10 Top Traffic Ideas for Your Blog

Blogs are popular ways to create an online presence for personal and business reasons. You can build a blog for free and begin posting content right away. But, what good is that content if no one is reading it. Here are ten ideas to bring in the traffic your blog needs to survive.

Of all the successful blogs on the Internet, hundreds more have failed. Running a blog is like running a business website. Unless you are willing to put the time in and treat it seriously, you won’t be blogging long.

That is not to say that the failed bloggers weren’t serious about blogging. Mostly, new bloggers aren’t prepared for the work that goes into creating a successful blog. Just building the blog doesn’t mean that people will necessary come to you. You pursue the audience and give them a reason to see what you have to say.

1. Fresh Content – no one wants to visit a blog day after day and see the same posts. Update your blog content at least twice a week. This will be easier if you write several posts ahead of time and upload them at the appropriate times.

2. Article Marketing – the niche you’ve chosen for your blog is one that interests you. If it is interesting you will spend more time doing it. Create content not only for your blog but also to be submitted to article directories. Use the resource box to advertise your blog so people can find you.

3. Social Networking – these sites are everywhere. Join Facebook, MySpace, Squidoo, Twitter or a dozen others and make connections. You can join groups of likeminded people who are also bloggers or entrepreneurs.

4. Viral Marketing – this is where you spread the word about your blog. Talk to friends, family and even strangers. Give out business cards that have your blog address on them.

5. Use RSS Feeds – RSS stands for “Really Simple Syndication.” Readers can subscribe to your feed and get email updates when new content is posted. It is an easy way for them to keep up with your blog without spending all day online.

6. Submit Blog to Search Engines – doing this allows your blog to be ranked. Google and Yahoo are two of the most popular search engines you want to crawl your blog pages. It doesn’t guarantee top ranking, though. You’ll have to do a little more work for that.

7. Joining Forums – as a blogger you are a budding entrepreneur. Right now you are marketing yourself to find traffic and then profit. Become a member of business forums, work at home forums and others to meet new people and share ideas. You can add a link to your blog in the signature line so others can find you.

8. Visit other blogs – show your appreciation to those who visit you by also posting comments on their blogs. It is a kindness that shows others you are not just out to advertise your blog alone. Add links to your blog in your comments.

9. SEO Marketing – whatever you write, use relevant keywords. Keyword density between three and ten percent is good for getting higher page rankings in search engines. Base your keywords on a research you do to find the most popular words used in search engines for your niche.

10. Social Bookmarking – submitting posts to social bookmarking sites allows others who are members of those sites to track you back to your blog.

Using any of these ideas will start the traffic moving in your direction. It takes time but you will build the readership you want.

Ways to Avoid Making your Blog Useless

Often, bloggers complain that after a great start, a year later their blog is as dead as the door nail. This is a common problem that almost always revolves around a small list of common mistakes made by the blogger. He can sit back and expect the blog to do all of the work for him or her, which is a terrible way to approach blogging. A successful blogger would tell you that great blogging takes a certain amount of dedication and hard effort to make it work. You have to put effort into a blog to sustain it, especially after the first month or so of completing the design. Many people work so hard during the initial design phase that they get lazy after it is complete. To avoid this happening to your blog, check out these five common mistakes that can bury a blog.

Infrequent updates

One of the biggest mistakes a blogger can make is to forget about posting. The most successful blogs are updated with new posts at least once a day. Some larger blogs are constantly being updated. You should try to create new posts as often as possible. If you miss a day here and there, it will be no big deal. However, if you miss a week or more without posting, you might as well consider the blog dead already. You have to take a few moments, even as few as five, a day to create interesting posts or content. If you are writing short and concise posts like you should be, this should not be that challenging. It is easy to keep your blog updated, if you make it a priority.

Too much advertising

Most bloggers today do want to make a profit from their blog. This is a trend that can get out of control quickly. However, if you are interested in adding ads to your blog, do so with caution. There is nothing wrong with a few appropriately places ads that offer viewers links to places that correlate with your blogs content. However, adding a massive amount of advertisements on your blog is a mistake. If you have a bunch of flashy ads on your blog, your content will get lost within the hoopla. Therefore, you should always limit your ads to three or less per page. Make sure you place them in appropriate places that let your content shine through. Do not allow enormous ads to fill up your pages either. They will simply annoy readers. Be smart about including advertising on your blog.

Unprofessional look

Looks do matter when it comes to your blog. The more professional and crisp your blog looks, the more your readers will take you seriously. If you are interesting in boosting traffic, you should try a more serious layout or presentation for your blog. If you can afford to hire a professional, you should. If you choose to do it yourself however, you must make sure the end product is good. If you have a sloppy blog that looks homemade, you will not likely have a great response. Try different layouts and approaches to see what gets you the most traffic.

