Traffic is the lifeblood of a blog. Without it, you’re basically just keeping an online journal for your eyes only. To get your message out to people who can benefit from it, you need visitors and readers – aka traffic. There are so many different ways to get traffic and I recommend trying new methods every so often. Check out the ideas below and start implementing the ones you’re not using.
I’ve written about this topic several times over the last few weeks. Here are the links in case you missed any of them.
Previous posts in this series:
Why you’re not getting blog traffic and three ways to get some.
Six ways to get more blog traffic by thinking outside the box.
7 bloggers share their best tips for getting blog traffic.
1. Round-up posts.
Round-up posts have the potential to bring a lot of traffic to your blog – and the best part is it’s usually targeted traffic. Round-up posts consist of curated content from other bloggers, like this one – 45+ Creepy Halloween Treats. These type of posts usually get a lot of social shares and they can open doors to further networking with bloggers in your niche, which is always a nice bonus. Think up a topic, look for links from reputable bloggers, publish your post and let them bloggers know you included their post in your roundup.
On the flip side of that – when a blogger adds your link to their round up you can also get a nice burst of traffic, especially if they promote the round-up post with their followers.
2. Link parties aka Link-ups
Use apps like Mister Linky to allow bloggers to add their link to your post and have a link party! Done right, these types of posts can generate a lot of interest. Some link parties happen on a reoccurring basis, but you don’t have to do that unless you want to. Think of a topic that is general enough to attract a lot of links but niched enough to make it worthwhile for your readers to pursue. Let’s use a food blog as an example. Instead of doing a link party for any type of food post, do one for cupcakes. Start with one of your recipes and then invite other bloggers to add the link to their cupcake recipe. Over time, you’ll have a nice resource for people to find cupcake recipes and it has the potential to bring you traffic for months and years to come.
Adding your blog post to link parties is a fun way to share your link, meet new bloggers and hopefully gain new readers. The best way to find them is through networking with other bloggers or doing a search. If you don’t see any – start one! Like round-ups, you’ll get traffic by either joining one or starting one.
3. Pay attention to your analytics
Check your analytics to see where traffic is coming from, so you can put more focus there, and what posts are getting attention, so you can optimize them. If you notice a lot of traffic coming from Twitter, add more quality tweets and connect with your audience there. When you see a certain post generating traffic, check it for spelling or grammar errors, add some internal links and a quality external link. Add that post to link parties and roundup posts to extend it even further.
4. Guest posting
I know, I know — you barely have time to write for your own blog, where are you going to find time to write for someone else’s blog? The fact is guest posts are written for a totally different reason that your own blog posts. You write them to gain new followers and promote your blog. Look for blogs that have similar niches and ask if you can guest post with a link to your blog. Guest posting even a few times a year can have a tremendous impact on your traffic. Want to guest post here or at Seasonal Family Fun? Let me know!
Do you have any other ideas for getting traffic to your blog? We’d love to learn from you so leave a comment below.
Thank you for these great tips, I’m always looking for ways to boost my traffic so any tips is helpful thank you.
Thanks for sharing these great tips with us at #AnythingGoes link up
Great ideas! It is always fun to see what is working for other people!
Round up posts on other people’s blogs = paramount!! 🙂 I love when others share my content, totally makes my day!
Love this post! I actually came across it on a linky party which I noticed is #2 on here! lol proof that it works! But I love your idea of round up posts. I am new to blogging (only really started posting regularly this past month) and so this might seem like a dumb question, but are we supposed to ask permission from the bloggers we would include in the round up?? like if we wanted to use one of their pics for advertisement of their post in the round up.. of course there would be link to the post and their blog name below the pic. I am just curious what the protocol is I guess.
Thanks!
Lexi
Hi Lexi! Welcome to blogging!! If you want to use a photo, then yes you would ask the blogger for permission to do so. If you’re going to link to their post without a photo, then you don’t need to ask (it would probably be welcomed!!) but I would let them know after the roundup is done so they can visit and maybe share it with their followers.
Good luck with your blog and you’re welcome to join us in our facebook group. Bodacious Bloggers.
PS: Please don’t ever think that a question is dumb. That’s how we learn. xoxo
Great tips! I really need to spend time looking at my analytics, so I can increase my traffic.
I love doing roundups. They are always super popular on my blog. Guest posting is one thing I have started to work on this year
Thank you for all the tips. This summer, I definitely will be implementing some of these new ideas for my blog. I need to switch it up and try some new things.
Great tips. It is so important to get traffic, as you say. I love your tips and I also think you kneed to be dedicated and patient! Many volunteer hours go into blogging.
You always have the best blogging tips. Sharing your post with a new blogger friend. I need to seek more guest post.
Great ideas! I love roundups and find they do really well on my blog… I wasn’t so sure if they were silly to do so I’ll keep doing them! They bring traffic so why not:)
great ideas. I love roundups, they always bring in great numbers especially if about food.
Great tips! Thanks for linking up to the Bloggers Brags Pinterest Party. I have pinned your post to the Bloggers Brags broad. I’ll be featuring your post on Monday.
Thank you Brandi! Please share the link to the board so I can follow. Thanks!!
I am learning so much for this blog series. Thank you for teaching me so much.
These are all great ideas. When planning my content, I am getting much better at writing series that I can link back to in a roundup post.
These are all great tips. I am always watching analytics so I can see what is working and what is not. For the past week I had slowed down on blogging though so now I have to jump back into it full time.
These are great tips. I have been working on a plan for my blog for next month and will be adding some of these.
I need to learn how to read my analytic report and make it work for me. I also need to figure out Adsense as well.
You have good tips here. I do like the social networking benefits that come from the groups, linkys, round-ups, etc. I’ve never been in one and not come out without a new blog or two that I like to visit forevermore.
I’ve been wanting to do a roundup for a long time. I think this gave me the push I need to give it a try. Do you normaly include images in yours or just links and like a hero image?
It kind of depends on how nice the photos are – lol.
I’m familiar with most of these.. but that “linky” site is new to me. I will definitely be trying this to see how well it will work. You are right about the analytics. It’s important to know your audience and who you are writing for.
Great ideas! As a new blogger I appreciate all of the tips I can get! Pinning, thanks for sharing!
Visiting from the Bloggers Brag Pinterest party
I really need to figure out my analytics better, and once I have that in hand, I need to implement your tips for taking advantage of the information! I wouldn’t have thought of doing the things you mention such as going back and adding more links, including in a round up post, etc. Thanks so much — pinning this so I can remember it! 🙂