Although we all start by saying we’re “writing for ourselves”, I’m sure most of us WANT people to read our content. Blogging is all about creation, sharing and connecting. If you’re shouting into the void, then none of that is being fulfilled. I’m at the stage where I thoroughly enjoy writing for my audience. It boosts my own traffic and if I can help you learn how to increase blog traffic to your own blog, then amazing!
Photo by Katie Harp on Unsplash
The most common reasons for wanting to know how to increase blog traffic is likely to be because you want to attract followers and potentially help someone with your content or because you want to work with brands. Both valid. Both cool.
And you know what? Getting steady, consistent and high traffic feels bloody good. There’s no shame in wanting more views, more followers, more anything. If you’re going about it the right way. We all want to succeed.
Ready to learn how to increase blog traffic to your blog?
Make SEO a priority to increase blog traffic
Ah… SEO. If you’re not utilizing SEO then you’re seriously missing a trick. Optimal SEO can be a GODSEND for you to boost your blog traffic and grow your online presence. It sounds a bit boring at first but once you get the hang of it, you’ll catch the SEO bug, I promise.
If you’re not using the Yoast Plugin on WordPress yet to help with the SEO of your blog posts, I urge you to download it today. It makes SEO so simple and straight-forward. I won’t go into detail here about specific ways to boost SEO but I have plenty of other posts and resources for that if you’re interested!
However, keyword research is also mega important and the Yoast plug-in can only take you so far. I’d recommend grabbing this eBook all about Keyword Research for Bloggers – it’ll be your bible!
Related: A Beginners Guide to SEO for Bloggers
Related: Blog DA Score: What Is It, Why Is It Useful & How Can You Improve It?
Pinterest will help in how to increase blog traffic
Pinterest is THE PLACE to be right now in terms of referral traffic. Although I’ll put my hands up and say that it’s definitely not the source of the majority of my traffic – far from it – it definitely does help. But some absolute Pinterest wizards out there get an incredible amount of traffic from Pinterest.
Recommended: Pinterest With Ell eCourse
Take part in comment swaps
I love a comment swap. I know some people don’t and don’t “agree” with them or whatever but for me, they’re a place where I know so many of my favorite bloggers are going to be at the same time. It’s kinda like a virtual meet up with online friends to share what’s going on on your blog right now.
I found so many amazing bloggers through taking part in comment swaps that I might not have found otherwise. And now I know all those bloggers are going to be sharing their latest posts at the same time. I’d highly recommend the TeacupClub swap, Monday and Thursdays at 5pm (UK time).
Related: How To Make the Most of Comment Threads
Create a comment pod
Similarly to above, not everyone likes these and I understand why. But if you’re in a comment pod with a group of like-minded bloggers who’s content you enjoy, then I think they can be a good way to boost your blog traffic with a little extra, consistent blog traffic.
Join relevant Facebook groups
Facebook groups are a banging way to get involved in a blogging community, meet people, share blog posts, gain opportunities and ask for advice. I DID have my own Facebook group, which I stepped back from just last month because it was too much to keep going. But there’s plenty of other Facebook groups out there which encourage you to share your posts which may boost your blog traffic.
Increase blog traffic by share widely
This kinda goes hand in hand with the above 3 but to boost your blog traffic, you’re going to want to share your blog posts. And share they widely. So I’m not talking about once on Twitter when the post goes up. Don’t forget, not everyone who may want to read your post will follow you on Twitter.
You should be sharing your posts across multiple platforms, so Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest definitely. Instagram if you have good engagement on there and perhaps LinkedIn too.
Promote effectively
The average life of a tweet is just 18 minutes. So like I said above, sharing once to Twitter when the post goes live is about as helpful in the long run as a chocolate fire guard. You want to be sharing widely, yes. But you always need to be promoting effectively too.
What do I mean by effectively? Well, find out your most popular posting times and utilize that. Schedule your tweets and Facebook posts in advance. Ensure your tweets and other promotional posts are engaging, visually appealing and include photos and MAKE people want to click through to the post. And for crying out loud, don’t beg for views. It’s annoying. Just keeping it real.
Advertise on relevant blogs
Advertising on other blogs which offer advertising packages is another great way to boost that traffic. It’s always worth shopping around and making sure the blog you’re advertising on is a right fit for you. Is their audience likely to enjoy your content too if they blog about cars and you blog about make up… use your common sense basically.
Related: Want To Advertise With Me? Click Here For More Information!
Guest post on other blogs
Guest posting on other blogs can help boost your blog traffic, similarly if it’s a blog which is relevant to yours and which you can contribute meaningfully to. It’s also a good way to boost that DA if you’re guest posting on another high quality, high DA site. So double win for that one.
