Other than Facebook, Myspace and Twitter and your writing sites, how do you increase traffic to your site?
Increasing Traffic to Your Website/Blog
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You increase traffic to your blog by writing well, and linking to appropriate blogs.
You increase traffic to your blog by participating in the conversation. Comment on similar related blogs with appropriate, specific comments that will interest readers enough to click your byline link and visit your blog.
You increase traffic to your blog by saying interesting things expressed well, so that Google and other search engines list your posts before others, which brings searchers to your blog. If the conversation is interesting, random searchers will stay, and continue the conversation, and thus creating a community.
Ultimately, it's all about the quality of the conversation and the quality of the writing.
You increase traffic to your blog by participating in the conversation. Comment on similar related blogs with appropriate, specific comments that will interest readers enough to click your byline link and visit your blog.
You increase traffic to your blog by saying interesting things expressed well, so that Google and other search engines list your posts before others, which brings searchers to your blog. If the conversation is interesting, random searchers will stay, and continue the conversation, and thus creating a community.
Ultimately, it's all about the quality of the conversation and the quality of the writing.
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Medievalist has good ideas. You can also join a chat forum or two and put a link to your blog under your handle.
Remember to include a picture.
Remember to include a picture.
What they said. But I seem to get most VFM from Twitter - provocative blog titles (Torture in fantasy - how much is justified?) get retweeted and drive traffic
Something else that seems to work (especially for blogs) is having contests. The winner should get a small prize (ie: a copy of your book, your friend's book). It costs a little money, but generates a lot of interest. You can use Twitter to promote the contest.
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I use keywords that rank well in the search engines and actually get a lot of my traffic through the free search engines. I also conduct interviews of other people in my field.
I've shared a checklist with 50 different ways to increase blog traffic that I think you'll find helpful. http://www.self-publishing-coach.com/increase-blog-traffic.html
I've shared a checklist with 50 different ways to increase blog traffic that I think you'll find helpful. http://www.self-publishing-coach.com/increase-blog-traffic.html
Twitter's been the second biggest for me. Partly from my own tweets, but I also get people using the quick tweet link on the blog posts. The first is getting short stories published... there's always a jump on the blog after a new story comes out.
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Great Twitter resource
I agree that a lot of traffic can come from Twitter! Speaking of Twitter...I just found this great resource that I'm currently reading. Great stuff!
http://www.bookmarket.com/50WaystoTweet.htm
I agree that a lot of traffic can come from Twitter! Speaking of Twitter...I just found this great resource that I'm currently reading. Great stuff!
http://www.bookmarket.com/50WaystoTweet.htm
Okay, I can't get people to follow me on Twitter let alone on a blog. No one sees the tweets unless they are already following you, right? I don't get it.
http://kasi-kcblake.blogspot.com
http://kasi-kcblake.blogspot.com
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Good advice here - I tripled my readers by leaving comments regularly, but not just comments, participating in other blogs with my comments. That's the thing that has worn me out about writers and writing stuff online, way too much is about what they want to get from me to help them instead of interaction or things that also benefit readers.
Keywords are good to get you to search engines but you've got a TON of competition there and much of it big names and established blogs/pages so think in terms of what you offer that others don't. IOW, do some research, get your blog in order, participate don't just use social media as a means to serve yourself, offer something unique/useful. It really is as much work as writing a book which is why I am only keeping a writing blog to have my name there if an editor checks and just blogging in an arena that feeds my creativity and interests.
annie
http://dearhelenhartman.blogspot.com/
Keywords are good to get you to search engines but you've got a TON of competition there and much of it big names and established blogs/pages so think in terms of what you offer that others don't. IOW, do some research, get your blog in order, participate don't just use social media as a means to serve yourself, offer something unique/useful. It really is as much work as writing a book
which is why I am only keeping a writing blog to have my name there if an editor checks and just blogging in an arena that feeds my creativity and interests.annie
http://dearhelenhartman.blogspot.com/
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Kasi,
It can feel overwhelming when you are first starting an online presence. Take one step at a time. And then take the next and next...and so forth. We all know that a journey of 1,000 miles begins with one step. Do something purposeful each day.
As far as Twitter and blog comments - be real and be conversational. Find people in your interest area, see who they are talking to and follow them. Then, start meaningful conversations with them. I've been amazed at how much networking I've done in the short time I've been on Twitter. But, look for opportunities to give, like Annie said.
