How I Doubled My Blog Traffic in 2 Months
I just got serious about blogging in December of 2007.
I had a blog on Blogger.com for 2 years, but rarely updated it.
Then in November of 2007, I installed Feedburner and discovered I had 430+ subscribers. I was shocked due to the fact I hardly ever blogged.
I didn’t want to lose those subscribers or the traffic, so I decided to challenge myself and see if I could generate an even larger readership.
After switching to WordPress last December, I got more serious about my blog efforts.
I subscribed to Darren Rowse’s blog, ProBlogger.net - a very informative and inspiring blog to newbies and seasoned bloggers alike.
Then I started doing some key things…
1. I am More Selective With My Topics
When I had my Blogger blog, I would often re-write information that was already on my site. I didn’t put much effort into the subject matter of my posts.
(Yawn!)
Now, I’m much more selective. I try to think more about my audience’s needs and what they would find interesting.
And even if I choose a topic that has been blogged about a lot, I try to add my own spin to make it unique. For example, how many articles have been written about “How to Write Good Content” or something similar?
Too many, right?
Well the reality is, most people don’t write good content and they find it a chore or get writer’s block.
So I blogged about this very issue and addressed it from a new angle in a blog post titled “Is Writing Content a Chore for You?” An email I received inspired much of the content in the post.
2. I Make Use of Some Handy WordPress Plugins
Some people go hogwild on the WP plugins. While there are some really cool ones out there, you don’t want to make your blog so plugin-licious that it’s difficult to navigate and read.
You can have too much of a good thing, but there are a few that really come in handy.
Two plugins I believe made a difference in my traffic and readership have been the SiteMap and Related Post plugins.
The SiteMap plugin is important because it generates and submits your blog’s sitemap (an XML listing of all your posts) to all the major engines. Once you install it, the plugin works its magic automatically.
Some of my posts get found in the search engines only hours after I create them.
The Related Post plugin is useful because it encourages people to read more of my blog. It helps them discover posts they might not have discovered had they not seen the “Related Post” link at the end of a blog entry.
Before installing this plugin, I noticed my most recent posts always received 95% of the traffic. Now, older posts are getting more traffic.
3. Visual Appeal
I doubt my graphics have made a huge difference in my traffic, but every now and then I get an email or comment from someone who says they love my blog images and graphics.
One lady says she can’t wait to see what kind of graphic I’ve created to go with the post.
I have to admit, some of my graphics that include pictures of people and things come from Photos.com. Sometimes I add my own flavor to them with good ole’ PhotoShop.
However most of the graphics like the one in this post were created by me. Learning PhotoShop has been a great asset to my business.
While the content is what really makes or breaks a blog, a few appealing images and graphics can help round out your blog’s appearance and give it a more professional feel.
4. I Blog More Often
Blogging more often is not always a good thing. If you don’t have anything interesting to say then no point in blogging just for the sake of blogging.
It’s not worth losing your subscriber base so be sure your posts have substance.
When you blog often, the search engine spiders will visit more frequently, and this could help your traffic. Blogging often also keeps your subscribers coming back regularly and keeps you on their radar.
5. I Interlink My Blog With My Main Site
I am fortunate enough to have a site that already receives over 7,000 visitors per day, so of course that’s a huge help. When I create a new post, I look for relevant content on my site and provide a link to that entry.
When I used Blogger, I didn’t cross promote all that much. Now, I’m much more conscious of opportunities to interlink the two. So if you have a website and a blog, keep your eyes open for ways to link the two together.
6. Competitor’s Blogs Keep My Juices Flowin’
First and foremost I want to make clear that I am not suggesting you copy someone’s content. Not only is it illegal but it’s highly unethical and dishonest.
But there’s nothing wrong with getting ideas from another blogger’s topics.
For example, if you see a blogger has written about the iPod Touch features (a topic that is overdone); rather than just re-wording what they wrote, create your own entry but take a different approach.