Create topical, seasonal or helpful content
And lastly but most importantly, content in king. Are you producing the best and highest quality content you possibly can? Or are you rushing it to get more posts out? Are you talking about things which are note-worthy, seasonal or that other might find helpful? Or are you talking about that time your cat threw up on your jumper?
I don’t want anyone to take this point the wrong way – I reiterate time and time again that if you want to blog about a particular thing (like cats throwing up on jumpers) then crack on. But for the sake of this post, I’m just sharing what I know. And what I know is content is absolutely everything.
What do you readers want? Who ARE your readers? Check out your own stats and see which of your previous posts have done the best in terms of views. Are you noticing a trend? (E.g most of my most viewed posts are blogging related). Is there something in the forefront of everyone’s minds you have something to say about? (E.g climate change or politics).
Or do you have super knowledge in a certain area? Do you know everything there is to know about beauty or Vegan food? Do you have something to teach people? Whatever it is, could you make it into a series on your blog? Content is EVERYTHING. And I’m currently working on a course to help people with this sort of thing so watch out for that!
Related: 25 Blog Post Ideas for Bloggers Who Blog About Blogging
There we go! 10 relatively easy and simple ways to boost your blog traffic! Do you have anything to add to this list? Do you struggle with any of these areas? Let’s discuss in the comments!
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thanks for the wonderful tips!
Super helpful tips as always! After coming back from a break, I’m finding it really hard to engage my audience again and regain traffic – Pinterest especially just doesn’t feel like it’s for me!
Abi | https://whatabigailsays.co.uk/
Pinterest is hard to get the hang of – I definitely haven’t yet!
Ahh SEO is such a ballache but so worth sorting. I’d love to be better with Pinterest, I literally have no clue what I’m doing with it 🤦♀️ Thanks for the tips about the twitter comment swaps too, will definitely keep an eye out xx
Hope you join in on some!
Great post Jenny! I love comment swaps, like you said, it is like a virtual meet up with your blogging friends. I haven’t took part in one for a while now just because of how distant i’ve been from blogging, but I’d never say they were a bad thing.
Chloe xx
http://www.chloechats.com
Hope to see you back properly soon! xxx
Oh my lord am I EXCITED to hear you’re releasing a course on content! You always have the best tips so that sounds amazing. This post is so helpful, there are so many things I’m still not implementing properly so this has given me a lot to think about! Thank you 🙂
Thank you! I’m hoping to release it very soon!
Great suggestions Jenny! I like to think I’m doing most of these and slowly building my engagement 🙂 But can’t help but feel there is always something more I can be doing.
There’s ALWAYS something more we can do – but we can’t do everything!
Thank you for the tips! I do a lot of these but SEO is still something I’m trying to learn as much as I can about. Google is a tricky little biyach to crack, haha.
Mariam
bossbabechroniclesblog.com
It sure is but once you get your head around it, it’ll come really quite naturally!
These are fantastic tips! I actually get a ton of my interaction from Pinterest, I really think group Pinterest boards are fantastic.
They sure are!
I found this so fascinating to read! I’ve only started blogging, and noticing my views have already taken a dip and my blog is suffering because I’m trying to juggle so much at once. I’m definitely going to focus more on utilizing Pinterest and promoting appropriately across all platforms, when and where I can! Thanks for sharing x
http://www.rebeccaellis.org
Spreading yourself too thin can definitely have the opposite effect!
I deleted Facebook years ago when I graduated and I’ve been wondering recently if I should create a new one for blog related things. Trying to build my Pinterest traffic and be more consistent with that right now! x
Sophie
You totally should – keep it entirely separate from anything personal x
Thanks for sharing these great tips xx
You’re welcome x
thanks for the tips! I will have to give pinterest a try! I definitely feel like I’ve been posting to empty space!
Pinterest is definitely worth a shot! x
There are some really helpful tips as always Jenny! I’ve been using some of the tips lately too improve my blog traffic x
Kayleigh Zara | http://www.kayleighzaraa.com
Hope they’ve helped! x
These tips are so good which isn’t surprising since you’re super clever! 😉 I’m glad that I’m already doing a few of these but I think I need to promote more and guest post somewhere!
Daisy xoxo | TheDeeWhoLived
Awh Daisy haha thank you! Promote, promote, promote! x
Great tips, Jenny!
Thank you! x
This is helpful. It is hard finding ways to share posts on other blogs
It is but if you look on Twitter, a lot of people look for guest posts! x
Thanks so much for the advice!!!
You’re welcome!
These are such amazing ideas! I’ve had to save some of them so I can come back to them tomorrow. I love the idea of joining a Facebook group for my blog, what a great way to be active in the community!
