Blogs are the fastest growing source of information on the Internet. Every day something like 175,000 new blogs pop up on the net. Every new blog competes for the same traffic as the 25 million other blogs in the blogosphere.
So what sets the big blogs apart from the rest? And why do some blogs get massive amounts of traffic while others hear crickets? The answer is SEO.
Making your website or blog search engine friendly is the key to increasing traffic. SEO means Search Engine Optimization which translates to helping your visitors find you quickly!
Unfortunately, optimizing your site for search engines can be a long and tedious process. There are TONS of SEO tips on Google if you have the time to do the research and apply the information.
Today I’m going to show you 5 non-SEO ways to drive traffic to your blog.
1 – Utilize Your RSS feed
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RSS feeds help drive traffic to your blog. An RSS feed should be your main way of promoting your blog to the massses. An RSS feed works by telling the world that you have updated your site. There are many different types of RSS feed services including Technorati and Feedburner.
Your RSS feed link should be prominently displayed at the top or near the top of your blog. Some blog owners use oversized RSS icons to grab their visitor’s attention. The key is to get many visitors to sign up to your feed.
2 – Use Forum Signatures to Promote Your Blog
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Most of us belong to message boards or Forums where we spend a great deal of time chopping it up with online pals. Why not promote your blog as you chat? If the Forum you belong to allows Signatures in your comments, try including a link to your blog in your siggy. The more creative the link, the more people will want to click to visit your blog.
Also include your blog link in your email signature and in your cell phone text messages.
Try to avoid spamming forums or other blog comment sections with your links. That is extremely annoying and might get you banned.
3- Build Links To Your Blog
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Trackbacks are an excellent way to build links to your blog. I discuss this at length in this post. Building links to your blog helps the search engines find your blog. You can start by emailing your favorite blogs and asking the owners for a link exchange.
Some blogs like mine don’t accept link requests because we are swamped with requests. Some people believe it is crucial to exchange links with popular blogs. That is not true. A link is a link. The key is to get many links going to your blog from multiple sources.
Another way to build links to your blog is to leave comments on other blogs. And don’t forget to link to your blog within your own site or content. You might notice a lot of bloggers provide links to their own content within their posts. That’s because a link is a link and you want as many links going to your blog as possible.
4- Write Interesting Posts With Unique Content
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I can’t stress this enough: readers know when you cut & paste content from other blogs. Write unique, interesting content and they will keep coming back. You don’t have to be a journalist or a gifted writer to write unique content. Unique content simply means PUT IT IN YOUR OWN WORDS. Write the way you think and you can’t go wrong! If your friends tell you that you have a great personality, then put your personality into your writing. A great example of this would be the writing style of Fresh over at Crunk & Disorderly.
Additionally, let your readers spread the word about your great content by providing email post links. Most blogging platforms have built-in email capabilities. Allowing your visitors to email your blog posts to friends is a great way to increase the number of visitors.
5- Send Out Updates By Email
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I don’t do this myself but a lot of bloggers send out email updates and it works! Build a list of your favorite blogs and email them every time you update your site. You never know, your post might catch the attention of a major blog and your article will get linked!
Well there you have it, my 5 Tips for increasing traffic to your blog. Happy blogging!
This post was edited on May 29, 2010