Maybe your post could be something like, “10 Reasons the iPod Touch is Better Than the Zune”. You’re writing about the same topic, but you’re taking the content in a new direction.
Not to mention you could capitalize on a new audience - people looking to compare the Zune and the iPod.
I encourage you to take a look at your competitor’s blogs, get ideas and look for ways you can create your own fresh, unique content.
7. I Switched from Blogger to WordPress
I wrote a post about this a while back, but it is worth mentioning again. I really do believe WordPress is a much better platform because of all the plugins and flexibility.
Blogger is probably easier to setup, but WordPress is pretty user-friendly too - especially if you have a Web host that offers CPanel. (I use HostGator and setup this blog in 5 seconds.)
I have much more control over my layout without having to edit the raw code (like you do with Blogger). Plus, WordPress breaks up the template into separate files so it’s easier to figure out what file controls what section of your blog.
Not to mention, WordPress has much better design templates, in my opinion.
And as I said above, additions like the SiteMap Plugin also help get your posts spidered and indexed faster.
8. I Craft My Titles More Carefully
I discovered titles that pose a question or contain a bit of shock value generate the most clicks. My recent entry “Would You Like $57,000 In One Month?” has a little of both.
Usually my newest post wins the “Daily Traffic Award” but this post is 2 weeks old and still beats out my newer posts on some days.
Taking time to develop a good title can make a huge difference. Particularly since more and more people use RSS to keep track of their favorite blogs.
You never get a second chance to make a first impression, so make that title count!
9. I Give Away More Freebies
Who doesn’t love something free, right? Plus, it’s a great way to build loyal fans and viral traffic (because they’ll tell others who tell others and so on.)
But I have to be careful with this one because I want my freebies to have value. I hate it when I see Webmasters giving away items that have been distributed over and over again, or freebies you can find anywhere.
How insulting and unoriginal.
If you want your freebies to go to work for you, take some time to develop something useful and unique.
Here are some of my favorite freebies I’ve offered in my blog…
- Free RSS Icons I Created
- Free Traffic Book (PDF)
- Free AdSense Book (PDF) (for beginners)
10. I Share My Personal Success
I wasn’t comfortable doing this at first. I felt I was bragging, but I slowly found it builds credibility. And I noticed other successful Webmasters often do the same thing.
If you’re trying to teach people how to do something, it helps to show them how your advice has worked for you.
While I don’t offer specifics about my income, I may display an AdSense check here and there or remind people I am making a living online.
It’s important that my audience knows I am actually walking the walk since I often talk about making money.
In Conclusion…
Doing the above things has not only helped double my blog’s traffic in 2 months, and my subscriber count is up by nearly 100 subscribers.
Which of the above strategies can you implement on your blog?
And if you’ve done anything to help boost your blog’s traffic that I haven’t mentioned here, feel free to share.
If you enjoyed this post, please Stumble it!. Feel free to leave a comment or subscribe to my RSS feed and receive future articles delivered to your feed reader.
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Lisa,
I agree 100% in order to increase traffic you have to be consistent with your entries. When I started to blog the rule of thumb was to be sure to have an entry at least 1 or 2 times every ten days. Once I started doing that I noticed that my blog appeared #1 on google. With the addition of my main website http://Wealth-Freedom-Abundance.com I really noticed an increase in traffic and more flow of income to my business.
To your success,
Kenneth Cedar
Hi Lisa,
I had a few blogger blogs but moved to WordPress and the difference in ranking was amazing. I appreciate the idea of drawing inspiration from competitors blogs, I’m just too lazy to do it.
To be honest I’m a part time blogger (at best) and that shows in my RSS sign-ups. I really started my blog to share and document ideas and what I learn as I go. I also wanted good page rank to link back to my sites and client sites (got PR4 right now). My blog is http://webtooltips.wordpress.com.
Anyway, great post. “Just keep blogging!”
