Are you wondering how to promote your blog? How all these big websites get blog traffic? How to even start getting people to read your content?
Whether you want to make money blogging through advertisements or affiliate sales, sell a digital or physical product, promote your services, or simply get eyes on your articles… you need traffic.
Without traffic, what’s the point? While you don’t need boatloads of visitors to make a lot of money off your blog, you do need consistent traffic from a carefully targeted audience.
There are several ways you can drive new and returning readers to your website, and guess what? It doesn’t have to cost you any money!
We are going to show you how to increase blog traffic for free!
This post may contain affiliate links, which means we may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through one of our links. For more information, see our disclosure.
How do I get organic traffic on my blog?
First of all, what is “organic” traffic? Put simply, it’s free. Anyone that lands on your website without clicking on an ad or boosted social media post got there through organic efforts.
Organic traffic may come from search engines like Google, Bing! or Yahoo, from social media platforms like Pinterest, Facebook or Twitter, or from link referrals (when another blog or website references something you wrote about and links to it from their page).
Getting organic traffic doesn’t happen overnight; in fact, it can take quite a bit of time, depending on where you focus your efforts. However, organic traffic is the best kind of traffic because it’s free (if you don’t factor in your potential hourly working rate, of course).
Bloggers can get organic traffic by sharing their content on social media platforms, through building an email list and sending out newsletters to their subscribers, through search engine optimization and more.
You can also get paid traffic through social media and search engines but why do that when you can get it at no cost?
Ready to start your own blog? If you are new to the blogging world or haven’t yet set up your website, check out this article to learn how to can get started for as low as $3.95/month!
How To Drive Traffic To Your Blog
Ready to learn how to get traffic to your new blog? Here are 6 ways to get started:
1. Produce Epic Content
Not just any content… EPIC content.
Content that answers questions. Content of high value.
These days, it is not enough to throw together a 500-word post filled with fluff content. There are, somehow, several blogs out there doing quite well but are not offering a whole lot of substance, but there’s no longevity in that; little chance that readers will come back for more.
Your goal should be to establish yourself as a resource in your chosen niche. A place where a reader can get all of the information they are looking for and are satisfied in such a way that they think of you next time they want to know more on the subject.
Epic content usually consists of a minimum of 1,500-1,800 words with keyword-rich headings, internal and external links, and lots of beautiful images.
Put thought into what you write, ask yourself what questions readers may have on your topic, run it by a peer to see if anything is missing, and make it the best it can be before hitting publish!
2. Use Pinterest
Contrary to what most users believe, Pinterest is a visual search engine, not a social media platform. Sure, you can follow and be followed, but the concept is intended to promote websites, blogs and products in the form of “pins.”
For many bloggers, Pinterest is their #1 source of traffic.
Using catching titles combined with eye-catching images, fonts, and colors, bloggers can have their pins shared and saved to relevant boards with the goal of getting clicks to their website. This may result in traffic, sales or other lead-generating conversions.
We use Tailwind on all our blogs to drive consistent Pinterest traffic with the help of its scheduler and Tailwind Tribes. The more content you have, the more beneficial this tool can be.
New to Tailwind? Check out this awesome guide about making the most of Tailwind Tribes for blog traffic.
3. Get Comfortable with Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
It is essential that you don’t count on one platform for all your traffic. The fact of the matter is that algorithms change all the time, and it’s hard to predict what the changes will do to blog traffic.
Search Engine Optimization is one of the greatest time commitments you can make to your blog. It is also one of the most reliable long-term traffic drivers when implemented correctly.
Research relevant, high-volume keywords, incorporate them within your headlines, body content and images, learn your competition and outrank them, understand your domain authority and create content around specific topics and keywords, create the aforementioned epic content… and search engines like Google will treat you well.
SEO can be tricky and time-consuming, but it is SO worth the efforts.
Related:
How To Use Google Keyword Planner for Keyword Research and SEO
Beginner SEO Tips for Bloggers
Pro Tip: If you are new to SEO but are serious about taking your traffic to the next level, we would HIGHLY recommend taking Mike Pearson’s course, Stupid Simple SEO. It is the most in-depth guide we have followed, teaching the ins and outs of keyword and competitor research, and other essential elements of getting organic traffic from Google with SEO.
4. Niche Down
If you want to grow your blog audience and have repeat readers, you need to find and stick with your niche. While there are lifestyle blogs that cover a lot of topics, it is incredibly difficult to target a specific audience and keep them around when your articles aren’t related.
Blog traffic isn’t just about getting readers onto your site, it’s about keeping them there.
If you want your readers to click around and thus, increase your pageviews, create lots of relevant (niche) content. When you write about a topic for which you have written other valuable resources, link to them so that your readers are forced to click around to get the information they need!
The more you write about your niche, the more you become a one-stop-shop!
5. Maintain a Presence on Social Platforms & SHARE, SHARE, SHARE!
Choose 2-3 social media platforms that you want to focus on and establish a presence for your blog. Your accounts should have:
- Your Logo
- Branding (consistent colors, fonts, imagery)
- Consistent profile descriptions
- Links to your website
- Regular updates with new content and other relevant posts
To be noticed on social media, you have to be present. You must be active, sharing your content (and others’), following relevant pages, engaging with people in your community, and starting conversations targeted at your audience.
To get blog traffic through social media referrals, you should share any new articles in the form of a post, but be sure to attach the right sized images as social media sharing dimensions vary by platform.
We would also recommend attaching UTM codes to track the links you share. This will help you understand which posts are driving traffic to your blog.
Social Media Marketing remains on the rise, but it is super easy to misuse platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram, to your blog’s detriment. Maintain a regular presence and use these powerful tools to grow your blog traffic.
Related: 10 Social Media Marketing Mistakes & How To Avoid Them
6. Be Consistent
Epic content is king and consistency is queen.
The more you write, the more your readers will trust you. I’m not saying to go crazy and publish 5 posts a week – doing that may compromise the quality of your work.
But what I am saying is to have a consistent posting schedule, such as 1-2 new high-quality articles a week. An established posting schedule will keep you accountable and will show your readers that you aren’t just another website that ran dry.
Not only will your readers learn to lean on you more, but Google and Pinterest want fresh content. So the more valuable content your blog provides, the better your domain authority will become.
7. Grow Your Email List
No matter what stage you are in on your blogging journey… START GROWING YOUR EMAIL LIST!
Seriously! We cannot stress this enough.
When a reader opts in to receive emails from you, it’s because they trust you. You’ve offered them something of value, and they want more. These people are the ones who will buy from you when you sell a product, who will hire you when you offer relevant services, and who will click to your blog when you have new content available.
If you want to grow your blog traffic, grow your email list.
What is your favorite way to drive traffic to your blog? Comment below!
