog. His needs more traffic. That’s why I have to learn how to drive traffic to him. Your post helped me a lot. I’ll do your all 4 strategic tips above. Hoping to get awesome result. Many thank.
i think the first point is very important.And to build a community you should work hard to solve the readers problems and i think a discussion forrum associated with the blog is the best option.
Hello jane,
Glad to see you here, the tips are really wonderful and obvious. Building a community of bloggers is really important which I’ve been neglecting from long time.
Thanks for sharing
Hey Jane, nice post.
I agree with you on blog commenting, it can work absolutely great, IF done properly.
For niche hacks I’ve been doing blog commenting on various blogs in my niche to network and drive traffic and it’s working well.
Authorities and influential bloggers in my niche are becoming aware of me and reaching out to tell me they like my blog. Networking is key.
The type of people I want to visit my blog who are already hanging out at other sites are seeing my links and coming to visit and in turn becoming fans of my site too.
It’s a win win situation.
Helping others is also key. I reach out to people on forums and go the extra mile to answer their questions, link them to good resources (both on my site and others – whatever helps them most), telling them they can PM me for more advice or ask further Qs etc. Works wonders.
Keep writing great posts.
A great way to build a blog community is also leveraging social media. Try doing searches on social media and reach out to people who have questions or problems about something you’ve written about. If you’re an expert in the area, let them know and explain a little about what you offer in your article. Send them a link and let them know you’ve share the problems and did research and solved the problem at hand. People love when others reach out and try to help them. Best case scenario, they’ll share your knowledge and success with their friends and family and increase your blog’s exposure for free. Always follow up and ask if they found the information they were looking for.
Thanks for the wonderful post Jane. The most important advice I got out of this was to give your readers total honesty. This is what I’m trying to achieve on my own blog, especially when it comes to gluten-free product reviews. People don’t want to be lied to, nor be sold to 24/7. Creating an honest relationship right from the start will do wonders in the long-run.
Hey Jane,
I think the number 2 point stood out more to me. Connecting with your blog readers is a must and this will also help to increase traffic.
Awesome points mentioned about the others as well.
Jane,
Great angle on the idea of building a community. Sometimes can be tough, but keeping in mind relevant content is huge.
Great tips to get traffic on website. thank you for sharing lovely tips it should help me to get traffic on my website.
Thanks for sharing these tips Jane. The tip which i like the most and which i try to use in my website is i try to connect the readers, maintain a relationship with readers, clear their doubts so that they again come and visit my website. Thanks for sharing other tips, i will surely try other tips too on my website.
Hiii Jane mam,
Thanks for sharing these Ultimate Tips and tricks To Get Massive Amounts of Blog Traffic. This is a common problem of all bloggers that they wish to get huge amounts of traffic on their blog but very few bloggers follow these above mentioned tactics. I am also going to follow all these precious tips and tricks. thanks again Jane mam.
How to build a community for tech blogs like CNET?
I find myself doing #2 and #4 a lot, especially within Google+. If I ever do get a comment on my blog, I will personally reply to the person when I get the chance.
Building relationships and trust with my readers is one my main goals, as well as building relationships with other bloggers (since they can potentially turn into readers themselves).
As for #4, I do try to help others when I can. I’m on a few blogging communities in Google+ and will try and help people on them that need help. I’m also very accessible as well, being able to get contacted in variety of ways including e-mail, Google+, Twitter, forums and Steam as well.
Hi jane, you defined nice strategic tips to increase traffic and I am really so impressed with your creativity of writing as you wrote this post. I think every beginner must read these all 4 ways of getting traffic . Thanks for sharing such a informative post here.
hi Jane,no doubt, blog commenting can help a lot to create traffic as well as to build relationship with other bloggers.But the thing is consistency and passionate approach.
A thoroughly grateful reading feel you are having reading this blog. Constantly on cue is what the author is.
Thanks For Share
Hi Jane, excellent article! Building a community is crucial in growing your blog and becoming more successful. However, it’s a lot easier said than done.
I think you really need to engage with your readers and be the most active member of your blogs’ community in order for it to grow. Always answer any questions or concerns from readers and keep the conversation going in each blog post.
Using the CommentLuv plugin is an excellent way to get more participation from people. It can lead to more spam but I think the positives outweigh the negatives.
Jane,
Great angle on the idea of building a community. Sometimes can be tough, but keeping in mind relevant content is huge.
i do most of the tips, but i barly get some comments.
what should i do?
Hello Jane, I really enjoy reading your blog. It’s so informative and easy to understand. The way you explain it’s marvelous specially for new comers like me. I am getting great response and looking for more useful article like this.
All excellent tips, Jane! Blog commenting is a great place to network. I do not look at it as a source of links/SEO, that is just an added benefit.
In fact, I was reading a post by Neil Patel last November and a realtor commented and had a question about what type of content he should produce. I went to his site, found his email and sent him over some ideas. He was blown away that I did this to a stranger. Now, I am working with him on his online marketing efforts. I did not try and sell anything, just was being helpful and now it is earning me money.
Great reminders of the basics. They are simple but taking the time to connect is always a challenge, especially with a lot of other things going on in one’s life. Especially want to thank you for the links leading to other helpful information. I keep hearing the discussion of whether to depend upon organic traffic or develop relationships. I think by the discussion, organic is becoming more and more of a challenge so the relationships will have to take priority. Thanks.
Nice tips. I guess I must combine these tips with Email Marketing and frequent blog posting.
Hi Jane,
Great Article 🙂 I have got some good idea here. Blog commenting is also a good way to get some good amount of traffic and your link will be appeared there with your images.
I am glad that you are shared this information with us.
Since I have left the job to give full time to my website, this is exactly the information I was looking for, and exactly I’m trying to learn more about the techniques of ranking high and gain more traffic, Thanks Jane for the information
Hi,
All the four points discussed are very useful first you need to create a coommunity people should start recognising , content, headings , also plays an important role to attract great traffic .
Thanks Jane, it’s a great article, i really like your idea in the 2nd point. Connect with readers is a simple but important, reply a comments is a simple but it make a huge effect, it will make a loyal visitor for blog 🙂
Hi Jane
I guess we all could use more traffic for our blogs. Especially after Google’s update last summer that cost many if us a lot of organic “easy” traffic. I try to reach out for my readers and try to share their work and visit their blog to build a good community and connect with my readers. As you maybe know, I blog about Technology and other bloggers in that business can be very difficult to connect with. They often have enough in their own blog and that is a shame. I only think I have a little handful of Tech bloggers that I really have connected with, so that is my challenge I guess.
Thanks Jane, excellent article
I love tip #2. This is a great way to get more traffic
I’m with you mate! #2 stands out really. Makes me think how dumb it is to solely rely on Google for traffic as the “experts” are saying.
I really vibe with #2.
I just started blogging a few months ago and using Facebook for marketing. My audience has grown pretty quick because I aim to be 100% authentic and REAL. I don’t sugar-code my life. I share the wins and losses, the good and the bad.
People connect with people, and every one is looking for people who share similar backgrounds, experiences, pains, etc.. Sharing open and honestly about your life is the best way to get to people’s hearts.
Love it!
They try to showcase themselves as successful bloggers and fake things until they make it. This is totally unnecessary and will only hurt their reputation