Starting a blog these days is simple thanks to platforms like WordPress. But once it’s up and running, the next big challenge is getting more people to visit your blog or website.
No need to stress—you don’t have to be a marketing expert to promote your website. You can easily boost your website traffic and attract more visitors by following some proven best practices.
In this article, we’ll share some easy and tested tips to increase your website traffic like a pro marketer.
Unlike other articles on growing website traffic, we’ll only share tips that we’ve personally used to increase our website traffic to millions of page views every month.
We’ve also worked hard to make this the most comprehensive guide on website traffic, so you can have a complete blog traffic strategy for your business.
1- Before you dive into creating content for your blog, take a moment to understand who your audience is and what they’re interested in.
You can do this by answering these questions:
Who is your target audience?
What problems are they dealing with that you can help solve?
What type of content are they searching for?
How do they usually look for answers to their questions?
Answering these questions gives you a better understanding of your audience. You can go a step further by asking more personalized questions, such as:
How old are they?
What do they do for a living?
What is their education level?
How much do they know about the topic of your blog?
These audience profiles are also called buyer personas, especially in the eCommerce industry. If you have an online store, you might find it helpful to explore a detailed guide on creating buyer personas with examples and templates.
2- Keyword research is a method used by content creators and SEO experts to find the specific words and phrases people type into search engines like Google to locate the content they want.
Often, beginners rely on guesswork when creating content, but this hit-or-miss strategy may not get your articles to rank high in search engines. This could be because no one is searching for the keywords you used, or there’s too much competition for those keywords.
Effective keyword research offers several advantages:
Discover Actual Search Terms: Find out what people are really searching for.
Get Unique Content Ideas: Identify topics related to popular search terms.
Competitor Analysis: Learn from competitors and create better content.
Build Pillar Articles: Create key articles to consistently drive traffic to your blog.
Wondering how to do keyword research? It’s not as tricky as it sounds. There are free and paid tools available for this, and one popular choice is SEMRush. Just enter a keyword, a competitor’s website URL, or your own URL to get more keyword ideas.
If you’re using WordPress, we’ve put together a detailed guide with step-by-step instructions on how to do keyword research for your blog.
3- After you’ve done your keyword research and generated a bunch of blog post ideas, it’s common for beginners to feel a bit overwhelmed by the sheer volume of possibilities. To avoid getting discouraged, we recommend creating an editorial calendar—a game plan, if you will. Remember, successful websites aren’t built in a day; it takes time and consistent effort.
Having an editorial calendar helps you stick to your plan. It’s about organizing, getting a bird’s eye view of your strategy, and being more productive. Here are some tips:
Start Slow: Don’t be too hard on yourself. Begin with two articles a week and gradually increase when you can.
Stay Consistent: Stick to your publishing schedule. Regularly publish content as planned.
Add Details: Include notes, keyword ideas, and outlines in your calendar. This will guide you in producing better quality content.
Visual Organization: Use colors, tags, categories, and other features in your calendar app to make it more visually appealing and organized.
Managing an editorial calendar is crucial for your website’s success. Following these tips will help you stay organized and focused on creating great content.
4- The key for both users and search engines is top-notch content. In the blogging world, this means crafting detailed articles that thoroughly cover a specific topic—what we call “pillar articles.” Others might refer to these as flagship or cornerstone content.
Here’s the scoop: pillar articles are your heavy-hitters, your go-to pieces. Pick a promising keyword and dive deep into a comprehensive, long-form article. Aim to create as many pillar articles as you can, covering all the crucial keywords in your field.
Consider these tips when creating pillar content:
Versatile Formats: Pillar content can take many forms—how-to guides, tutorials, comparisons, opinions, lists, and more.
Comprehensive Information: The distinction between pillar content and other articles lies in its depth. Pillar articles provide thorough information on the topic.
Evergreen Nature: Pillar articles are timeless and always useful. While it’s smart to keep them updated with new info, they should remain relevant over time.
Stay tuned in this article for additional tips on creating top-notch pillar content to boost your search engine traffic.
5- As we mentioned earlier, both search engines and users appreciate longer, detailed articles that offer all the necessary information. However, there’s a catch—people have short attention spans.
