13 Ways to Attract More Blog Traffic
Whether you’re a beginner blogger or someone who knows their way around WordPress, you always want to generate as much traffic as possible. After all, no one wants to shout into the void with no one to hear it, so finding out how to increase blog traffic is a must.
Quality content that offers value is a good place to start, but who wants to spend hours crafting the perfect blog post if only one person reads it? If you can increase traffic, you can enjoy many benefits that can help propel your blog and personal brand higher than you ever expected, so if you aren’t getting enough traction, here is a guide to attract more blog traffic.
Learn What People Want to Read About
No one wants to read a blog that doesn’t offer anything. Therefore, you need to find out what people want to read about. Sure, you want to write about your interests or you might have something to say about the latest scandal in the celebrity/political/sporting/etc world, but these posts are not permanently useful. They might be relevant for a week, maybe two, but they won’t generate much traffic afterwards. If you want to invite continuous traffic, pick topics that will help people. "How To" Guides or "Best Places to Visit" are always valuable. You can still write about things you want to write about, but don’t fill your blog with too much of this.
Match the Search Intent
Search intent refers to search engine queries, and the closer you match the intent, the higher your content ranks on Google, Bing, and other engines. So how do you know how to meet the intent? The best way to find out is by searching your keyword and seeing how other blogs do it.
Suppose you want to learn how to code. Typing "how to code" into Google will bring up several results. Some are blog posts that introduce various coding platforms, while others may be video guides that show rather than tell. Consider what type of content best matches the intent and create that to rank higher and attract an audience.
Construct a Reader List
Newsletters are an excellent way to keep your existing audience in the loop. A weekly email covering the best picks of your content means your readers have everything they need in one place. This is ideal for subscribers who were too busy to check your blog or maybe even forgot about it.
You’ll need to create consistent content to fill the newsletter. Otherwise, you’re only sending an email with one or two posts each week, which is not as exciting. If your content meets all your readers’ needs, they are more likely to share posts so you can generate more traffic and maybe even a few more subscribers.
Collaborate With Other Blogs
The blogosphere is vast. It’s so vast, in fact, that many beginner bloggers feel there isn’t any point in starting their blog because others have already said what they want to say. However, collaborating with more established blogs can introduce you to new readers and bring more eyes to your website.
Many established bloggers allow guest posts, and although they all have some rules (such as matching the tone or a general topic), they are mostly happy to welcome new bloggers. They also come with a cost, so remember to fit it into your budget.
Use Internal Links
An internal link is a link from one page to another within your website. If you stick to similar topics, finding internal links is easy, but only after creating enough content. These links are ideal for increasing your SEO standing since search engines recognize web pages containing internal links as being more valuable rather than spam.
Start Link Building
You can’t rely solely on internal links to generate more traffic and link building is arguably even more effective. The basic premise is the same. You include external links to high-authority websites to boost your SEO report and increase your standing on Google or other engines.
But you can’t just pick any link and stick it somewhere in the content. Link building is most effective when guest posting, as you can link back to your site. However, the pages you link to must be content, so no home pages or Contact links. When seeking guest post opportunities, consider which platforms you’re comfortable writing for and try to stay within your niche, or at least niche adjacent.
Promote Your Content
There are so many ways to promote your blog that any blogger is spoiled for choice. You have other blogs, online communities like Reddit, or social media sites. Considering you want to reach as many people as possible, more popular sites are ideal although you may want to start by promoting your blog on a smaller scale, so posting links to followers on Instagram or Twitter (sorry, X) should be successful.
This approach helps get your blog out there, and if you receive good feedback, you can start promoting it elsewhere.
Include Images People Want to Share
You may not fancy yourself a graphic designer, but you may need to learn how to create graphics if you want to boost your blog traffic. You don’t need to become the Picasso of digital images, but creating infographics or images that add value is one of the most crucial elements of increasing blog traffic.
Infographics could cover a step-by-step guide to getting into coding, while high-value images might be stunning photos from your recent travels that encourage people to engage with your blog and share the images with their friends and followers.
Hone Your Writing Skills
Anyone who writes is a writer, even if no one reads it. But you want people to read your content, right? Of course, you do. Because of this, it’s worth honing your writing skills and learning how to write in various tones or with different purposes. Your current approach may be to inform, but you can also entertain or educate, or even do a mix of all three.
Seeking blogging opportunities can help you improve your writing by introducing you to various topics you’re not familiar with. If you want to get better, you need to step out of your comfort zone and write for other people.
Keep Your Content Up to Date
Evergreen content is the most valuable because people can read it whenever and still get something out of it. The world doesn’t work like that, and your content could become outdated within a year.
No one wants to read expired content, so use a content calendar to refresh the information. If you run a travel blog, knowing what attractions or restaurants are open will provide value because you don’t want to provide false information. You don’t need to refresh every month, but checking in every six months to a year ensures you offer up-to-date information.
Make the Headlines Stand Out
There is a difference between journalistic headlines and blog headlines. Headlines on news sites often summarize what the article is about with a simple and informative sentence. Blogs are different because you want people to click on them. This applies to the search intent since you need to craft headlines people want to read.
You need to make it grab attention, so make it specific. Instead of "Best Coding Class," try "Top 5 Coding Classes for Beginners." If you want to add shareability, go for something unique such as "I Wrote an Article About the Arctic Circle and All I Got Was Sunburn and Frostbite." Yes, it’s clickbait, but that’s the point.
Find Better Angles
Do you ever feel everything has already been written? It doesn’t matter what you’re interested in, there is always another post covering the same thing. This can discourage new bloggers, but the good news is that you still have a unique perspective. You aren’t Bob Logger from Minnesota. You’re you, so use your experiences and be an authority from another angle. You might see hundreds of "The Best Restaurants in Bangkok," but what about "The Best Restaurants for Travellers With Peanut Allergies"? This takes an existing topic and adds more value, especially considering how much peanuts are in Thai cuisine.
Narrow Your Niche
Many bloggers want their blogs to appeal to as many people as possible, but you end up spreading yourself too thin, and you’ll quickly realize you don’t know enough about so many topics to write about them sufficiently. While multi-topic blogs can be useful, it’s something you should grow into. For now, focus on something you know a lot about. If you’ve travelled a lot, write about travelling. If you’re a mechanic, a car blog is the way to go. There’s plenty of time to expand your niche, but for now, readers want to know you know what you’re talking about.
Traffic
You won’t generate more traffic overnight (or you might, but it’s unlikely). Instead, remember that good things come to those who wait. If you can combine all these tips and apply them to your blog, you will quickly see more traffic and reap the rewards, whether earning more money, enjoying collaboration with other bloggers, or even being able to branch out with other content opportunities.