Today, Rob Stretch drops the harsh truth that many bloggers don’t realize about driving traffic to a blog. Want to write for us too?
Remember the movie Field of Dreams? Here is a short summary if you have no idea what I’m talking about:
Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) lives in a small house on a cornfield. He is obsessed with baseball and hears whispers in his head telling him “If you build it, they will come.” Finally, he decides to build a baseball park in his cornfield, and the ghosts of baseball legends all congregate and the field of dreams is a huge success.
But what does this have to do with blogging you might ask?
The Field of Dreams myth is alive in many bloggers just starting out. Many new bloggers get an idea for a niche they want to infiltrate, build and host a blog, and wait for traffic. And wait some more. And the traffic never comes.
The e-marketing myth is that the internet has so many users that if you take the time to build a website it will generate its own traffic. More simply put, “If you build it, they will come.” This is not an accurate assumption. Like any other business, a blog or web-based business takes time and marketing effort before it will generate customers.
So how do you overcome the myth? You’ve built an awesome blog, now you just need to get the word out there. Put down your shovel, stop mowing down those corn stalks, and follow this list.
The Top Ten Free Ways to Start Overcoming this Myth
- Internal SEO
I think the start of any e-marketing campaign should be focusing on your site internally. Contrary to popular belief, the layout of your site does matter when it comes to search engines. Make sure your site is easy to navigate. Assure that every page can link back to the homepage without using the back button on your browser. Establish an easy to find site map, the search engine spiders will really love this one. And finally, use meta tags to your advantage. Make sure your meta descriptions and title tags match the keywords that you want to target. Start off with a great internal structure and the search engines will love your blog. - External SEO (link building)
External SEO refers to building backlinks for your site or blog throughout the blogosphere. This can be done by guest posting or link exchanges (both of which are mentioned below) or getting creative with exchanging widgets or banners. Focus on the quality of sites you are getting linked on as well as the quantity. Link building is what will make or break your website. Concentrate your keywords, make sure you target only a handful for each page of your website. Make sure you vary your anchor text and everything looks natural. - Guest Posting
Guest posting is a great way to start a link building campaign. Reach out to other bloggers in a similar niche. Ask them if you can write a guest post. When you get a few under your belt, you can start to build a portfolio to show bloggers. Make sure you link back to your blog in each post. Another great option is inviting guest bloggers to write on your blog. Often, they will advertise their posts for you and drive traffic themselves. Remember: more guest posting also means more exposure. When people start seeing you in their niche of blogs they will start reaching out to you and might even offer you spots on their blogs. - Link Exchanges
Another way to advertise your site is through link exchanges with other bloggers. See if they will put your blog on their blogroll and you do the same in exchange. While these links aren’t as powerful for affecting SEO or page rank, they may be an easy way to optimize your site when just starting out. When possible, try to use anchor text related to keywords even on link exchanges. - Social Media
Social Media is a powerful set of tools these days. It may not have the long-term SEO implications that blogs do, but social media is a great way to drive links in the short term. Whenever you guest post, tweet it to the world and make it your Facebook status. You may find then before your page has much clout on the search engines, social media may be driving a majority of its traffic. Submit your site to other social engines such as Digg and StumbleUpon for even more exposure. - Contests/Giveaways
Host a contest on your blog. Offer $50 to the person with the most comments or retweets in a month. You’d be surprised how much such a small incentive can spur users to become active. Try to find sponsors. Often, a new hosting company or other companies promoting internet based tools will give products away in exchange for sponsorship of a contest. Reach out and try to get some free swag to give away. - Submit to Directories
Find directories to submit your site to. Many are free and require just a short form to complete. A few of my favorites are DMOZ and 01WebDirectory. With directories, however, proceed with caution. Many SEO experts will tell you that submitting to the wrong directories might even have negative effects on your page rank. While directories had a lot more influence five years ago, they still aren’t a terrible place to start if you exercise caution. - Commenting
Read other blogs like yours and comment on articles. In your comments, leave a link back to your site. If you establish yourself as an authority, people will begin to recognize you. Start with the personal blogs of key industry players, and try to invoke responses from them. Ask questions, let them know your opinions, basically just try to spur further conversation. If you come off as an authority on a given topic, these key players might start to take you seriously. - Target Keywords
Do a little research and find out what keywords are popular in your niche. A great place to start is Google’s Keyword Tool. See which keywords are getting thousands of searches each month. Start tailoring articles to fit these keywords. Who says you can’t hop on the bandwagon? - Post often
One of the best tips I can give you for new traffic and user retention is posting consistently. If there is new content, people will want to return to your site. Also, the more posts you have, the more keywords your blog will target and the more search terms it will rank for in the search engines.
These are all free ways to drive traffic to the blog. For faster results, you may want to run a PPC campaign, Facebook ad campaign, or other SEM technique to drive traffic. But for the starting blogger, the methods listed above should begin to drive some great traffic. Remember, blogging takes hard work like any other job. The more you put into it, the more traffic your site will see.
If you plan on a career of passive income, then blogging probably isn’t for you. Get over the notion that websites automatically attract people. As soon as you debunk the Field of Dreams myth and start putting some effort into your site, you should begin to see results.
The Discussion
Leave a Comment Read Again?Alex my friend
What is going on Blogussion, we are reading same and same thing again and again.
This kind of posts we read here so many times and yet again same posts again.
But yes I like the way he started but landed in same hole.
.-= Buy 2 Pay for 1 Offer´s last blog ..Need a German writer ! =-.
