A regular question we are asked is “how do I get more daily unique visitors to my blog?” The early days of your blogs life are of course the most difficult because a lot of hard work is required without any certainty that you will achieve the desired results. Part of your strategic plan must be to focus on how to increase your blog traffic.
This article looks at a specific set of strategies you can employ to increase your blog traffic and help you raise your daily page views. Even if you already achieve great results with your blog, these tips may help to improve your visitor numbers beyond expectations.
A-Class Articles?
Take an hour each day to brainstorm, research and write your quality A-Class articles. These articles are sometimes called “killer articles”, “linkbaits” or “pillar articles”. The aim is to publish or release one A-Class article each week. If that is out of the question, try to publish one at least every 15 days. That one-hour you put aside each day should be dedicated solely to you’re A-Class articles. By the time you publish you should have spent about 5 to 10 hours on the content.
These articles are longer than your typical blog post (over 1000 words) and structured to deliver a large amount of information and subsequently value to your visitors. Good value equates to improved blog traffic! If you have a restaurant or food blog for example you may prepare an article offering “100 Free Ideas for Creating the Perfect Meal”. These are some of the concept templates used in A-Class articles:
- Provide an extensive list of resources.
- Write detailed and informative content that teaches the reader “how to” do something.
- Offer solutions for common problems associated with a subject.
- Write a detailed analysis on a topic typically covered in a superficial context only.
When your visitors discover you’re A-Class article, it should deliver a real “wow” factor. They should be thinking “that’s awesome, I’m going to bookmark this and tweet about it immediately”. They should be overwhelmed by the quality and the information provided. Anything less and you haven’t achieved the ultimate result.
Networking
Networking is essential, and never more critical than when you are first starting out. Aim to apply about 30 minutes each day to networking which may include:
- Commenting on other blogs in your niche – chose wisely as you don’t want to waste your time. Focus on the best quality blogs that have high exposure.
- Link to posts created by bloggers in your niche.
- Interact with bloggers in your niche through email, instant messaging, twitter and even Facebook.
The goal here is to build genuine relationships inside of your specific niche. Don’t waste your time focusing on just anyone you think may help promote your blog. Look for connections that you respect because of the quality of their work and that you think you may be able to develop a symbiotic relationship with. This is a connection that works in both directions, for you and them. Invest a little time in finding sites that have a regular and consistent flow of blog traffic and discover ways in which you might form a partnership or collaboration.
Promotion
Again, look to allow about 30 minutes a day on promoting you’re A-Class articles. You’ve put all the effort into preparing it, a little more time ensuring the article is discovered and used is time well spent. Every time you complete and publish an A-Class article you should market it in every possible way you can think of with the single aim to increase your blog traffic. This might include:
- Advising people in your network niche – make certain they know about it.
- Telling bloggers and webmasters in relevant niches about your article.
- Get others to submit the article to social networking and bookmarking sites.
- Ask friends and acquaintances to post the article on Twitter.
- Post about the article on forums and newsgroups online.
If you have any spare time left focus on SEO (search engine optimisation) and social media marketing for the article and your blog as a whole. Social networking is an important process and will help increase your blog traffic. This might involve some keyword research or promoting your blog on Facebook or guest blogging on alternative sites.
Regular Article Posts
Your blog can’t survive on you’re A-Class articles alone. Your regular routine posts are essential to maintain consistency and provide fresh content. Unique and fresh content will raise your standing in search engine rankings and as such increase your blog traffic. We would recommend publishing 3 to 5 regular posts for every A-Class article you post. These are a few ideas for your regular blog posts:
- A post that links to an article on another blog that provides your opinions about the post or topic.
- Select a news event in your niche and post an article expressing your opinion.
- Ask a question to your readers by posting an article that initiates discussion.
- Write an article that highlights a new resource you discovered that may interest your readers.
While A-Class articles are essential to promote and market your blog as well as attract new readers, your regular posts are the essential component of your blog that creates diversity in your content and keeps your readers engaged and coming back for more.