Awh thank you! Would definitely recommend Facebook groups x
These are excellent tips! I definitely struggle with SEO, it’s finding the right damn key phrase that I struggle with :’) Since taking my blog self-hosted & over to wordpress, I’ve been working on improving my blog traffic. I really should utilise pinterest more!! Gotta make the most of my monthly viewers & decent follower count :’) Thank you for sharing!!
Key words can be tough! Do you use Google to help you?
I haven’t tried that yet! I’ve heard that’s a good tool, & I need to utilise it, thanks for reminding me :’)
This is such a helpful post! I totally need to SEO my older posts, and I am gradually getting there. Also love pinterest, it is such a good way to share your posts, and they usually have a longer ‘shelf’ life than twitter don’t they?
Although not quick, time is a big one for boosting. The more you establsh your audience, the more traffic you should get (hopefully!)
Thanks for sharing your tips!
Aimsy xoxo
Aimsy’s Antics
Oh yes time is key too. But even if you’re a brand new blogger, if you get all these things down early, you can have really healthy traffic quickly! It just took me 6 years to learn it all haha!
Some really fab tips here Jenny x
Thank you x
I really need to start doing more of these, I tend to be very hot and cold with blogging, but I’m trying more comment threads now. Comment pods sound really fun too!
Lainy x
Consistency is also very helpful so trying to find a routine and rhythm that works for you can help massively! x
Definitely going to try and tune in to a few twitter comment swaps each week, and also focus more on SEO! Great tips.
Jess | http://www.jessrigg.com
Comment swaps are great fun! Hope you manage to join in on more x
Comment pods and guest posting definitely helps x
Comment pods are great x
Thanks for the tips. I’m trying to figure out Pinterest and SEO right now. There is just so much to learn here.
There really is! But there’s lot of helpful advice out there x
As always… Amazing post!! I’ve not ventured to Facebook yet, but I am thinking about it. I’ve been focusing a lot more on Pinterest lately. Still trying to figure out SEO. Thanks for always writing such amazing and helpful posts!
I’d probably recommend Pinterest over Facebook if I had to choose. But different platforms have different success rates for different people! x
Really great tips Jenny! (As always) 😊
SEO is definitely important and I also love comment threads to increase traffic.
I think people give up too quickly when they don’t see fast results but it’s important to keep active and stick with it!
Love Lozza xo
http://girlygabble.com
Oh totally agree! It’s like they don’t see the results in 2 weeks and think what’s the point but that’s totally the wrong attitude to have x
I am working on my SEO at the moment. I even decided to translate my blog in french to attract more traffic, rank better and reach out to more people. So much work though. I need to focus more on seasonal content: Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, because they do drive a lot of traffic! thanks for all the tips
Oh wow that’s amazing! I have a translate widget on my blog so if someone needs it translated, they can! x
Excellent blog traffic tips!! I need to invest in SEO for my blog. Currently I do not own my domain, so I can’t use the plugin but I will look into manually implementing SEO for my blog. I know it will bring a lot of traffic! Thanks for the advice 😁👏🏾
Natonya | https://justnatonya.wordpress.com
You can definitely manually implement it very effectively! The plugin just makes it easier but it’s totally not impossible without it! x
Ok I must find tips on manually getting this done👏🏾
Thanks for reminding me that I need to check Yeost for today’s post! I was running late this morning, so I published it without checking because I *think* I’m getting better at writing how Yeost likes now.
I find it strange, because I don’t write “for” myself, but I do try to write the type of content that I’d want to read, and what I’d wanted to find a couple of years ago.
I’ve found the guest post I did allowed me to move a little outside of my niche and talk exclusively about mental health which I don’t as much on my blog – I feel it would be one niche too many XD
Teacup club is my favourite two hours of the week. I’ve actually now rearranged my personal training sessions to make sure that they never clash! I know that I’ll find my “crew” there and often at least one new blogger to explore 😀
I don’t write for myself anymore either. I read a great quote on someone else’s blog earlier that said “you don’t write for yourself, if you were, you’d be writing a journal” and that’s so true really! Guest blogging is a great way to write outside your box without committing to those topics on your own blog! x
Great advice! I think a lot of bloggers overlook the importance of getting out there and networking with others. It really does make a significant difference long term!
Totally! They think they can put in minimal effort and get a ton back x
Such great tips as always and another post of yours which I’ll definitely be referring back to when I need some help. I definitely want to use some of these to boost my blog stats, I definitely need to promote more effectively as well as make the most of seo! Literally going to google the plugin after I finish writing this comment! haha, Thanks for sharing x
Hope you manage to get the plugin! It’s so useful x
Definitely gonna start taking part in comment swaps!
