How To Increase Your Blog Traffic

Gaining blog traffic can be a real challenge. There are plenty of ways to draw visitors to your website, but many of them require hard work.

1. Focus on the Quality of Your Content
The final tip for increasing blog traffic in 2016 is to focus on the quality of your content. If you write informative articles, people will find them useful. This increases the likelihood of someone sharing your article on social media.
You cannot expect to gain new readers if you are regularly releasing low-quality articles that offer no real value.

2. Share Everything on Social Media
Whenever you release a new post, you should share it across every social media platform that you use. Also, remember to share more than once. For example, if you share the post in the morning, not everyone that follows you is going to notice your post. Spread out these posts, but try to share a link several times.

3. Create a Set of Business Cards
Everyone should have their own business cards. You never know when you are going to meet someone that works in the same industry. You may come across a blogger with a large following, a business looking to promote their product on a website, or other potentially beneficial contacts. Always have business cards ready to hand out when you are networking.

4. Use Quality Photos in Your Blog Posts
Reading long blog articles that only contain text can become dull for some readers. Include graphics, such as photos or illustrations. There are plenty of ways to find free images, but using a commercial stock photo website offers a simple and affordable solution. You will have access to higher quality images for a very low fee. Or you can read our previous article about finding free image to you on your blog without breaking the copyright law.

5. Create Branded Products
Along with business cards, consider creating branded products. This could include anything from posters to t-shirts. There are many websites available that will place your logo and business information on various promotional items for a minimal fee. Pass these out to potential customers or run giveaways through social media.

6. Create a Physical Newsletter or Magazine
Creating a physical newsletter or magazine could also help your blog gain some recognition and new readers. Pass out your magazine at a local store or coffee shop. Perhaps you know someone that would not mind having a few copies in the waiting room of their office.
It is easy to focus on online marketing when you are managing a blog. You spend time promoting your blog through email marketing lists, building backlinks, and other common forms of online marketing. Instead of relying solely on the power of the internet, turn some of your attention to physical advertising.

7. Build a Subscriber List
If you have a blog and do not yet have an email subscriber list, then this is the year to finally start putting together a newsletter. By offering visitors something of value, such as a downloadable PDF or access to an instructional video, you can gain more subscribers. When you offer something that contains a real value, your visitors are more likely to share this information with friends or share it through social media.
Send out regular newsletters to the people on your subscriber list. Keep your visitors updated about new blog posts, as well as new products, services, and promotions or deals.

8. Join Various Facebook Groups
There is more to utilizing the power of social media than posting about your latest blog. Using the Facebook Page that you created for your business or blog, start joining various Facebook Groups related to the topics that you cover on your blog. Actively engage in conversation with people in these groups and share useful information.
Do not use these groups as an avenue to promote your own blog, but to find other people with similar interests. If they like what you say in the group, they will check out your Facebook Page to learn more about your blog.

9. Become More Active on Reddit
When you think of social media, Facebook and Twitter are probably the first two sites to come to mind. In addition to using these common social media platforms, make sure that you are using Reddit. Find relevant subreddits to share links to your blog posts and to discuss topics with people that share similar interests.

10. Comment on Other Blogs
Blog commenting is a common form of link building; though, it can also help you gain new visitors. Make sure that you leave helpful comments. The author of the blog could delete your comment and ban you from leaving future comments if you use their comment section as a tool to promote your blog.

11. Get Help from Friends and Family
Friends and family can always be a good resource for free promotion, but do not go overboard. Ask some of your friends and family to occasionally share a link on social media to one of your blog posts. Have each person share a post with two or three people that they think would benefit from the information on your blog.

12. Become Active on Online Forums
Online forums are another great resource for finding people that may be interested in your blog. Use these forums as you would Facebook Groups. Share relevant information, discuss topics with other people, and focus on joining the discussion rather than shamelessly promoting your blog.

13. Research the Demographics of Your Visitors
Find out who is visiting your website and reading your content. You can use analytics software and resources, such as Google Analytics, to learn more about the demographics of your visitors. Find out the average age range, whether they are male or female, and their education level. This will help you gear your content towards the interests of a target demographic.

14. Use Good SEO Techniques
Make sure that you are using proper SEO techniques. You should never let this get in the way of your writing, but after you have drafted your post, take the time to ensure you are using good search engine optimization tactics. Create a focus keyword and ensure it is used properly.