If your content is hard to read or understand, users might leave without exploring the valuable information you’ve provided. To prevent this, make your content easy to read.
Here are some basic tips to enhance readability and user-friendliness:
Shorter Sentences and Paragraphs: Break down your content into smaller sentences and paragraphs. This creates more white space, making it easier to read.
Typography Matters: Improve typography by using readable fonts, a decent font size, and ample line spacing.
Check Readability Scores: Assess the readability of your content. Tools like Yoast SEO have built-in features for this, or you can find various online readability checkers.
Grammar Check: Use a grammar checker like Grammarly. It not only corrects grammar but also helps you write better.
Visual Elements: Incorporate images, screenshots, videos, infographics, and other visuals. These elements make your article engaging and more accessible.
These simple adjustments can significantly improve your content’s readability and ensure that users stick around to absorb your valuable information.
6- SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, involves using best practices to make your website more search engine friendly. The good news is, you don’t have to be an “SEO Strategy” to enhance your website’s performance.
Contrary to common belief, anyone can do SEO for their own websites without hiring an expert. There are numerous SEO tools, plugins, free advice, and step-by-step tutorials available for you to use.
For WordPress websites, we recommend the All in One SEO plugin. It’s a comprehensive SEO and website optimization tool, and the free version includes all the essential SEO features for your website.
You can learn everything you need to know about SEO in our complete WordPress SEO guide for beginners. This guide provides step-by-step instructions and outlines the exact SEO setup we use on our own websites.
7- When users come across your content in search results or RSS feeds, the first thing that grabs their attention is your article headline.
A captivating blog post title stands out and attracts more clicks. On the flip side, a bland and uninteresting headline tends to be overlooked, and users are likely to scroll past it.
This makes headlines super important.
To increase clicks, you should learn how to write compelling titles for your blog posts that grab user attention. Thankfully, blogging experts have researched headlines extensively, and you can benefit from their findings.
Here are the key elements of an effective headline:
Emotional Trigger: A good headline sparks an emotional response (joy, surprise, shock, curiosity, fear, excitement, greed, etc.).
Value Offered: It provides users with a reward and value.
Keyword Inclusion: It promotes the content by incorporating target keywords.
Copywriters use power words to evoke emotional responses and explain why the article is valuable or what users will gain by clicking on the headline.
Lastly, a good headline often includes a subtle or implied call to action for users.
For more insights, you can explore headlines that went viral and what lessons you can draw from them. Additionally, you can use free headline analyzer tools like OptinMonster Headline Analyzer, MonsterInsights Headline Analyzer, and EMV Headline Analyzer. Our team regularly relies on these tools to craft better blog post titles and headlines.
8- Now that you’re consistently creating great content, it’s crucial to link to your articles from your existing blog posts—a practice known as internal linking. This is a big deal in the world of SEO.
Here’s why internal linking matters:
Context and Relationships: Internal links help Google understand the context and relationships between different articles on your website. Google then uses this information as ranking signals.
Page Views and Bounce Rate: Strategically placed internal links can boost page views and reduce bounce rates by guiding visitors to other relevant content on your site.
Easier Than External Links: Getting other websites to link to your articles can be challenging. On the other hand, creating links within your own site is much simpler.
We recommend making it a habit to link to your older articles from your new ones. Because internal links are so crucial for SEO, we’ve even included it in our pre-publish checklist for our writers.
9– Now, let’s talk about generating more backlinks. A backlink is a link from another website to your content, and it’s a crucial factor in Google’s rankings.
Securing backlinks from reputable websites and blogs can be challenging, even for seasoned bloggers, let alone beginners.
Here are some tips to help you get quality backlinks:
Connect with Influencers: Reach out to influencers and respected blogs in your industry. Let them know about specific content on your website that they might find interesting and want to link to.
Guest Posting: Write guest posts for other blogs and websites. This not only showcases your expertise but also provides an opportunity for a backlink.
Interview Influencers: Conduct interviews with influencers and bloggers on your own blog. They’re likely to share the interview with their audience, providing you with a valuable backlink.
Social Media Profiles: The easiest way to get a backlink is to include a link to your website on all your social media profiles.
