Drive More Traffic To Your Blog

KLCK Bloggers Network October 11 2010 Pembroke Hotel, Kilkenny

How to Grow Traffic to Your Blog

Why Blog?
Shows commitment
Shows passion
Positions you as an expert in your field

Determine Your Niche
Position yourself as a niche expert
Is it clear what your blog is about?
Is it your passion?
Helps you stay focused and on track

Determine Your Audience
Craft your posts based on your audience’s needs
Write with your audience in mind
What valuable content can you provide them with?
This will help you stay focused

Create Compelling Content
Brevity and Regularity
Google loves updated content
Post frequently but quality wins over quantity

Start with a Great Headline
“ On average, 5 times as many people read the headlines as read the body copy. It follows that unless your headline sells your product, you have wasted 90% of your money .” - David Ogilvy, founder of the Ogilvy & Mather advertising agency
Google: “ Recent research suggests that users decide to stay or leave your site in 8 seconds or less — in that short amount of time, headlines are the one piece of copy that users will actually read .”
Source: Denise Fay: How to Write Killer Headlines – denisefay.com

Top Tips for Headlines
Short and simple
Draw in the reader with your headline
Ask a question
10 ways , or 7 easy steps
How to headline

Ask Yourself
Does your headline touch a nerve?
Does it make a unique claim or statement?
Does it provoke curiosity?
Is it credible?
Is it specific?
Does it have a news element?
Does it offer a compelling benefit for reading?
Source: Clayton Makepeace teleconference, 12/20/06. (Courtesy of The Blog Squad)

A Note on SEO
Use your SEO terms in your first line, and throughout blog post
Rule of thumb – 2 - 4%
Anything more is keyword-stuffing
Respond or guest post often

Create Interest with Images
Visually interesting and relevant
Attracts the eye, draws you in
Royalty free images- iStock, Flickr
Screen captures
Video
Very Important: Include the credit and link back to the photographer's page on Flickr, etc.

Drive Traffic: Build Links
Links are web currency
Google considers each link to your site a vote for the site
but
Where those links come from is important

Creating Links
Comment and post your url on other relevant blog posts
Guest post on other peoples blogs or sites
Add a hyper-link to your bio to help increase links

Build Traffic with Comments
Readers leave comments on your blog
You leave comments on other sites

Leveraging Comments
What percentage of visitors leave a comment on your blog?
You want them to return
So..
Leave a reply, push the conversation, answer a query, thanks and acknowledge

My Top Tip
Email directly
and/or
comment on
the blog of
those that leave
comments for you

Connect and Engage
Make it personal - avoid automated software
Exclusive Free Offer - e.g. e-book
No Signup Required
Your Social Media Channels –include links to your Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn accounts.
Their Social Media Channels - if they include a link to their Twitter account, follow them AND add them to a List you’ve created. Most people feel flattered when added to lists and tend to follow back.
Source: Ivan Walsh via Bloggertone 11-10-10

Extend the Conversation
If the person writes a particularly interesting response
Create a new post and use their material as the starting point
Include the comments and use these are the framework for the post.
Or ask the person to guest post for you to extend the conversation

Other Comments
Add value – if you can’t add any value to the post don’t post links
Push the conversation
As I leave comments on other peoples' blogs I am building relationships
Try to post comments on blogs that have influence

Drive Traffic: Host a Webinar
Demonstrate an aspect of your expertise.
Remind your audience they can continue getting the same great content by subscribing to and reading your blog

Run a Contest
Social Media Examiner offers this idea:
Run a contest based on the content of your blog
Have an “answer hunt” where the answers to win the prize are found within the blog posts
That will get people reading while attempting to win a prize
Then use Twitter to post questions and the winner(s)

Grow Your Online Community

Tips for Building Community
Share knowledge
Engage
It’s not about broadcasting yourself, it's about conversation
Develop a strategy to have them WANT to become part of the community

Guest Blog Posts
Inviting other bloggers to guest post on your blog
Offering to guest post on complementary blogs
MyBlogGuest (myblogguest.com)

Benefits of Guest Blogging
Reach new audience
Build your brand
Network
Build links to your site
Get free exclusive content
Get new fresh perspective

Promote Your Blog

How to Promote Your Blog
Blog directories
Write and post a media release
Send an email announcement to your mailing lists
Create a video to promote Your blog
Release videos through YouTube
Publish a blog post from your own website with the video on it
Google loves combination of video AND WordPress

Share the Love
Make it easy for readers to share your posts
Share the love – return the favour

Promoting your Blog on Twitter
Write a strong bio
Add a link to your blog
Promote your posts to Twitter
Don’t be a spammer!
Engage with your Twitter community
Use a Twitter management tool such as HootSuite, Tweetdeck to monitor conversations by setting up searches for particular keywords

Maximising LinkedIN
Create a group
Join existing groups
Provide helpful answers to questions
Also Yahoo Answers

LinkedIN Answers
Sign into your LinkedIn account.
Use search bar, select Answers from the dropdown and enter your keyword.
Why not try answering some?
Use the Advanced Search option to find keywords specifically in questions only, and check the option to look for only open questions.

In Conclusion….

3 Keys to Success
Keep Blogging
Keep Promoting
Keep Engaging

Drive More Traffic To Your Blog

by Marie Ennis O'Connor on Oct 12, 2010

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Drive More Traffic To Your Blog — Presentation Transcript