Lisa, what a great site & blog you have. I found your website from google when searching somehting on google and now I’m still reading your blog/website after few past few hours.
Congrats. Hope your income will continously increase. I totally believe in “give and you’ll get”. All the best.
Lisa,
Great information. It’s not like I haven’t heard some of these suggestions before. However, I like the way you presented it and just as people buy from thos they like and trust, we tend to hear better what is said by those we like and trust. I gained much in a short time from your WebSite Babble forum and now I’ve found your blog. Pretty exciting!
Ahh…I have a blogger blog. I don’t know but I remember trying to remove all those codes in wordpress
drove me nuts even after watching a video. It was so frustrating for me at the time because I was still learning so many internet marketing concepts. I bought IMC book on blogging and it laid out a step-by-step “how to” using blogger.com
I don’t blog much but for now blogger.com will do. But I do like the wordpress designs, interface, and functionality a lot. Hey, it took me so long to switch to fire fox and gmail…..it may take me just as long to try wordpress again. Haa
Another great post Lisa. I found your blog through BlogRush with your catchy headlines. What a great post. I know I currently use Blogger myself but just yesterday actually I signed up for a Wordpress account as so many people use it and the plugins and flexibilty that I have read on other blogs and now yours is why I decided to go give it a try. I personally like seeing Wordpress blogs as the design I find is much better.
So true, the more you post the more blog traffic you’ll get and higher search engines. Google loves updated blogs and will reward you for keeping them fresh. Something I need to do is post more frequently but sometimes free time is against me. In 2008 it’s something I will try to do more often.
Thanks for the great information Lisa. You have a great blog and keep up the good work.
Sincerely,
Jamie Boyle
And I was just thinking of ditching BlogRush, but you’ve helped change my mind Jamie! LOL That’s the 2nd person that’s mentioned they found my blog there i the past week.
Thanks again.
I have to give a lot of props on this one, i usually don’t fall for things easily i was a bit skeptical, but you know what you are doing. Good information, excellent display.
thanks
steve
[...] Adding your own unique domain name is not only going to give you editor authority to move and change your blog to your liking (it’s very easy too) but it is going to keep you motivated because you’re spending YOUR OWN $$$ now, and nobody likes wasting money. It is a motivator. [...]
Great post Lisa. I had no idea that there was sitemap plugg-in for WordPress. You maynot realize this…:-), but you were born to do this…
Have you seen the Easy Viral Traffic blog yet? They provide some pretty cool information about how to get free website traffic… check it out http://www.easy-viral-traffic.com/blog/
I just checked out World Press I may give them a try. I’m more interested in generating some traffic as it relates to making a few dollars with Google advertisements right now. I was a little disappointed when I read the World press guidelines. I will have to sleep on this one and think it through in the morning.
Thanks for an awesome blog
Best AdSense Videos,
Keep in mind you have more flexibility with WordPress if you install it on your own domain versus hosting your blog on their servers. For example you cannot use AdSense if you host on WordPress’s servers but if you install it on your own domain, you’re free to post the Google ads. I’m assuming those are the kinds of guidelines you were talking about?
You have provided detail information on how one can increase their traffic to their site, I am still struggling to increase traffic to my site.
I will have to check into what you are talking about. I am a little new at all this computer stuff. Thanks for the reply.
Hey I found you! I watched a few of your videos on youtube about 2 months back. And today I stumbled on your main dreamweaver made site and found your blog. I read about your big affiliate check. Nice. I’m still fist fighting with Adsense trying to get content matching to work. But your story is inspirational.
Lisa, I am a newbie and this information is exactly what I need. Here are my 3 favs from this post. The plugin suggestion in tip two is hot! Another great is tip 5 interlinking the blog and site. And the most important tip for my personal work is tip 8 crafting my titles for curb appeal.
If I do not find success with my websites, it won’t be because you didn’t try to tell me.
Hi Lisa
Isn’t it a disadvantage that you publish your feed over the feedburner domain (http://feeds.feedburner.com/2createawebsite?format=xml) instead yours?