Building backlinks takes time and effort, so be patient and consistent in your outreach efforts. These strategies can gradually help you establish a network of quality backlinks to boost your website’s authority.
10- In step 5, we highlighted that including images and charts in your articles enhances readability. Given the importance of visual elements, we’ve dedicated a section specifically to them.
Our brains are wired to prefer visuals. We’re drawn to colors and objects because aesthetics evoke emotional responses, keeping us engaged in our surroundings.
Infographics are particularly popular because they make information both engaging and easy to digest.
Images in blog posts not only capture the user’s attention but also help them focus on both the visual and textual content.
For those just starting, it’s crucial to understand that not all images on the internet can be freely used. Images are protected by copyright, and using copyrighted material without permission can have serious consequences.
Ideally, use your own images, graphics, and photographs. However, not all bloggers are graphic designers or photographers. Fortunately, there are numerous resources for finding royalty-free images, along with tools that make creating graphics easier. Check out these helpful resources:
16 Best Tools to Create Better Images for Your Blog Posts
11- Videos are a highly effective form of online content. Users tend to spend more time on blog posts that include videos compared to those with just text and images.
Adding videos to your WordPress articles is a breeze. However, it’s essential not to upload videos directly to WordPress because it’s not optimized for streaming videos. Hosting videos on your WordPress server can consume too many resources, resulting in a poor user experience.
The best approach is to upload your videos to YouTube and then embed them in your blog posts. This not only ensures optimal performance but also provides additional exposure since YouTube is the world’s second-largest search engine and a popular social media platform.
Creating video content for your website is easier than you might think. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
How-To Tutorials: Create slideshows with voice-over instructions.
Screencasts: Record your screen to demonstrate processes or tutorials.
Interviews: Record interviews with other bloggers and influencers in your industry.
Vlogging: Become a vlogger by adding your own videos shot in selfie mode.
For video editing, if you’re using a Mac, iMovie is a capable tool for basic edits. Windows users can use free video editing software like Lightworks or Shotcut for simple editing tasks.
12- User-generated content refers to any content created on your website through user activity. This includes comments, testimonials, guest posts, user reviews, and more.
Leveraging user-generated content is beneficial for increasing traffic to your website because it encourages users to participate and engage.
When users spend more time on your site, they are more likely to return, share, and even make purchases.
There are various types of user-generated content that you can incorporate. Choose what suits your blog best and start from there.
For additional ideas, check out our guide on how to use user-generated content in WordPress to grow your website.
13- There are numerous fantastic WordPress themes available, but the challenge lies in choosing the right one. Many beginners are drawn to themes with all the fancy features, yet these might not be the best fit for your website design.
Poor website design can discourage users from spending more time on your blog, leading to fewer pageviews. Conversely, a good design encourages users to explore more content, navigate different sections, and stay longer.
When users ask us how to choose the best theme, our advice is to aim for simplicity. A simple, clean, and functional theme creates a positive first impression and provides the best user experience.
14- In today’s world of instant gratification, nobody likes waiting for a website to load. If your website is slow, users may leave before it even finishes loading. Additionally, search engines, such as Google, consider website speed and page load time as crucial ranking factors.
To ensure your website loads quickly, you must optimize its performance. This involves using caching, avoiding unnecessary bloat, and optimizing your images. We’ve put together a step-by-step guide for optimizing WordPress performance that will help speed up your website without requiring a developer.
15- Many beginners focus on bringing new users to their website, but more than 70% of users who leave may never return. The key to growing your blog traffic isn’t just attracting new visitors—it’s also about keeping existing ones coming back.
How can you ensure users return to your website? One effective method is by asking them to subscribe to your blog.
While users can follow your website’s social media profiles, most social networks limit your reach, and users may only see a portion of your content. This is where building an email list becomes crucial.
The beauty of an email list is that you own it. No one can limit your reach, and you have direct access to your users’ inboxes. Email marketing is not only cost-efficient but also highly effective.
Without an email list, you may be missing out on potential subscribers every day. Once you have an email list, you can send regular newsletters to bring more visitors to your blog.
We recommend using platforms like Constant Contact, SendinBlue, or ConvertKit. Check out our step-by-step guide on how to create an email newsletter for more details.