For example, when I find interesting people on Twitter that I'd like to interview for my website, I ask them. Almost 100% of people are open to interviews...it's about them and promoting them. However, it also helps build links back to my site because many times they'll promote their interview on their blog and social media. In just a little over a month, I've done 10 interviews which has helped me gain new traffic as well as followers. You can see the interviews I've done here: http://www.self-publishing-coach.com/self-publishing-interviews.html
Keep it real, conversational, and not just about you and you'll start to draw like-minded people into your online world!
~Shelley
It can feel overwhelming when you are first starting an online presence. Take one step at a time. And then take the next and next...and so forth. We all know that a journey of 1,000 miles begins with one step. Do something purposeful each day.
As far as Twitter and blog comments - be real and be conversational. Find people in your interest area, see who they are talking to and follow them. Then, start meaningful conversations with them. I've been amazed at how much networking I've done in the short time I've been on Twitter. But, look for opportunities to give, like Annie said.
For example, when I find interesting people on Twitter that I'd like to interview for my website, I ask them. Almost 100% of people are open to interviews...it's about them and promoting them. However, it also helps build links back to my site because many times they'll promote their interview on their blog and social media. In just a little over a month, I've done 10 interviews which has helped me gain new traffic as well as followers. You can see the interviews I've done here: http://www.self-publishing-coach.com/self-publishing-interviews.html
Keep it real, conversational, and not just about you and you'll start to draw like-minded people into your online world!
~Shelley
You're not going to get 100 followers in the first month (not for the average writing blog anyway). It takes time to build up a following on any social network or blog. You just have to keep producing content, talking to people and getting the hang of what works and doesn't.
(This is one reason why it's good for authors to start early, as if you start a month before the book launch, you won't have time to build up a following).
Here is a great website that you should check out:
http://www.thecreativepenn.com
Joanna is one of the best writers to learn from in terms of growing your author platform.
I created an editorial calendar for my blog so that I post a specific amount of information per day, take part in forums such as this one and comment on other writing-related blogs, and I've been finding that if I create useful information for other writers to help them advance or improve, that my following steadily increases. What's important is consistency and being dependable.
I would also suggest you check out Darren Rowse's 31 Days to Build A Better Blog Challenge. He gives you daily tasks that you complete in order to enhance your blog and take it to the next level. I'm on day 12 and I'm already receiving quite an increase in traffic.
http://www.problogger.net
Be sure to keep us posted as to how you're doing!
http://www.thecreativepenn.com
Joanna is one of the best writers to learn from in terms of growing your author platform.
I created an editorial calendar for my blog so that I post a specific amount of information per day, take part in forums such as this one and comment on other writing-related blogs, and I've been finding that if I create useful information for other writers to help them advance or improve, that my following steadily increases. What's important is consistency and being dependable.
I would also suggest you check out Darren Rowse's 31 Days to Build A Better Blog Challenge. He gives you daily tasks that you complete in order to enhance your blog and take it to the next level. I'm on day 12 and I'm already receiving quite an increase in traffic.
http://www.problogger.net
Be sure to keep us posted as to how you're doing!
KathrynLang
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tips for growing a website
Consistency and persistence - the same things that apply in every aspect of life and business - translate into building a presence on the internet.
Rinse, repeat until you reach the place that you want for your numbers.
Yes, there are additional things that you can do - but if you do these three with persistence and consistency the others will come a little more naturally.
Consistency and persistence - the same things that apply in every aspect of life and business - translate into building a presence on the internet.
- Visit forums and websites that are connected to your niche.
- Create content that is solid and helpful.
- Develop relationships with others in your industry through comments, guest blogs, and chats.
Rinse, repeat until you reach the place that you want for your numbers.
Yes, there are additional things that you can do - but if you do these three with persistence and consistency the others will come a little more naturally.
I follow your blog now but sorry I can't add you on twitter I gave up on it! Really don't get it at all I think I'm losing my touch. (cool blog though)
Great topic that actually inspired me to put some of your ideas into action and write a blog post.
http://writersresidence.com/blog/2011/03/15/how-to-increase-traffic-to-your-website/
Cheers - great stuff.
http://writersresidence.com/blog/2011/03/15/how-to-increase-traffic-to-your-website/
Cheers - great stuff.
csdaley
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I got a lot of traffic through tagging. Since moving my blog to WordPress I have kind of killed my traffic. It will be interesting to see if I can build it back up.
This is so true, but I wanted to correct one misconception here.
I've studied Internet Marketing for over two years, and I know how Google ranks websites. Obviously, I don't know their exact algorithm, but I do know what they look for.
First, you must remember that Google isn't as smart as a real human being.
With that said, for search engines like Google, the most important factor in getting ranked is backlinks.