Graphics Overload

Pictures can add a ton to your blog and draw in more readers. However, when done excessively, much like ads, pictures can drive people away. The main reason too many pictures can ruin a blog is because there are many web surfers who still use slow internet connections. When they try to load your page, it will take an excessively long time to do so. This in turn will likely drive them and anyone else with this problem away. Try limiting to a few pictures per page.

Inappropriate content

Everyone knows that the web is a place where you can freely express yourself. However, if you want your blog to survive, you might want to think about that freedom of expression. Although you should always say what you feel, you can do so in appropriate manners on your blog. There are ways to say anything on your mind, without using profanity or any offensive words. If you really want your blog to be successful, then you can not be inappropriate with your content.

Mistakes that Bloggers Make

If you have just entered the world of blogging or if you’ve been blogging for a short time and find that things are not working out as you expected, it will be worth your while to spend some time understanding the common mistakes that bloggers make, mistakes that make it hard to enjoy what should be an enjoyable, satisfying experience blogging. The five most common new blogger mistakes are, diving in, having unrealistic expectations, losing focus, plagiarizing and ignoring the readers.

Diving in

Many bloggers are so anxious to get started that they dive in rather than wading in slowly. Its a mistake in an unfamiliar swimming pool or pond and its a mistake when entering a new arena such as the blogosphere. Consider these things before you start your blog. Find a focus for your blog. It should be a focus that reflects what you know, what interests you and what you enjoy talking and writing about. No topics are out of bounds including politics, religion, science, sexual orientations, comedy, exercise, diet and diseases. Take the time to read dozens of different blogs. Note the colors, graphics and layouts to get an idea of what appeals to you.

Also note that some bloggers are long winded and others are brief and to the point. Others are just chatty and entertaining and have no particular point to make. This too is a personal style you get to choose. You need a host for your blog, some are free, some charge a small amount per month for their service, some are simple to use and some require more technical knowledge. Some have more features than others, so choose carefully. Once you have established your blog and have a few regular readers you may not want to change your Url address. You may or may not want to use your real name on your blog, this depends on many factors, not the least of which is your stance on controversial issues and how publicly you want to be identified with your opinions.

Unrealistic expectations

If you come to blogging expecting instant results, a large readership and many complimentary comments, you may be disappointed. There are tens of thousands of blogs online vying for the same audience. Patience and tenacity are essential on your part. If you write well, find a unique niche to fill, have appealing titles for your posts and tirelessly promote your blog, the readership and comments will come.

Losing focus

When you started blogging, you had a particular reason for doing so. It might have been to express your views on a topic or it might have been to just communicate with a close circle of friends about your daily activities. Readers will come to your blog for the first time and either be interested in your subject matter or not, will either like your style or not and, if they like your subject and style they may comment and then come back later. Once you have established a topic and tone for your blog you are free to change it but to do so you are basically starting all over. Be aware that you can have more than one blog, each one devoted to a particular topic and each one, if you choose, under a different identity.

Plagiarizing

There are some great bloggers out there and as you surf through blogs you might find one who said something really well, something that resonated with you and something you want to put in your blog. Do not just copy and paste someones words in your blog without giving them credit, making it look to the world like the words are yours. If you write it, write it in your own words and write it better, adding your own thoughts and feelings and then be gracious, mention where you got the idea and provide a link.

Ignoring the reader

Some of the people who read your blog will leave comments, some readers will agree with you and some readers may even praise your insights but most will pick a point you have made and criticize it. People leave comments on others blogs for the same reason they themselves blog, to exchange ideas and express their points of view. Always respond to your readers comments, thank them for reading and taking the time to comment and then respond as appropriate to their comment. If you ignore your comments, your readers may end up ignoring your blog. This is just how blogging works.

Overcoming The Hardest Part Of Blogging

There are times when a blogger, like any other writer, will loose the muse. Every idea that comes to mind seems either trite or dull or, worse still, no ideas come to mind. What is a blogger to do? Here are five tactics that just might clear away the cob webs and allow you to find an inspiring idea for another great post:

Start with the news

Open up your favorite news page or open a newspaper and see what catches your attention. What are the politicians up to today? Any pending legislation that worries you or flat out scares you? Or perhaps someone is running for office or proposing a law that you may want to publicly support. Some celebrity is sure to be in trouble again, have anything to say about that? Maybe you have an idea about who should be dating or marrying who. Who died?

A nice memorial post for a nice person may be in order. What happened on this date in past years? Some past events are worth researching and writing about. Are you into sports? Many bloggers or blog readers are sports fans and they might be interested in your take on the playoffs or the players. Do not forget to check the editorial page and the letters to the editor. Do you agree with the opinions? Tell the world why or why not.

Read some blogs.