16- While we emphasize the importance of building an email list, it doesn’t mean you should neglect building a social media following. On the contrary, continue growing your social media presence on all important platforms and explore new niche platforms.
The challenge with social media is the need for regular content posting to keep your profiles active and drive traffic to your blog. If done manually, this can consume a significant amount of time.
To streamline this process, consider automating the sharing of your blog posts on social media. Use tools like Buffer, Hootsuite, or social media plugins on your website to schedule and automate the sharing of your content across various platforms. This allows you to maintain an active social media presence without spending excessive time on manual sharing.
17- If you’re like most blogs, you likely publish just one article a day. For the rest of the day, there’s no update from you on social media. On platforms like Twitter, your tweet can quickly disappear, and your users may not even see it.
Wouldn’t it be beneficial to automatically share your old content at regular intervals throughout the day? This strategy helps you garner more traffic from social media by boosting visibility and keeping your profiles more active.
Consider using tools like Buffer, Hootsuite, or social media plugins on your website to schedule and automate the sharing of your old articles on various platforms. This way, you can maintain a consistent presence on social media and continue driving traffic to your older but still relevant content.
18- While platforms like Facebook and Twitter are popular choices for social media engagement, there are numerous other social networks worth exploring. Although focusing on major platforms is essential for driving blog traffic, depending on your blog’s topics, you might find greater success on less crowded platforms.
For instance:
If your blog revolves around business, LinkedIn may attract more engaged users.
Lifestyle or fashion blogs might thrive on Instagram.
Additionally, spending time on platforms like Quora to answer user questions can build backlinks and boost blog traffic.
We recommend trying to invest more time in social networks beyond the major ones. You might discover a more passionate audience and grow a larger following on these alternative platforms.
19- Engaging in online communities can be a valuable source of traffic, especially since these communities typically consist of users already interested in the topics you discuss on your blog. You can discover smaller communities on platforms like Reddit, LinkedIn groups, Facebook groups, YouTube communities, and more.
Pro Tip: Avoid simply posting links to your articles, as this is considered spamming, and moderators may promptly block you. Instead, invest time in building your reputation within the community by answering questions, participating in discussions, and then share your website when it’s contextually appropriate. This approach ensures that your contributions are valued, and you’ll be more likely to receive positive responses from the community.
20- Creating your own online group is another effective strategy to build a passionate following around your blog. Utilize free platforms like Facebook or LinkedIn and invite your users to join.
As your community grows, so does your influence. Active participants in your group may actively help promote your blog on their own social media profiles.
Over time, this community can evolve into a significant source of traffic for your blog, fostering a sense of community and loyalty among your audience.
21- Participating in Question and Answer websites like Stack Exchange, Quora, or Trip Advisor can be highly beneficial for driving traffic to your blog. It’s interesting to note that answers from these platforms, even if they are years old, can still outrank more established blogs in search results.
These Q&A websites represent some of the largest online communities on the internet. The advantage of answering questions on these platforms is that your response remains live for an extended period, serving as a consistent source of traffic to your blog.
Once again, we emphasize the importance of not merely posting links. Instead, provide detailed and valuable answers, including links to your blog posts only when they are contextually relevant. This approach ensures that your contributions are genuinely helpful and increases the likelihood of attracting traffic to your blog.
22- Engaging with influencers on social media can significantly boost your blog’s promotion and increase website traffic. However, influencers often receive numerous messages and may be hesitant to engage with new bloggers who might not have much to offer in return.
To capture an influencer’s attention and eventually get them to promote your blog, start by initiating a conversation on social media. Share their content with your commentary, participate in their threads, and leave thoughtful comments on their blog posts. Ensure that each interaction adds value to their discussions.
Influencers appreciate users who genuinely engage with their content. Once you’ve established a relationship, you can approach them for advice or collaboration.
While it may seem like a substantial effort, building these relationships can lead to long-lasting friendships that are mutually beneficial. This approach is an effective way to expand your blog’s reach with the help of influencers.
23- Humans are social beings, and we often rely on social proof—the experiences of others—to inform our own decisions. Utilizing social proof on your website, social media profiles, tweets, and emails is a powerful way to promote your blog.
