Every blog needs a constant flow of daily visitors. After all, there is no point in having a great blog if nobody ever reads it!  Which is why I’m so excited to share with you today all of my favorite tips on how to grow your blog!

As you establish your blog, you will inevitably want to come up with strategies to generate traffic so that all of the hours and effort you put into your blog posts and content gets seen. Your goal should be to establish your blog as a regularly updated source of great information, so people will want to keep coming back to your blog again and again. You want to establish a loyal readership, so the word will start to spread throughout your niche–no matter what the topic!

It takes time and effort to get your blog into this position, though. No matter how good your blog is, you need to get the word out there and get your blog in front of people!  Keep reading below for tips and focus areas to help grow your blog.

SEO: SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of optimizing your blog so that it ranks better in search engine results. If you can rank highly for keywords that are related to your niche, then there’s a better chance that people will find your blog when they search for those keywords.

Although SEO is a complex subject that incorporates many different techniques and strategies, the main thing to think about is posting great content that also includes relevant keywords — considering targeting one main keyword per blog post.

It is also worth looking at the Yoast plugin that is available for WordPress. This plugin gives suggestions to help you optimizes your blog and posts for SEO.  The plugin is very easy to use and I particularly like their “stoplight” system where you are given an actionable checklist of things to improve your SEO score.

 

COMMENT ON OTHER BLOGS

One way to drive traffic to your blog is to find other blogs in your niche and interact with their posts. Readers of these blogs will see your comments and might be curious enough to check out your blog. It is worth noting that this strategy only works if you leave valuable comments.

Visiting fifty related blogs and leaving comments such as “Great post, I really enjoyed it” is NOT a good strategy to take. Instead, you should take the time to read the post and leave a thoughtful comment that shows people your knowledge of the subject. Leave your own thoughts. Add your personal opinion.

Show people that you have something to offer and that they should come across and read your blog too.  When someone is scrolling through the comments on another blog and sees your comment, its an opportunity for them to click over to your blog.  Make your comments interesting!

 

ADVERTISE ON OTHER BLOGS

If you’re prepared to spend some money, then a good option can be to advertising on other blogs or websites. Alternatively, you could agree to a deal with the other blog owner – for example, an ad swap, where you advertise their site on your blog, and they return the favor.

 

TELL YOUR EXISTING READERS AND CUSTOMERS

If you already have existing readers, customers, and contacts who might be interested in reading your blog, then make sure that you let them know about it!

If you’re new to blogging, this can feel a bit daunting. However, the most likely people to check out your blog first are your family and friends. You’d be surprised how word of mouth can actually increase your readership!

 

UTILIZE SOCIAL MEDIA

Social media is a fantastic source for driving traffic to your blog. If you have a Facebook page, Twitter account, Instagram page, etc., then share every new blog post with your followers. Tools like Hootsuite can be very helpful in helping you to manage your social media accounts and scheduling your content out so that you stay consistent.

Do you have a blog?  If some of tips you have to share about how to grow your blog? Let me know in a comment below!