I know the feeling, you’ve worked so hard to get your website live, spent hours on your logo, coming up with your awesome brand name, and even your about me page. You get so excited writing your blog posts, and you can’t wait to hit publish.
And then…nothing.
You frantically check Google Analytics every hour and no one is visiting.
I get it. It sucks.
But don’t worry, you aren’t alone.
The good news is this article will help to get your blog off the ground and running successfully. You’ll not only learn how to increase traffic but find out some tricks on growing an audience who loves what you have to say…and stays loyal!
So let’s get started.
1. How’s your keyword research?
I know keyword research doesn’t sound sexy, but it’s so important to your success. The keyword that you are targeting needs to solve the problem that the user is seeking.
For example, if someone has a question about how much does wedding photography cost in Seattle, they’re looking for an answer and expect results quickly. They don’t want to know how much it costs for photographers in New York.
Not only that, the keyword needs to be something you can easily rank for. If someone types in “best gaming laptop” and your blog post is about organic gardening tips…that’s not going to help anyone.
Think about your competition. Are they all high authority sites with a huge online presence already? Then you might want to give it away.
So before you write a single blog post, make sure that you are targeting the keyword that your target audience is searching for, with lower competition and still has a decent search volume.
2. Your content needs work.
I know it’s hard to hear, but your content isn’t good.
It may even be worse than that. It might suck!
But don’t fret (yes I’m trying to cheer you up here), the truth is most blogs out there have bad blog posts and yet people can still find them…and their audience still manages to grow every single day.
The key to success is focusing on the quality of your content, not just how many blog posts you can publish in a week. Your audience will be much happier if it takes longer for them to find what they are looking for but when they do they’ll know that they found something valuable.
And trust me, there is always room for improvement. I am still learning every day and so are my readers. We’re all playing the long game here.
So think back to the last blog post you wrote…is it providing value?
If not, go ahead and edit it until it does. To help you out, you can make use of AI writing software to provide value and make your posts more engaging. Your audience will thank you later.
And if your content is great, congratulations on giving your users something awesome to read.
But don’t stop there, keep pushing yourself for better content.
Just remember that it’s not about finding a million ways to say the same thing but rather how you can give your users something they need and want in an exciting way.
One last note, don’t just focus on one type of post. Your audience will get bored if you are constantly writing in the same genre.
Mix it up, have some fun! Try a video blog post or even an infographic for your next article. The possibilities are endless when it comes to content creation so don’t be afraid to try something new 🙂
How’s that for exciting? I know I’m excited to try a video blog post and see what happens.
3. How user-friendly is your website?
Let’s face it, you’ve been staring at your website for hours. You think it looks good and knows exactly where to click the next time someone visits…
But what about everyone else?
A survey conducted by eye-tracking company Qusee found that 60% of people only spent up to 20 seconds on a webpage before leaving.
That’s not a lot of time to impress your audience.
So how do you make sure that they stay on the site and have a positive experience?
Make it user-friendly!
For example, place CTAs above the fold so users don’t have to scroll down just to find out more about what you offer.
Or add a search function so they can easily find what they are looking for.
And if you have testimonials on your website, make sure that the images pop and that there is enough white space around them to keep them from being overwhelming or distracting. You want users not only to read but also to see how happy your customers are with your product/service.
With a simple website re-design, you can make your site more user-friendly and give users the positive experience they deserve.
So what are you waiting for? Go ahead and improve your site.
4. Content Promotion.
Did you know that it takes an average of seven or more touches to generate a sale?
In other words, people need to see your content several times before they take action.
So if someone looks at your website for 20 seconds and then leaves…there’s not much chance they will buy from you in the future.
But how do you get people to come back and view your content again?
First, give them a reason to return. I know we’ve already talked about how important it is for users to have an excellent experience but I can’t stress enough that they need reasons why coming back will benefit them.
For example, if your website offers e-courses then create a lead magnet that is good enough for people to want to sign up.
Even if you have an affiliate website, offer exclusive discounts and coupons on your website so users know they are saving money by coming back again. It’s win/win 🙂
But whatever you do, promote your content. If you have great content, it will only be a matter of time before people start finding out about you.
So don’t sit back and wait for the views to come in. Get busy promoting your content so more users can see what you offer.
5. Do you even E-A-T?
Now that you have your blog post written and ready to go, there’s just one more thing you need before the world can see it.
Yep, I’m talking about E-A-T.
If there was ever a golden rule when it comes to content writing then this is it.
It doesn’t matter how unique, well-written, or even how up-to-date your post is. If you don’t have E-A-T then no one will take it seriously.
So what is the golden rule? EAT stands for three important components that people use to determine if they can trust a website:
Expertise – Do you look like an expert in your field?
Authority – Do you have proof that what you are saying is accurate and true?
Trustworthiness – Are others talking about how great your website is? (i.e., testimonials, social media followers, etc.)
If people don’t see these three components then they are likely to click away and head over to another website.
So before you publish your next blog post…make sure that all three components are present.
I know it can be tempting to just slap together some words on a page for the sake of having something published but if people see that there’s no expertise, authority or trustworthiness then they are not going to take you seriously.
Conclusion
As you can see, there’s a lot more to creating and publishing blog posts than just writing words on a page. If you want people to take your website seriously then it needs to have quality content that is up-to-date and written by an expert in the field.
In other words…it takes work!
But that’s not a bad thing. In fact, it is really rewarding when you see your business idea finally gaining momentum and people are actually returning to view more content.
So what are you waiting for? Get to work and improve your site, I’d love to know how it goes.