Even if you’re just starting out, there are several ways to leverage social proof:
Feedback Form: Include a feedback form on your blog and encourage users to leave feedback that you can share.
Testimonials: Directly approach users and collect testimonials about their experiences with your blog.
Article Ratings: Ask users to rate your articles.
Reviews: Encourage users to write reviews about your blog.
Highlight Numbers: Share your social media counts, email list subscriber counts, and other numerical achievements as social proof.
Remember, even if your numbers are not as large as those of more established blogs, they still serve as powerful social proof. Showing that others value and engage with your content can help attract more traffic to your blog.
24- People frequently ask questions on social media platforms such as Twitter. To capitalize on this, set up alerts to monitor keywords on social media and actively participate in conversations by answering their questions and providing a link back to a relevant article on your website.
Additionally, monitor social media for mentions of your brand name, links, and relevant conversations. Several tools can assist you in this process. Here are some of the best social media monitoring tools that can simplify the task for you.
25- Once you’ve begun creating and promoting content, it’s crucial to track how well each piece of content is performing and identify the keywords for which it is ranking. Google Search Console is a valuable tool for this purpose. It’s a free tool provided by Google that allows you to assess your website’s performance in Google Search. Refer to our comprehensive Google Search Console guide to learn how to use this powerful tool effectively.
Additionally, it’s essential to monitor your competitors’ websites. While Google Search Console provides insights into your website’s performance, it doesn’t reveal who is ranking higher than you and why. For competitor analysis, you’ll need a tool like SEMRush. SEMRush provides detailed insights into your competitors, their top keywords, and strategies you can employ to outrank them.
26- Once your website starts receiving traffic, it’s essential to understand where your users are coming from and analyze their behavior on your site. Without this data, it’s challenging to assess the effectiveness of your strategy or plan future actions.
To achieve this, Google Analytics is a valuable tool. It tracks website visitors and provides insights into traffic reports, user engagement, and other activities on your website. Follow our step-by-step tutorial on how to install Google Analytics in WordPress to set it up.
The primary advantage of using Google Analytics is gaining visibility into user behavior on your website. Explore our article on how to use Google Analytics to track user engagement for more guidance.
Understanding this data enables you to emphasize what’s working well and adjust or discontinue strategies that aren’t yielding positive results.
27- While these tips are valuable for increasing blog traffic and gaining more subscribers, it’s important to continue learning and exploring additional strategies as your blog grows.
The OptinMonster Blog is an excellent resource to follow. OptinMonster, recognized as the best conversion optimization software on the market, regularly publishes articles on boosting traffic, gaining subscribers, and increasing sales.
Continued learning about online marketing and SEO is crucial for the sustained growth of your blog. As you progress, consider exploring our list of the most useful tools to further enhance and expand your website.
We hope these tips have been beneficial in increasing your blog traffic, and we encourage you to stay informed and explore new techniques for the ongoing success of your website.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, building and growing a successful blog involves a combination of strategic content creation, effective promotion, and continuous learning. Starting with a clear understanding of your target audience and their needs, creating valuable and comprehensive content, and optimizing it for search engines through keyword research are foundational steps. Utilizing social media, engaging with online communities, and leveraging influencers can significantly boost your blog’s visibility.
Implementing a robust editorial calendar, creating high-quality pillar content, ensuring readability, and applying SEO basics are key elements in attracting and retaining visitors. Incorporating visuals, videos, and user-generated content adds depth and engagement to your blog. Internal linking, backlink generation, and optimizing website speed further enhance the user experience and SEO performance.
Expanding your reach through email marketing, social media sharing, and exploring different social platforms can diversify your audience. Utilizing social proof, monitoring social media for relevant conversations, and actively participating in online communities contribute to building a loyal readership. Tracking keyword rankings, website traffic, and user engagement with tools like Google Search Console and Google Analytics provides valuable insights for continuous improvement.
As your blog evolves, staying updated on online marketing trends and SEO strategies is essential. Resources like the OptinMonster Blog and useful tools can further aid in your blog’s growth journey. Remember, success is a continuous process of adaptation, learning, and applying effective strategies to meet the evolving needs of your audience.
