How to create a traffic machine for your content

by Jon Henshaw
How to Create a Traﬃc
Machine for Your Content

@RavenJon #Authority2014 2
“If I write great content, 
they will come.”

But if you build a Trafﬁc Machine they will

Step 1: Focus on UX

@RavenJon #Authority2014
Brand
6
Your brand is part of the UX and makes 
you unique, memorable and trusted

Generic themes do 
not communicate brand

Brands have an identity

Brands include authors

Brands have a unique look and feel

Layout
11
The layout of your content determines
pages per session and repeat visits

How likely are you 
to come back here?

I’m deﬁnitely 
coming back here!

Make the reading experience match
the quality of the content

The reading experience should also be
device responsive

Duo App 
Test Responsive Design

Roots is a perfect starting place for WordPress

https://webﬂow.com/

Navigation
22
Navigation helps emphasize the focus
of the site to readers and bots

Example of focused navigation

Sharing
24
Make your content easy to share,
unless you don’t want it shared.

Speed
28
Speed up your site for a better user
experience (it’s also a ranking factor)

Also be prepared for the Digg effect

Use a fast and reliable hosting provider

Use a CDN for your assets 
http://www.cdnplanet.com/cdns/

http://gtmetrix.com/

The Unseen
33
Visible performance often comes from
what you can’t see

Open Graph Protocol 
Provides structured data and enhances
how content is shared socially
!
http://ogp.me/

Authorship 
Using Authorship and Publisher can
provide more visibility on Google

Authorship in SERPs 
Authorship enables Rich Snippets and
can easily land you on the 1st page of
Google for those inside your G+ circles

Publisher in SERPs 
Publisher enhances brand related
results, including control over the logo
displayed and recent posts

Use Schema.org microdata to
enhance SERPs

http://schema.org/Event

http://schema.org/Recipe

Doh! Google may steal your trafﬁc!

Content
43
Quality content is no longer good
enough

Turn your content into
Epic Content

Epic Content is bigger content

Epic Content is repurposed content

Epic Content uses multiple channels

Epic Content is interactive

Epic Content is not MMEH 
(Massively Multimedia Epic Heave)
*MMEH was coined by Mark Armstrong

Enhance posts with Google Charts

Add an Interactive Timeline
http://timeline.knightlab.com/

Include Interactions
http://interactions.webﬂow.com/

http://www.frogdesign.com/techtrends2014/

http://www.theverge.com/2014/1/21/5307992/inside-the-mind-of-a-fanboy

https://www.distilled.net/content-guide/

Repurpose Your Content

Turn it into a deck and share on Slideshare

Turn the deck into a video and post on Youtube

Use your content for podcast topics

Build a microsite with your content…capture emails

Make an Infographic 
Using Cinemagraphs!!!

Reuse quotes to tell a visual story

Make it Portable 
Create an ebook, white paper and
use content channels like Snippet.
Include links back to your site.

Calls to Action
68
Include CTAs to increase pages per
session and to boost repeat trafﬁc

Ars Technica 
Related Articles

TechCrunch Next Article

Email is still one of the best sources for site trafﬁc

Record, measure and report with
Google Analytics’ Goals and Events

Social
74
Epic Content + Connections = Trafﬁc

Don’t be a snob. Connect with as many people
as possible that ﬁt your target audience.

Build up sharing equity

Be social. That means commenting on posts, and
always replying to comments on your own posts.

Republish your content on sites that will send
targeted trafﬁc. Stop worrying about duped content.

Participate in or create private sharing groups that
have common interests and may followers

Promote and boost your content with social ads

Analytics
81
Study the performance of your content, learn
what works, and then rinse and repeat!

I saw the Trafﬁc Machine in a dream
and this is what it looked like…

How to create a traffic machine for your content

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