Blog Traffic Killers – You Built It and *Crickets*

Blog Traffic Tips: Are You Killing Your Traffic? Don't Do That!

 So you've worked really hard on your website.  You've done your research and you've written posts that you just know have amazing, useful content your readers can put into action today for whatever your niche is.  You get your post scheduled and the magic hour comes and it goes live and then… Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Zero. You've built it. And no one comes.  If you spend time creating fantastic content regularly but you are not increasing blog traffic or engagement, it's time to take a look at your total content marketing and search engine optimization strategy. Before you throw either time or money at the problem, it's important to make sure you rule out some of the common blog traffic killers you might be committing – without even knowing it.  

Blog Traffic Tips 

1.Expecting Thousands of Visitors OvernightI talked about this in one of my recent blogs, but bringing traffic to your website is all about a strategy, not a tactic.  So while you want to see steadily increasing numbers, it just might be slow going at first, especially if your site is new or you've recently shifted gears in your marketing focus.  In most cases, very visible blogs have been going strong (publishing great content regularly) for years.  Don't give up after only a few weeks or months. 2.Creating Content That's Only OkayThere are estimates out there that with the invention of the internet, it takes only 2 days to create as much information as was created in the history of humankind up to 2003.  Only 2 days!  Notice I didn't say it was great information.  The fact is, we're creating so much information that only the best is going to stand out and draw traffic.  If your content isn't fantastic, don't assume it's going to draw numbers reserved for truly outstanding content. 3.You Only Talk About YourselfIf you're only talking about yourself in your content (blog, social media, etc.), I have a clue for you.  Just stop already! Very few people are interested in your belly-button gazing.  Talk about other people. Other ideas. Other bloggers. And chances are, if you do it often enough and even link to others you talk about (in ways that are useful to your readers and not spammy), you'll start to notice people talking about you. 4.You Aren't Willing to Learn New ThingsIf you aren't reading in your field, you're going backwards.  There is no standing still in this fast paced world of social media!  You'll need to learn new things in your niche – and you'll also need to learn new things as a writer.  None of the great writers found their "voice" on day one of their blogs. You won't either.  Seek out new ideas and techniques of writing and accept feedback from your readers.  See what your readers connect with and create more of it. 5.Not Honestly Promoting YourselfSurprised I just included this after telling you not to talk about yourself too much?  There's a way to promote yourself honestly and humbly, and it's through creating content for others, such as in guest blogging.  Create content for multiple locations online good sites, please, not spammy link farms!), and chances are, you'll start noticing incoming traffic on your own site. Are you killing your traffic with any of these?  Be honest – leave a comment below!