Once you have created your much desired blog, the next thing you want people to appreciate your efforts. Even I had the same feeling when I created my blog . I wanted my articles to get noticed, could not wait to watch how many likes I received in facebook, twitter and other social netwoking sites. Every single comment excited me.
But we have to wait and think that why would people visit our blog? What are we offering more or different? Remember it requires more effort to grow and spread your blog than creating it. I will discuss some points which helped me immensely to increase the traffic of my blog.
1) Links within articles - This gives gravity to your article. There must be some unfamiliar terms or points where readers would like to have a detailed insight. The separate links will engage your readers to stay more in your blog. It is not the quantity which your readers look forward to . New and more information organised systematically, will fetch attention to your blog.
2) Use 'hub' or 'compilation pages' - This is a great way to connect your articles. It binds your articles together into clear and easy to read collections. Suppose you are a financial consultant having your own blog, then a hub like 'Online backup plans' could list important plans and strategies into separate posts and links adding brief descriptions to each post. This gives visitors the option to jump to any link which suits their purpose. This compilation process has helped my readers to refer to any post which they need or want to read at any point of time.
3) Add on related articles - It is great to write a quality and informative article. But what if your readers are hungry for more information and content? Direct them to similar links and related articles. This will give your readers reasons to come back to your blog.
4) Build your blog community - If you want more followers for your blog then take note of few strategies.
- Ask questions. Keep an open ended sentence at the conclusion. This works when you are writing on something which has multi dimensional outlook. For example, if you are writing about changes in religious sentiments, then few indirect questions will entice readers to comment.
- Respond to the comments. Simple thanks will fall short. If your readers are taking the effort to read your articles and comment then entertain your readers more by making the comment section interactive. An interactive comment section always attracts more comments from viewers.
- Now if commenting to your articles is a complex process, likely nobody will waste time. What I mean is, if your readers have to register for comments then the attitude might be to forget it. Make it easy for your readers. If they feel the instinct to comment there shouldn't be any process barrier. Don't worry about spams, instead install a spam detecting software.
5) Use the side bars - An organised blog design gives room to readers to venture or explore the blog. Include options like 'categories', 'top posts' and 'recent posts'. It's a great way to offer your readers the option to surf your blog. They might even recommend your blogs to friends.
6) Make use of the excerpts on the home page - On the blog home page you will get two options.
- Display the entire content on the homepage
- Display excerpts with links to the entire post
The second option is the smart choice. Let me explain the reason. If visitors visit the homepage to read your latest post then either options work well. But if the visitors land on your site through search engines or related links then if a single article captures the entire page, there is a good chance of losing a prospective client.
That is because the particular article might not be of his interest. But if the articles are listed in the form of excerpts then the visitor have the option to surf posts and refer to links he is in search for. So you see the advantage of arranging your contents in excerpts.
I understand the struggle and expectations of a blogger. So I advise you to concentrate on your content to give your readers a good read. Along with that keep in mind these six steps which can direct your blog to the right path to success.
Success does not come overnight. Keep writing quality and well informed articles and be smart to choose the correct steps for higher traffic in your blog.I hope you agree to whatever I have mentioned as per my own blogging experience.
If you have any questions or doubts please do ask in the comments below !
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