Struggling to get traffic to your website?
How To Get Traffic To A New Blog
If you are new to blogging, niche websites, or authority websites then you must be wondering how to get traffic to your blog.
This is probably one of the most asked questions in the groups that I frequent.
Most importantly, many people just like you struggle getting traffic to a new blog because they really don't know where to start or how to start.
In this article, I am going to give you the answers to this question. Yes, there are many answers and we are going to cover them all right here.
How To Get Traffic To A New Blog
Traffic is a metric that determines success. Without it you aren't earning money, gaining email subscribers, etc.
To get blog traffic you either have to use some costly marketing tactics or you have to play the strategic long game.
I prefer the strategic long game and here is why...
The long game is more stable, it is cheaper, and it is more rewarding in the long run.
I love watching the traffic to my blog grow over time and the amount of joy I get out of checking my Google Analytics throughout the day watching that number increase day after day is simply epic.
Side Note: This is not an overnight process or method. It takes time and consistency to build traffic to a new blog and you have to stay motivated and know that in time it will work out.
Also, it is a great idea to set incremental goals that when you reach you can reward yourself but also this helps you see that you are meeting your goals slowly and it is working slowly.
Now let's jump in and learn how to get traffic to a new blog:
Know Your Niche
If you do not know and understand the topic you are trying to establish yourself in then how can you expect to compete with the people already ranking and pulling in all of the traffic?
When I start a new niche or authority site I will watch YouTube videos on the topic. I will learn as much as I can possibly learn about it to better understand it. This helps with content creation.
Most of the blogs I own are on topics I really have little to no knowledge about.
Watching YouTube videos, reading other blogs, and researching my competition helps me to dive into the topic to learn all that I can. It also helps me with ideas on how I can accomplish my entrance into the niche in a different way.
Write More Quality Content
Notice I did not just say write more content. Anyone can write content but not everyone can write quality content.
The fact is more content will gain you more exposure and build up the traffic to your blog overall but there is a secondary metric we have to know and understand.
It is quality content that separates the big blogs from the little blogs and if your content sucks or is not very engaging then you are likely wasting your time even writing it in the first place.
Without quality content, your blog will never grow and see rankings that nearly shut down your server.
Blog content needs to have the following metrics to be considered quality content:
- Enticing Headline Or Title
- Strong Intro
- Value Information Immediately
- Researched Information
- Elements That Break Up The Content
- Other Resources
Now let's dig a little deeper into these necessary elements of a quality blog article.
Enticing Headline Or Title
If you cannot get users to click through to your website with your headline then this is like a brick wall.
Your content needs viewers to earn money from display ads or affiliate links you have sprinkled throughout, or to get your message across.
You must use enticing headlines to get better click-through rates.
Some things to consider are:
- Numbers In Titles
- Question In Titles
- Brackets
- Emotional Words
- Power Words
Numbers in your titles improve your click through rate in Google search results.
Questions in your titles have a 14.1% higher click through rate compared to titles without a question.
Brackets are known to be more enticing and give better CTR than titles without brackets.
Emotional words thrown into your title strategically will better your CTR.
Power words in your titles are likely to drive more clicks.
Strong Intro
Now that you got the click in the SERPs and the visitor is on your blog reading your content it is time to hook them in.
Your job in this part of the process is to keep them reading and hook them into your content.
I do this by addressing the concern almost immediately and letting the reader know that I have the answer to their searched query.
I also focus on the pain points or frustrations they may have based on the topic I am writing about.
Your intro should also be as brief as possible. This is just to get them reading more not to educate. The only educating you should do here is letting them know you have the best solution for them.
Value Information Immediately
The fact is that people are clicking on your site in the SERPs to get the answers to questions or for more information on a topic.
Your job is to understand the search intent of any given topic and give that to your readers right after your intro.
Yes, it sometimes seems like you are giving them the gold right away and why would they even read your content further?
Most people will because of the fact that you gave value right away. Also, this is your chance to craft another hook into your content.
Your answer paragraph should give the answer but it should also highlight supporting information that the searcher would want to know about this topic.
It really pays to fully understand search intent, know your topic as a whole, and research heavily.
And that brings us to my next part... Research.
Researched Information
People like data and data-driven research gives your reader a sense of trust that you know what you are talking about. It give the user a better experience and when Google notices a great experience they will rank you better in the search results.
Consider adding tables, or information that takes a lot of time to get. This is the kind of information that drives results.
A good example is this:
My dog is losing a lot of hair and it is Winter soI call up 50 different veterinarian clinics and ask the same question. Why is my dog losing hair?
I then provide the answers to this question in a blog post from every vet that I called or I tally up the different answers I was given and sort them by popularity for the reader. Not all of the answers may be useful to the reader or specific case but at least they have several possibilities that they can further research.
Not only does this information confirm that the answer is correct but it also shows that I put in the time and effort to get this information for the reader.
Google sees well-researched content as quality content and linking out to sources will help your content climb in the SERPs.
Elements That Break Up Content
I am starting to feel like this is a write up on creating a blog post but really this is part of getting good traffic so it must be included.
When people visit your site and see large chunks of content they immediately feel overwhelmed. This is likely to increase your bounce rate and cause much lower rankings in Google.
Consider shortening your paragraphs to 1 to 3 sentences, adding images, tables, and anything that breaks up the content and gives a better user experience. If your content is not being read this will be evident to Google and they will not display your content to searchers.
Other Resources
These can be resources from within your page, website, or externally. Consider linking out to quality sources.
You should also consider creating tables, or downloads that will prove beneficial to your audience.
Guest Posting
This is not really something I do much of. I used to way back in the day but I don't really consider this to be something important to my personal strategy however I do understand the power of guest posting and I have used this method to gain trust, authority and get more exposure.
Guest posting can give you access to another site's audience and grow your own website traffic.
If I was going to produce a guest post for another blog I would create some sort of digital download that you can give away to collect emails which leads into the next part of this article...
Collect Emails
This is probably one of my favorite aspects of building a business. Email marketing has intrigued me since I was first introduced to it.
I love that I can build a massive audience and keep them digesting my content just from an email I send out as I update my business.
Email is one of the most powerful marketing platforms available and I will never have a blog without an email list.
My email list is responsible for my growth without a doubt and along with a few other aspects of my business, it is my main focus.
I create a YouTube video, let my email subscribers know.
I write a blog post, let my email subscribers know.
I find a cool product that I truly love and believe in, let my audience know.
If Google decides that my website should not rank anymore for my big volume keywords I have a way to send traffic to my website and still earn profits from display ads, affiliate marketing, etc.
YouTube Channel
I saved the best for last.
YouTube has become the opportunity of a lifetime for many people. This platform has transformed the lives of many people in a short time.
In 2021 and beyond I will be putting a lot of time and effort into YouTube and video content as a whole. Video is the best way to build an audience.
The best part about YouTube is that it cost you absolutely nothing to access the platform and you can literally create videos on any topic. If you have the ability to build an audience this is the best place to do it as long as you build it.
Using YouTube along with a blog is a game-changer for me and an exciting new opportunity that I am taking seriously.
When I write a blog post for this blog I typically create a video on the topic also using my article content as the outline for my video content. I will link to this article in the video description which brings traffic to my blog.
When you place videos on your website you are increasing dwell time which is a great metric that will boose your rankings in Google.
Another great feature of YouTube is the fact that I can offer digital downloads free to my audience and build my email list further increasing the value of my business.
Conclusion
There are a number of ways to get traffic to a new blog but these are the best in my opinion. Staying consistent, building a valuable resource, and being seen as often as possible is a great way to build your blog traffic in any niche.