I don’t know whether it matters for page ranking, but what if one day for some reason you decide to quit feedburner? All subscribers will have the feedburner feed.
regards
Tom
No, it’s not. Feedburner is actually still using my blog’s domain-based feed. http://blog.2createawebsite.com/feed/ It’s just redirecting it to an address on their servers. So even if I stopped feedburner, I wouldn’t lose my subscribers.
All the steps you mentioned are very handy,I love wordpress and its plug ins.Feed burner is best and mow it is owned by Google.
Hi lisa
probably I did not express myself good enough.
I mean: Now you offer on your blog to subscribe this feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/2createawebsite
Let’s assume one day you decide to drop feedburner. The problem: All your subscribes are subscribed to http://feeds.feedburner.com/2createawebsite and not to blog.2createawebsite.com/myfeed.
It means you are dependend of feedburner.
Nope you described it perfectly. I think you are just misunderstanding me. Even though my feedburner feed is
http://feeds.feedburner.com/2createawebsite The real (behind the scenes) feed is http://blog.2createawebsite.com/feed/ So even if I dropped feedburner I would not lose subscribers. Because the feedburner address you see is not real. It’s just a redirect from my main blog feed which is http://blog.2createawebsite.com/feed/
That’s exactly why feedburner sets it up like that. When you join, they ask you what your real blog feed is then they setup the feedburner address feed to redirect from your real domain-based feed. So the only thing I would lose if I moved from feedburner is the feedburner subscribe stats. I wouldn’t lose my subscribers.
So when people sign up with my feedburner address they are really signing up with http://blog.2createawebsite.com/feed/ , it’s just not visible to the human eye because feedburner has a redirect setup to make it look like the real address is http://feeds.feedburner.com/2createawebsite
The redirect is what makes it look like I’m dependent upon feedburner, but when I login to my feedburner account it shows my real address as http://blog.2createawebsite.com/feed/
Make sense now?
hm, are you sure? Did you test it?
I think the feedburner address I see is real. Because I enter the feedburner address in my feedreader. And when the feedburner feed is deleted, there is nothing more to read.
I tested it:
1. Create a test feed
2. Burn it
3. Subscribe to burned feed
4. Delete burned feed (original feed stays)
5. My reader no more has a feed to read from… (tested with Firefox), because in the reader is the address of the feedburner feed.
To my understanding there is nothing like a “feedburner address we see but is not real”. People subscribing to the feedburner address store this address in their readers. And feedburner redirects the read-request to your original feed.
To my understanding there is an other reason why feedburner set’s it up like this. They set it up like this, in order that people subscribing to your original feed get redirected to the burned feed. Because you want statistics about all, and not half in original feed and half in burned feed.But that’s another topic.
And when speaking of “real feed”, yes, there is a “real feed”, because feedreader cannot read from the published feed address otherwise we would have an endless redirection loop.
Still, I just started reading about this topic, not sure all is correct :-). What do you think?
I see what you’re saying and I am the one who misunderstood. You make a good point. However the pros of using such a service outweigh the cons. I would have never been able to figure out how to allow people to subscribe to my feed via email (a very valuable asset) if it wasn’t for feedburner.
The one good thing about feedburner is at least you can export the emails of the people who subscribe to your feed and right now, my email subscribe rate is much larger than my RSS subscribe rate. Of course it would be a pain to lose my RSS readers but at least I would still be able to export all my email subscribers and communicate with them.
Feedburner is extremely popular and widely used by thousands of Webmasters and they’re owned by Google (another plus). So until someone comes along with something better I won’t worry about it. ;)
Leave a comment
Lisa,
Awesome information! You know I have my Wordpress right now and I wanted to read up on your material before I start my blog and this is really, really informative. I’m also going to check out blogger.net. This page is just what I was looking for. I will definitely let you know when I’m done and will email you for your input. Thanks again!
Renee