Jess x
https://www.jessrigg.com
I love this! Thanks for the great tips- especially helpful for us new bloggers!
You’re welcome! x
Brilliant tips! I will definitely be using some of these as my traffic has dropped significantly in the last few months due to taking a break from blogging.
– Charlotte / myownblogofthoughts.blogspot.com
Hope they help! x
Love this post, Jenny, it’s so helpful. SEO is something I’ve been trying to focus on more recently and I really want to go back and update some of my older posts too. Pinterest is a hard nut to crack, I just wish I had more time! And I absolutely share your thoughts on comment swaps, it makes life so much easier and I know where to find my favourite bloggers all in one place at the same time, love them! X
Lisa | http://www.lisasnotebook.com
I wish I could go back and SEO my old posts but I literally have 1179 posts (I’m looking now haha) so it’d take my whole freaking life! x
these are great tips! I really need to get to grips with SEO as i have no idea what i’m doing when it comes to it.
beth / http://www.quirksandqueries.com
It can be tough at first but once you get your head around it, it’s much easier! x
I’m loving Pinterest at the moment! I’ve not found it generates loads of traffic to my blog but I’m glad I’ve been sticking to it, and it seems to work for so many people! All brilliant tips xx
Tiffany x http://www.foodandotherloves.co.uk
Yes me too! I definitely don’t get tons from it, maybe a few hundred extra a month. But I love it anyway it’s just such a great site! x
Thanks for sharing these Jenny. I know the three areas I need to focus on – Pinterest (I get 22k mostly views on their already, so why not use it for my blog too?) and scheduling!! I’m forever forgetting to do it and only post my new content once… I need to get more organised.
Ah you definitely need to post your links to Twitter more than once! I know scheduling tweets is so tedious though haha!
I know! I’m going to sit down every Sunday and schedule them for the week. 😊
Thank you for these tips. I really need to work on Pinterest.
You’re welcome x
Fantastic tips!
I love doing guest posts and hosting guest posts – I love the chance to do something a bit different mostly, to have another voice and style on my blog.
Cora | http://teapartyprincess.co.uk/
Thank you! x
Really helpful post. I do most of these but I keep forgetting the comment swaps. I’ve done them a handful of times and enjoyed them and it’s really increased my blog traffic. 🙂
Sarah 🌺 || Boxnip || Latest Post
I always set alarms so I don’t forget!
So many good tips here! I love your perspective on comment threads – I’ve found them super useful but am yet to join in with Teacup Club so will give that one a go. Thanks!
That’s the best one! Definitely join in next time!
Definitely important point all 10! It may take a while to master all of them, but it’s good to tackle each point one at a time so you can nail that, and then the next one. I still don’t understand Pinterest, but I’m getting on it asap.
Teresa Maria | Outlandish Blog
Oh yeah it definitely takes a while! x
So helpful!! Will definitely be referring back to these!
Paige x
paigesummerx.wordpress.com
Hope they help! x
Ah! Great post – I’m going to follow these tips going forward once I start working on my blog again after I’ve moved out! ✨
Lucy-Kate | https://lucykateburton.co.uk
Hope they help! Good luck with the move! x
Hi, Jenny. Great Post!
Do you know any Facebook Groups where you can post your latest blog posts?
Thanks!
Norma
normalinnet.com
The Exciting Emails Facebook group posts regular threads! x
Love this post.
These are very useful tips.
I now intend to click on all the links and read all your other posts on blogging.
It is currently not viable for me to use the WordPress business plan which supports plug ins. What can I do for SEO instead?
Always love your tips. Still need to workout SEO!
I’d love to have more traffic to my blog so gonna keep checking up on these! X
Awh thank you! x
Hope you find them helpful! You can implement SEO without the plugin for sure. I have a post about SEO but I’m afraid I can’t tell you everything over a comment otherwise it’ll be too long! x
What a helpful post. I am still trying to get my head around SEO etc. These are such useful tips. I try and use all social media as much as I can to promote my blog. You are right it’s great writing for yourself but you also feel so fulfilled when someone reads it, or says that it has helped them. Thank you for sharing Jenny xxx
Thank you! I totally agree x
Really great tips and I love a good comment pod myself.
Me too, such fun! x
As ever Jenny a very useful post. My views have dropped massively over the ‘Summer Slump’ and they are yet to pick up sadly.
That said though, Pinterest really is where its at right now, I am reaching a much bigger audience on there and seeing more traffic from it which makes the hard work seem worthwhile.
Awh yeah there’s definitely times of year where views are down. Summer and Christmas mostly I think! x
Thank you for the tips . I will be using these for my next blog post .
Hope they help! x