Let me explain. If you have a site, yoursite.com, and you post an article targeting a keyword, say, writers contest. You would want to post it as yoursite.com/writers-contest, and you want to include your keyword in the title of your article as well as in other prominent places in your article (H1 tags, first sentence, last sentence, etc.). This lets Google know that your article is relevant to your target keyword.
The next step would be to get backlinks from websites, using your keyword as the anchor text. So on website 1, you would want a backlink that looked like, "Check out so and so's <link>Writers Contest</link>."
Google considers each backlink as a vote. The more authority the site has with Google, the more the vote counts. So a link from msn.com would count a lot more than a link from newblog.blogspot.com.
The best way to get relevant backlinks to your site is to create link worthy content.
My blog is less than 2 weeks old, and so far I've only had around 140 or so visitors. But, I've tried posting a "Pay it Forward" event, where I promote the sites of those who leave a comment with no strings attached. I have found this is a great way of getting backlinks and traffic.
So, one great way of getting people to link to your site is holding a giveaway event where you give your readers value, something that is useful to them. Like a free pass for a writing workshop, for example.
Yes but how does this linking work? For example, I'm going to give away free tee shirts - do I say "Free tee shirt drawing - link to me for your chance to win" or something else?
When you say, "The next step would be to get backlinks from websites, using your keyword as the anchor text. So on website 1, you would want a backlink that looked like, "Check out so and so's <link>Writers Contest</link>." are these links part of your post? Who owns website 1? Is this part of an article (like ezinearticles.com), a blog reply, or what?
As for the "Pay it Forward" - please explain further. I know what you mean by the term but how did you promote that?
Dude there's no misconception on my part; I was a Google verifier.
I've been blogging since 2000.
The misconception is yours; you're equating "increasing traffic" with Google Page Rank.
They aren't the same--unless you're SEO obsessed and want incoming traffic based on page rank, rather than repeat readers -- a community.
Obviously, you don't.
Which is why they use linguists as human verification agents.
You know, like me.
here, in terms of inbound links and here's some spiffy advice from Google's POV on the relationship of good writing and page rank, yadda yadda yadda.
You jumped from "increasing traffic" to "page rank" -- you're thinking in SEO terms.
If you've been blogging regularly for two weeks, and aren't at least a two, or even a three, you're doing it wrong.
You make connections. Building community builds readership; readership builds traffic.
Put your blog in your sig here; don't be a drive-by spammer, but participate honestly in threads here.
Pay attention to the conversation--read related blogs; comment where appropriate. Don't be self-aggrandizing, but be courteous, thoughtful, and engaged in the conversation. Link to smart posts, and send a courteous email to the person you're linking to--hey, I like what you said I thought it was smart and I linked to it here.
Let people know with a polite note when you add them to your blog roll.
When you see a post that reminds you of a post a third party wrote, comment or email with a link to that third party's post, explaining why you thought it would interest them.
Include a sig in your email with a link to your blog.
Use smart titles--human understandable titles--in your blog posts.
Be generous to your community.
Great thread!
Re Twitter, you need to start by following some relevant, interesting people, and get a feel for what makes a good person to follow. Also, many people whom you follow will follow you in return, at least for a while, out of politeness if nothing else. If your feed is interesting enough, they may retweet the occasional post which can attract new followers. Learn about hashtags, as they will get your tweets seen by non-followers. And of course you can link to your Twitter profile from other places, as I do.
Re Twitter, you need to start by following some relevant, interesting people, and get a feel for what makes a good person to follow. Also, many people whom you follow will follow you in return, at least for a while, out of politeness if nothing else. If your feed is interesting enough, they may retweet the occasional post which can attract new followers. Learn about hashtags, as they will get your tweets seen by non-followers. And of course you can link to your Twitter profile from other places, as I do.
Thanks.
One aspect I'm not doing is reading related blogs and commenting there. I'll have to figure out what blogs to read and go from there.
Another aspect I'm not doing is linking to anything in my blog. What I write is my own rather than "So and so [link] said this and this is what I think." Maybe that's the wrong approach. I'll see about linking and emailing - that does sound like a good strategy.
As an example (if the link works), http://networkedblogs.com/fiavH links to two articles, quotes from those articles, adds nothing new, and ends with a "what do you think?" That's a bit depressing, but is that how it's really done?
This example, http://networkedblogs.com/ejiI7 doesn't link to anything, appears to be original writing, isn't a howto or anything, and has 17 comments. But there's so much going on here that I'm overwhelmed at the networking options.
From where I'm sitting, it looks overwhelming. But I'm moving in the right direction. Tomorrow, where I'll be sitting will be different.
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