Once you get your blog up and running, the natural next step is to find targeted readers to visit your website.
But how, exactly, do you do that? Where do you start?
As you likely know, there are a whole lot of ways to get traffic to a website –but not all of them are worth your time.
That’s why in this post we’ll talk about the five easiest things you can do (starting today) to get quality traffic to your blog.
Check out these ideas…
Become a Guest Blogger
This idea is simple but very effective: get your guest posts placed on other peoples’ blogs.
Here’s how to do it…
Step 1: Find Blogging Opportunities
The easiest way to do this is to search Google for blogs in your niche that accept guest posts. You can search for your niche keywords (such as “gardening”) alongside these search terms:
- Blogs that accept guest posts.
- Submit content.
- Submit articles.
- Guest articles.
- Guest posting.
- Article submission guidelines.
Be sure to do your due diligence on each blog so that you’re only submitting to high-quality blogs with respectable traffic.
Next…
Step 2: Create the Content
Once you find a blog you’d like to submit to, then create your content. Review the blog’s archive to find out what sort of content they like to post, and then create something similar. (E.G., if they like tips articles, then submit a tips article.)
Step 3: Craft Your Byline
Last but not least, be sure to drop a link and call to action in your article byline. E.G., “Read Part 2 of this article by clicking here…”
Next…
Use Paid Advertising
Another simple way to get traffic to your blog is to purchase advertising using Facebook ads or Google Ads (or even placing ads on niche sites).
The key to this strategy is to be sure you narrow your audience to make it as targeted as possible.
For example, if you’re using a pay-per-click platform, then choose very specific keywords (e.g., “dog housetraining article”).
You’ll also want to be sure that your ad is compelling enough to get clicks.
If you’re not well-versed in the art and science of copywriting, then hire a copywriter to create and test your ad for you.
You can post a project on a freelancing site such as upwork.com.
Share on Social Media
The next simple yet effective method for getting traffic to your blog is to share the link and call to action on social media.
You can do this on your main social media pages (such as your Facebook timeline or Page) as well as in social media groups on Facebook (where allowed).
Here are tips for getting more traffic on social media:
- Use relevant, trending hashtags to get more viewers.
- Post a variety of content (from memes to infographics to links to articles) to see what your audience responds to.
- Ask questions to get people to comment on your posts. E.G., “What do you think?”
- Encourage people to share your blog links with their friends. E.G., “Click the share button – your friends will thank you for it!”
This brings us to the next tactic…
Get Referrals
Some of the best traffic you can get will come from friends referring their friends, which is why you’ll want to encourage and nurture this behaviour.
Here are two ways to do it:
- Create re-brandable content.
Here you create a report with links to your offers that users can change to their own affiliate link. You then encourage people to “make money by giving something away for free” (i.e., they distribute the report and make money whenever someone buys from their affiliate link).
Take a look at both www.Rebrand.io and www.wpAffiliateSurge.com for software solutions that can help you to automate this process for your affiliates.
How does this generate traffic to your blog? You can drop a couple of links to your blog inside the report. For example, you might include your blog as a “Recommended Resource” right at the beginning of the report. You can also link to blog articles as references and examples in the content of the report.
- Offer incentives for sharing.
The idea here is to simply compensate people for sharing your blog links with their friends. For example, you can offer a free product (such as access to a membership site) in exchange for shares.
TIP: You can use a tool like PerkZilla.com to track referrals and deliver rewards.
Next…
Do Interviews
Still another way to generate traffic is to do interviews.
There are two ways to do this:
- Get others to interview you.
This is the best way because it establishes you as the expert in your niche. You can find interview opportunities by searching for your niche keywords alongside the word “interview” or “guest expert,” which will uncover the people who do interviews in your niche. You can then contact the person to offer yourself as a guest expert. If you have an existing list or affiliate partners, you can make it known to them that you are available for an interview as well.
- You interview other experts.
The downside, as mentioned above, is that this method doesn’t position you as an expert. The workaround is that you can position it as a “discussion” between two experts, which puts you on equal footing. The upside is that the expert will usually promote the interview to others, which brings traffic to your site.
In both cases, you can either do a live interview (on a webinar platform) or a text-based interview.
Just be sure that you get a chance to promote your blog from within the interview, and be sure to post the interview on your blog.
Your Turn
Now that you know the five easiest ways to get traffic, your assignment is to pick which method you’ll use FIRST, which one you’ll employ second, and so on.
In other words, don’t try to get them all up and running at the same time, otherwise, you’ll spread yourself too thin and not get good results.
Start with one method, work it until you’re getting results, and then (and only then) should you add a second method
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