In case you hadn’t realized, the internet is a very big place. Brace yourself for a swarm of incoming statistics:
As of March 2017, 3.74 billion people were accessing the information superhighway. In a 24-hour period, it’s estimated that those internet users spend 4.7 billion minutes on Facebook, send 294 billion emails, watch 22 million hours of Netflix, and publish 2 million blog posts. It would take 168 million DVDs to contain the information consumed by internet users on a DAILY basis (Digital Buzz Blog)!
So… if traffic to your blog site has been looking a little light, don’t despair – there’s a ton of online distractions stealing the attention of site visitors. But with literally half the world’s population accessing the internet, you also have plenty of hope and potential to drive more traffic to your blog! Follow these 7 tips below to increase your traffic and keep them coming back for more:
1. Give your blog post a quality title.
Studies have recently shown that 80% of people will read a headline, but only 20% will follow through to read the rest of the article. That means that in order to draw readers in to your blog, you need to nail your title! When crafting a quality title, consider a concise headline that hooks readers by addressing the focus of your post and why people should read it. Are you solving a problem, fulfilling a need, offering advice? Your title should not be an afterthought you tack on after you’ve written your blog – it should be as compelling as your post itself!
2. Content is key.
After you’ve enticed readers with a great headline, you have to keep their eyes scrolling down the page. The content you present should be interesting, informative, and/or useful. Your blog is a means to position your brand or business as an industry leader, so your written content should reflect valuable knowledge unique to your brand. Whether you’re offering a “how-to” post to teach readers a thing or two, answering potential questions, or addressing a hot topic, what you publish will determine who reads your blog, and how often. Keep your content fresh by employing your own unique voice, topics relevant to your audience, and frequent posts.
3. Increase your SEO with keywords and word counts.
If you want to rise through the Google search engine ranks, optimize your content for searchability. Based on the subject of your content, you should strategically include keywords in your blog’s title, anchor text, and first and last sentences, with a healthy measure of keywords spread throughout your blog. It’s also important to note that longer posts actually give you greater visibility. Longer posts offer more quality, in-depth content than brief ones, leading to a generation of 9x more leads* than their short counterparts. Aim for a post of 1,140 to 1,285 words— that’s the average word count of top ranked content in Google!
4. Publish frequently.
Publishing blog posts frequently offers a number of benefits. First, the more quality content you can offer, the better you’ll be able to position your brand as an authority in your field. Second, that quality content will attract (and retain) more readers who are impressed by your valuable knowledge. And third, you’ll gain more visibility by creating plenty of posts full of keywords and optimized content. Studies show that companies that publish 16 or more blog posts every month get 3.5x more traffic and generated 4.5x more leads than companies with 0-4 monthly posts.
5. Avoid using clickbait.
Have you ever scrolled through your newsfeed and spied a sensational headline that piqued your curiosity so much that you just had to click it? But after clicking, the content you were promised was nowhere to be found? Or even more irritating, you were hit with such a barrage of ads you couldn’t even access the content you were searching for? That’s called clickbait, and people hate it! Although using clickbait can temporarily drive more traffic to your site, in the long run it hurts your search rankings: both Google and Facebook actively penalize sites with high bounce rates and too many clickbait advertisements. Your blog should share knowledgeable topics that you/your brand are passionate about and want your audience to become passionate about too. Using clickbait to force people to visit your site and then not delivering on the promised content is a fast way to break trust with your readership— and with potential clientele.
6. Share everywhere.
Social media is everywhere, which means your blog has the potential to be everywhere too. Whether you have social media accounts for your small business or your own personal accounts, sharing your latest posts with friends and followers is a quick way to drive traffic to your blog. To expedite the process, blogging platforms like WordPress offer plugins or features that let you automatically publish your blog link to all your social media sites. You can also include links to your blog on your social media platforms and in your email signature, or send relevant posts to your subscriber list via email campaigns.You never know which friend, follower, or subscriber will be inspired to share your blog with their own set of followers, which only increases your online reach!
7. Utilize content marketing professionals.
Depending on your business or niche, you may find it difficult to keep up with the demands of frequent blogging and social media marketing. Curating quality content, writing multiple posts per month, and optimizing your blog’s reach are all time-consuming endeavors! Don’t be hesitant to consider hiring a marketing professional to manage your content. Digital marketing companies have the time and resources to generate a high-volume of blog posts, as well as manage editorial calendars and sharing on social media. Content writing is actually the most commonly outsourced content marketing activity! On average, content marketing also costs 62% less than traditional marketing, but can net you 3x the amount of leads. If you want to utilize your blog to increase your customer base and drive more traffic to your site, a digital marketing firm can make it happen.
Whether you’re a small business owner or a large corporation, a fresh, quality blog is essential to your online content marketing strategy. Companies with their own blogs have been found to produce an average of 67% more leads every month than companies with no blogs. Although the internet is an infinite space full of competing distractions, you can capture the attention of a bigger audience. By consistently developing compelling content that offers value to others, you’ll drive more traffic to your blog and ensure that readers will keep coming back for more.
If you’re considering a marketing company to manage your blogs, social media, and content calendar, Jennasis is here to help. Contact us today at digitalmarketing@jennasisassociates.com.