Start surfing your favorite blogs. What are they talking about? You might have a different perspective on the latest hot topic that might just be interesting to your fellow bloggers or a perspective that might make them mad. Never worry about making bloggers mad. Most of them love having something to gripe about. If you can not find anything that inspires you in your favorite blog, surf through some of those blogs that always make you mad.

The ones that seem to promote everything that goes against your lifestyle. Anger is always a good blog motivator but do not get so angry you get irrational. Comment on some blog posts and then expand your comments into a post on your blog. Also try logging onto Blog Explosion, Blog Clicker or one of the many other blog traffic generator programs. There are lots of ideas out there that are worth writing about from either a pro or con perspective.

What have you been watching or reading?

Have you read any good or bad books lately? Write about your latest read, recommend it, blast it or even write an abstract for your blog but do not give away ending.. How about movies, the great ones or the pitiful losers might be worth some good or bad words. You could make movie or book reviews regular features of your blog. The same goes for television shows. Start a series that follows your favorite TV show, there might be quite a few fans of the same show that will be interested in your take and appreciate your summary of episodes they missed. If there is a book, movie or TV show that you thought was great there is sure to be a reviewer who panned it. Find the bad review and write a post countering the reviewer’s opinions.

What have you been doing?

Your work place, your co-workers, you bosses, your home and your family members are all fair game for your blog. Keep it short and amusing and you will have a great post. Once you introduce a particularly interesting person to your readers you may want to do some sequels. When was your last travel vacation. Write a travelog about where you have been or do some research on some places you would love to go and write about them.

Do you have a special skill?

If you can make something that is unique or something that is common but made special because of what you know, there may be people interested in knowing how to do it. Give away tips on cooking, sewing, cleaning, fix-it projects, pet care, child care, beauty secrets, personal care or organizing tips. Make it a regular feature on you blog. If you have a digital camera find an interesting subject, take some pictures and then write something based on the subject. If you found it interesting or comical or sad its likely to interest someone else.

How To Keep Visitors Coming To Your Blog Site

In case you do not know, blogging is a perfect way for people to share their thoughts with others. When people blog, it means they keep an updated online journal or diary. Weblog and blog are the same things. Companies might also blog to help increase the amount of business on their web sites. For many bloggers, increasing traffic to their blogs is not the only goal. Most people that blog want to keep their visitors coming back for more. The following are four ways to keep visitors coming to your blog site. Blogging is a relatively new phenomenon.

Some blog writes choose to keep their blogs personal and do not share their thoughts with others. These are more like online diaries. Other wants to share with everyone what he or she has to say. Blogging is a big business and many websites offer free blog hosting. In addition, many companies choose blogging as an inexpensive way to advertise their products or services. Blogging on the Internet is often much cheaper than maintaining a web site and is usually more interesting for readers and clients.

Update your blog

The easiest way to keep visitors coming back to your blog site is to update your blog on a regular basis. Readers will stay loyal to blogs that are updated daily. Some blog writers even updated several times a day. Readers will tend to loose interest in your writing if they have to wait several days for new material. Be loyal to your readers and your readers will be loyal to your blog. Also, there are literally thousands of blogs available on the Internet. If your blog is not updated on a regular basis, you will loose your readers to another blog site.

Another fun way to update your blog and keep your readers interested in your site is to include something fun for your readers to enjoy. That could be as simple as a joke or maybe a link to a humorous story you have found on the Internet. You might also try including a trivia game or polls for your readers to enjoy on a regular basis.

Participate in web communities

Participating in web communities or discussion forums and mentioning your blog whenever possible will help keep readers coming back to your site. In addition, you can gain new readers when doing this. You can also be loyal to the blogs of other writers and ask them to visit your site. Leave nice comments about their site and invite them to your site. If you have mutual interests and the same type of readers, you can even share your blog links on your site. This helps everyone. Your reader will appreciate interesting reading while you benefit from readers from the other site.

Understand who reads your blogs

Another great way to keep blog readers coming back for more is to understand who reads your blog and write content that is directed towards them. This does not mean that you have to write on only one particular subject, though. If you are a stay at home mom and write about your life at home with the kids, your loyal readers may not appreciate it if you write about cutting edge topics or use a lot of foul language in your writing.

If you generally write humor, do not bog your readers down with sorrowful woes and tales. Your readers will be interested in the things that attracted them to your site in the first place. That is usually what you are more interested in writing about. You can gain a better understanding of your readers interested by including places for comments and encouraging your readers to contact you by email.

Include keywords

You can gain readership and help keep your current readers by including certain keywords in your blog. If you have entered your blog on a search engine, these keywords that point to your blog will come up after a search. This is a great way to get readers interested in your blog. This is also a good way for companies to increase the traffic to their blog. Blogging is the new way to keep a diary or journal online. Blogging is increasingly popular for companies as well.

If you want to make your blog stand out against the thousands of other blogs, keep your readers interested and coming back for more everyday by updating your writing, participate in online communities, understand your readers and include keywords.