I cannot agree more. I didn’t leave a comment on last post coz it was so obvious. I mean you are not a blogger if you don’t do that.
Well this one was a bit better – a reminder list of what can be done. But at least something new? Instead of same things?
I’d rather read a story of how you built links to your site rather than reread alll the basics in a list.
.-= King Sidharth´s last blog ..Ego v/s Self – War of the Worlds =-.
I thought the same. the article started uniquely and it continued on just the same rehashed topic.
.-= Melvin´s last blog ..This Is How I do Link Love, Plus Some Announcements =-.
Thanx for sharing such a useful information. I am definitely going to use it.
I think the biggest turn around for my blog when I started posting everyday – I combined that with guest posting and commenting on other blogs and soon I was making my goal everyday. New blogger should set a goal – a number of how many visitors he or she would like to receive a day, then use social media and make rounds commenting on other blogs until you achieve that number consistently everyday. When you’re ready to increase that number, do so more guest posting.
.-= Kiesha @ WeBlogBetter´s last blog ..How to ensure your blog is never found =-.
Good thing that my field of dreams finally ends.
.-= Palabuzz´s last blog ..Party Pilipinas to replace SOP =-.
Please add ‘http://’ (without brackets) before your website address in author bio.
Thanks.
.-= King Sidharth´s last blog ..Ego v/s Self – War of the Worlds =-.
Some interesting points… I mostly stick just to social media and do pretty damn well.
.-= Blogger Den´s last blog ..the most important tip you need to know to make money blogging | Tycoon Blogger =-.
Work hard and be persistent, you’ll get your name out there soon enough.
I really enjoyed your article, I tweet!
Great post… I will try to stick to social media and guest posting.
.-= Chandan´s last blog ..Google Sniper Review – An Experimental Review =-.
Social media is really now booming,
So grab them if you want to maximise your traffic.
.-= ZK @ Web Marketing Blog´s last blog ..Affiliate Marketing Guide 101 – Download & Win an Apple iPad =-.
Thanks for the feedback all. Sorry if this is information you hear a lot, but I always find that a list format is a beneficial reminder.
.-= Rob Stretch´s last blog ..Celebrating 500 Tweets =-.
I almost didn’t read the article because the title didn’t strike me well, but I love the content. Although the list contains pretty basic items, I still liked it enough to save it for future reference though. Basic it may be, but a great summary of information that aspiring successful bloggers should know.
.-= Allmendinger Enterprises´s last blog ..How to Quit Your Job =-.
Thank you Allmendinger Ent, I am glad you enjoyed my content.
.-= Rob Stretch´s last blog ..Celebrating 500 Tweets =-.
Great strategy you have in mind…and guess what…I think this is the good way a good blog is made!
Thanks!
.-= Madalin´s last blog ..Win a Free Licence of Fanurio – Time Tracking Software for Freelancers =-.
The problem is, you’re out waiting in the field… lol get back into the office and work on the website!
I like the tips about target keywords. Very important! Really helps any niche out. And yes, posting a lot in the beginning is vital… all the way until you get pro.
This is a great post, Rob! “If you build it, they will come” is a huge myth all over the internet, not just with blogs. You’re marketing strategy has to consist of more than putting up a website and tweeting about it. Thanks for the debunk!
“Post often”
That’s the most hard thing to do for me.
.-= Reza Winandar´s last blog ..This is blog is now Do Follow =-.
I think Guest posting in different niche is still worthy — especially to drive new fresh traffic to our blog. Therefore, guest posting should not be limited to same niche only. How do you think ?
.-= Dana @ Blogging Update´s last blog ..6 Benefits of Guest Blogging =-.
Dana I agree to a certain extent. But remember, guest posting is not simply meant to drive traffic – it’s also meant to build back links to your site, thereby optimizing your search results. It is a good idea to start optimizing for relevant terms first, which is easier in your niche (i.e. it’s hard to sneak in a link with the anchor text “home loans” to a blog about pet care). Once you saturate your niche, feel free to extend to other niches.
.-= Rob Stretch´s last blog ..Celebrating 500 Tweets =-.
Awesome post. It’s funny you bring up the “Field of Dreams” because I just related my experience to that last week. I started my blog thinking that and it was so foolish of me, but I knew nothing. Now, I know and have completely changed my methods. Thanks for sharing!
.-= Alex Monroe´s last blog ..The Entrepreneur All Star Football Team =-.
Thanks for the kind words Alex, and good luck with your website!
.-= Rob´s last blog ..What Color is Your Hat? =-.
#10 – Consistent and Often are really two different things. I personally never advise newbies to post often, especially if they are trying to build community, including comments…always put 1 2 3 days in between for promotion, especially if blog commenting is part of it.
As for the rehash complaints, I say no worries. Newbies need it, and more not so newbie should go back to basics more often.
.-= Dennis Edell´s last blog ..DEDC Updates – What the (Near) Future Holds for You and I! =-.
Good insight Dennis, I was leaning more toward consistent.
.-= Rob´s last blog ..What Color is Your Hat? =-.
I still prefer consistent blog posting as a key to blogging success.
Nice work! It looks that you are highly expert blogger. Your post is an excellent example of why I keep coming back after my ccvp and testking CISA to read your excellent quality content that is forever updated. That was exactly testking CISM and bcp-420 what I needed to read today.
Guest posting is very effective for getting free traffic.
And I am too lazy in doing that :p
From my point of view the best to overcome myth is to work hard and to have patience
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