One of the most frustrating things about blogging is figuring out how to get traffic to your blog. Trust me, I know.
The first year that this blog was in existence, there weren’t too many people stopping by. I did a ton of research on how to get people here and I’ve learned so much since I started.
If you’ve already been doing research on this, some of the things I’ve listed won’t be new to you. But don’t knock them until you’ve tried them because it will all actually work IF you do it.
How to Get Traffic To Your Blog
1 – Guest Post on High-Traffic Websites
I am guilty of not doing this enough myself, but I have seen some pretty good results from guest posting over the years. You’ll get the best results from this if you write for other blogs that are in your niche that you know have a decent-sized following.
Not sure how to tell if the blog you want to guest for has a good following? Poke around on their site and take note of things like how many comments their posts get, and how many followers they have on their various social media accounts.
If the blog you want to guest post for has an advertising page, you can check there to see if they’ve listed specific traffic numbers. Anything over 100,000 page views per month means you may get more than a trickle of traffic back to your site from the post.
Most blogs have information about advertising either in the navigation bar at the top, in the footer (bottom of the site), or on their contact pages.
Keep in mind there is a right way and a wrong way to send over a guest post request. Check over the site you want to post for to see if there are any guest post guidelines.
Then, be honest and friendly when you do make contact. Let the blogger know what kind of post you have in mind before you send over the inquiry so they can tell you if they’re interested, and also be sure to let them know about your site since that’s the site you’ll want to link back to in your byline. You can bet they’ll want to check you out!
Don’t be offended if they aren’t interested — there are lots of other bloggers out there who probably will be. Just keep trying.
2 – Get on Social Media Networks & Use Them!
Do you have Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest accounts set up for your blog? If not, do so right away and start following other people. Many of them will follow you back, giving you an easy way to grow your audience.
I have personally seen the best results from Pinterest and Facebook, so I focus most of my energy there.
That said, Instagram has become a great tool for bloggers who know how to use it. Features like Stories, Reels, and interactive stickers can help you connect with your audience and drive traffic back to your site.
Even though you can’t directly link to blog posts in Instagram captions, you can use your bio link and Stories to send followers where you want them to go.
Facebook may not be as powerful for blog traffic as it once was due to all the algorithm changes, but it still has value, especially if you join or create Facebook Groups related to your niche.
Many bloggers are also using Facebook Live videos to engage, and this can also lead to more website visits.
So, even if your organic reach isn’t what it used to be, Facebook is still a great place to foster community and keep your audience engaged with your content.
3 – Speaking of Pinterest … Images Are Everything!
Take the time to learn how to create eye-catching images for all of your blog posts using sites like Canva, then pin them over on Pinterest. The vast majority of my social media traffic comes from Pinterest, and this is why.
Also, try to join as many group boards on Pinterest as you can. Being part of a Pinterest group board means that when you pin to it, you’ll be getting your pins in front of more than just your own followers — you’ll be getting them in front of the followers of the person’s board that you joined.
So look at it like this — even if you only have, say, 50-100 Pinterest followers, your pins can still get seen by tons of people if you’re allowed to contribute to group boards that have thousands of followers!
4 – Hold a Giveaway
This actually helped me a lot in the very beginning. Set up a giveaway on your blog and share the link to it.
Make sure that some of the options for entry include following you on social media, subscribing to your newsletter, and so forth. This will help to ensure these people hang around.
Giveaway widgets like Rafflecopter make it very easy to set up a giveaway on your site and offer multiple options for entry. If you can’t afford to give anything away, use sites like Swagbucks to quickly earn a $5 Amazon gift code, and then give that away once you receive it.
5 – Participate in Online Communities & Niche Groups
Join online communities and niche groups that are still highly active. This includes Facebook Groups, Discord servers, Slack communities, and subreddits where people in your niche are already chatting with each other.
Join groups that align with your blog topic, participate in discussions, and offer helpful tips and advice.
Don’t just drop your blog link—build relationships and establish yourself as someone who provides value to the group/community!
Over time, people will become more interested in what you have to say, and they’ll be more likely to check out your blog when you share relevant content.
6 – Make Sure You Have a Newsletter
Use a newsletter service to set up a newsletter for your blog, then make sure you have plenty of places inviting people to subscribe on your site. Some reputable newsletter service providers are Flodesk (this is the service I use), MailChimp, and Mad Mimi.
Then, email your subscribers regularly with blog updates, news, or anything else you know they might find interesting. Make sure you link back to your website several times in each newsletter you send to boost traffic.
Here’s more info on why newsletters are a good idea for your blog.
7 – Network!
Network with other bloggers in your niche. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. Don’t view other bloggers in your niche as your competition.
Thinking of them as “enemies” and trying to one-up them constantly is a waste of your time and energy. Try to make friends with them. Learn from them. Guest post for them. Make a point of sharing their posts with your readers. Lots of times they will return the favor!
Some great ways to network — Joining a tribe on Triberr, a Facebook group for bloggers in your niche, or a Pinterest group board.
8 – Comment
Leave comments on other blogs if they offer the option to do so. And yes, there is a right way and a wrong way to do this.
First off, don’t overdo it. Don’t spam the comments of another blog in your niche by leaving them daily.
Second, make sure your comments are actually meaningful and helpful. Don’t just put a short, “Thanks for the post!” or something completely generic like that. Write something that either adds to the post, or asks an important question so the blog owner will know you actually read the post you’re leaving your comment on.
Also, definitely don’t leave a comment that just says for people to visit your website with a link inside. I can almost guarantee you that by doing that, you’re wasting your time and your comment will likely get deleted.
The only appropriate place to leave your website URL in a comment on another blog is the URL field unless the blogger has given permission for you to do otherwise. Sometimes you may be able to get by with it if you’ve left a high-quality comment that shows you’ve read the post before dropping your URL.
9 – Post Regularly
The search engines love new, fresh content. If you’re posting more than a few times per week, chances are good you might show up high in Google search for what you’ve written about. And of course this will equal some valuable search engine traffic!
Another reason to post often is because it’s a great way to keep your readers coming back. The people who are stopping by won’t continue to do so if there is never anything new for them to read.
Remember – Don’t Burn Yourself Out!
Don’t try to do too much, too fast. You’ll get burnt out and you’ll never stick with it. Do all the things above, but just don’t overwhelm yourself with it. Do as much as you have time for every day that you can spend any time on it.
Blogging successfully is NOT easy and trying to get traffic is one of the main things that makes it hard. Don’t give up!
Good luck!
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Anna Thurman is a work at home blogger and mom of two. She has been researching and reviewing remote jobs for over 14 years. Her findings are published weekly here at Real Ways to Earn.