Boost traffic to your blog

Now that you started a blog from scratch, learned how to set up your blog and monetize your site, you are ready for some traffic! Let’s boost traffic to your blog!

Disclosure: This eBook contains affiliate links. I may earn a small commission if you purchase/sign up through them at no cost to you.

So how do you get traffic to your blog?

These are my 5 main strategies:

1. Pinterest
2. Facebook
3. SEO
4. E-mail
5. YouTube

Let’s start with Pinterest since this is where I get most of my traffic!

Pinterest is a visual search engine that engages with it’s audience through enticing pins. Here’s how you get started:

How do I make a pin?

Using these programs below will help you make a stunning pin:

1. PicMonkey– this is the program I use and find it very user friendly. It’s great for editing and has the dementions for all your social media layouts already so you can easily pick what your looking for and start designing.
2. Canva– Similar to PicMonkey, Canva is a quick design program that creates beautiful pins. You can easily duplicate a previous design, change it a little and push out a new pin.
3. PowerPint or Google Slides– Both great for creating pins.

Here is the process to start pinning:

1. Create a Pinterest Business account (it’s free)
2. Setup your profile and main category niche boards
3. Create 1-2 pin images for each of your blog posts
4. Pin those images to your Pinterest board regularly
   1. How often you pin them will depend on how many boards you have.
5. To pin your images on Pinterest you can either:
   1. Use a Pinterest save button (there are some great plugins for this that will put a Pinterest save button on all your photos)
   2. Scheduling programs- Tailwind is awesome for this! You can easily schedule your pins so that Tailwind can space them out and post them for you rather than you having to pin them manually
   3. Adding the pin manually to Pinterest- you can pin manually if you wish, if you don’t have that many pins at first this may be an option for you. As you make more pins and grow bigger, Tailwind will be a big help and make your life easier!

2. Facebook

Just like Pinterest you can become a member of groups on Facebook. There are a ton of groups for any niche on Facebook. Simply search your topic in the search box and you will find them. For these groups it’s important to read their group rules. Most will have limitations to how often you can post and other rules to follow. If you don’t follow them then you may be kicked out of the group, like just on Pinterest. This is a great method to share your content with like minded people who can also share it with others as well.

I would also encourage you to start a Facebook business page, Instagram account and Twitter account when you start your blog. This will allow you to:

• build a fan base and connect
• make you look more professional
• another place to share your posts
• engage with your audience- posting your WIPS (works in progress) or an inspirational quote

3. SEO (search engine optimization)

There are some basic methods to optimize your site for SEO:

• •  On Page SEO: this means that you are writing easy to read paragraphs, bullet points (when necessary) and large headings (H1, H2).
  • Long Tail Keywords: include long tail keywords. “Boost Traffic for crochet bloggers” will rank higher than just “boost traffic”. There is too much competition with short phrases.
  • Post Titles: Makes sure your long tail keywords match your post title.
  • Meta Description: Your meta description is the few sentences of text shown under the main title link in a Google Search. Use your keywords here but make it sound natural to your reader.
  • Related Posts– Make sure there are related posts at the bottom of your post to get your reader to stay on your site
  • Images: Make sure your images have ALT text. Google can not view your images, it can only read the ALT text.
  • Backlinks: Links from other sites that link back to your blog. Google will see that you are an authority on your topic and you will perform better in rankings.

Are there any plugins that will help?

Yes! Yoast SEO for WordPress (this is what I use!) is a great tool and will help you on the bottom of each post page to enter your “focus keyphrase” for SEO. It also lets you know how you are doing by different colors and smiley faces.

SG Optimizer- SiteGround (where I do my hosting) has the SG Optimizer tool that will increase the speed of your website and help you rank better on Google.

4. E-mail

Build up your subscriber list and e-mail them your new posts. Create an e-mail that is engaging and something they want to click on and know more about. WordPress comes with a free service that automatically sends out an e-mail to subscribers whenever you post a new post. This is nice when you are starting out because you don’t have to think about it. WordPress just notifies everyone for you.

However, once you get going this may not be the best option. It doesn’t look very professional and your from address in your e-mails says “yourname@wordpress.com” and not “yourname@yourname.com” which always bothered me.

I moved on to Mailchimp which is a user friendly service that allows you to make beautiful e-mails. I can send them out whenever I want as opposed to having posts e-mailed to my subscribers as soon as I hit publish.

5. YouTube

If you have a site where you are making something like crafts, crochet, knitting, cooking, etc. then creating a YouTube channel is a great way to gain subscribers. Subscribers = traffic. Showing how to make something is a great way to increase traffic to your blog, get your name/brand out there and earn money. You can start monetizing on YouTube once you hit 1000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of logged watch time (in a 12 month period).

My YouTube channel is TraverseBayCrochet if you want to take a look!

I hope you implement these strategies and watch your traffic grow! Remember, things take time and nothing happens overnight. Use these strategies as a guide. Set goals for yourself and you will see your hard work pay off.

Looking to make money from your blog? Follow my step by step guide to earn money monetizing your blog.

Haven’t started your blog yet? Follow my guides on how to start a blog from scratch and set up your blog.

Want the complete guide to set up, monetize and boost traffic with your blog?

Buy my eBook!

My How to Start a Blog 37 page eBook also includes:

• 12 steps to getting your blog started today + checklist

• My personal Pinterest strategy:

  • Make great pins
  • Boost your page views
  • Find Group boards and get on them

• 6 essential plugins you need to:

  • Increase the speed of your site
  • Optimize for SEO
  • Get more social shares
  • Increase Pinterest traffic

• How to write great content

  • How to write in depth posts
  • Tips for top ranking Google posts

• How to make money with your blog

  • 5 best strategies to make money

• How to boost traffic to your blog

  • 5 best strategies to get people to your site

• Plus bonuses! 

  • Top 10 resources for FREE stock photos
  • 56 catchy headlines for your posts
  • Blogging blueprint

Who is this eBook for?

Anyone interested in starting a blog in any niche! This is a quick guide eBook that covers all the essentials of setting up, monetizing and driving traffic to your blog.

Buy my eBook today and always have a quick easy guide at your fingertips!