How do I get more traffic to my blog?

Excellent post. I agree with Dave on this one. Setting up a blog and just sitting back clicking Refresh on your stats isn't going to get you anywhere. You need to get out there, contribute to discussions and post information that will increase your personal profile, your blog popularity will follow.

I agree with this advice. I didn't start getting real traffic to my site until I started participating in like-topic blogs. It worked for me.

Good tips, it is tough to get exposure, as it is something I've "strived" for, for quite a bit. I had a lot of exposure on my MSN space, but it didn't look how I liked. I decided to go for content and beauty than traffic...Hopefully the traffic will increase. ;-D

Just starting along the Blog trail, I wanted to find those Blogs of interest. Using Technorati has been of limited value since most popular Blogs are not always in the tech area. Are there tips on how to find Blogs that are oriented toward my area of interest?

Very good explanation, I occasionaly follow your posts. I'll need to increase my commenting up one level, I guess. I write on 3-4 main topics on my blog (tech, computers, science, economy), plus on two languages, English and Macedonian. I am not sure how much would this affect my blog traffic in the future. I have modest traffic, but it is constantly increasing since I started back in April 2005. This tells me that I am on the right path.

By the way, Google returned this page as 7th result when I searched for "blog get traffic". Very well. ;-)

Dave:
I have become a fan of blogging, thanks especially to your talk tonight at the Denver CTRN meeting.
Erika Hanson Brown
Chief Connector
Stellar Search Group, a Stellar Connections Company
www.stellarbiz.com

Thank you very much - excellent article.

Very informative Dave, I totally agree on the concept of getting more involved. I think this personal touch makes a big and more lasting effect on every thing we do, be it blogging, seo, or even trying to get traffic to a personal web page. It all comes down to networking. By getting more involved in related and even unrelated web sites, forums, and blogs, we leave a little referrence not only of ourselves, but also a small plug about our own web page. I'm not talking about referral spam, but real visits, real interaction! In the process we also learn many new things that we can apply in our own business or web site! Until the next time, take care!
Bud

Nice job, Bud. Note that he's added a smart, worthwhile comment that demonstrates he's read through this discussion and has something to add, yet he's also included a link to his own site (through his name: click on it, you'll see) and reinforced the key words that he wants to be found for on Google and the other search engines "SEO traffic rank".

Great post from Dave Taylor. In fact, I can vouch for what he has stated about getting more traffic. I have had a blog for ONLY three months. While I have joined several 'blogshares'and 'bloggroups' the highest amount of traffic I see at my blog comes from posting comments at other people's blogs. Now, after only three months of blogging, I average about 40 to 60 hits per day from various people all over the world. Great advice Dave, it has worked for me!

Thanks for posting that. I'm jamming my brain with info about growing traffic to my new blog. This page was listed number 1, under google search results.

Good Tips Dave, and , I would like to point the fact that a bloggers primary focus should be on posting information that is coherent, well written, informative, that brings added value to the reader.

Henrique Plöger Abreu

Fantastic advice. I've obviously been spending too much time submitting and bookmarking at reddit, delicious, technorati, furl, spurl, ezinearticles, and others trying to get my site more traffic.

Not sure how you can "bookmark" at Technorati or Ezinearticles, Jason, and I suspect you are being more than a bit sarcastic, but that's okay: the Web's full of different styles of interaction. On the other hand, if you have specific techniques that you use with terrific results, why not share them with us so we can all benefit?

Very well put Dave. Unfortunately many new webmasters and bloggers think that since they are sitting in front of a computer monitor there will not be a real person on the other side. They think of the internet as a living thing that is independent from individuals. By focusing on individuals and their reactions, a webmaster or blogger can obtain their attention and therefore repeated traffic.

-Guillermo Puyol

Thanks for the advice Dave! Now I understand why link exchange cannot get the traffic I expected. Good networking is the key. You bet I'm taking out my first steps from now on.

This was very helpful to me (the new blogger). I was spending most of my time trying to add new posts to my own blogs and now I am reading, enjoying, and posting to other great blogs. I am noticing more people posting on mine in exchange. Keep up the good work and thanks for the help.

It definitely is a good advice. I was thinking along some complex lines to increase traffic on my website, but its true the best solution is the simplest one! Ergo, this comment.

If you Google for “Submit blog” phrase, you’ll find a lot of directories where you can submit your blog for free. It takes time, but more submissions you make – more incoming links you get. Search engines see these incoming links and give your blog a better rank and as a result you’ll get more visitors.

There is a lot of value in what Dave is saying. Links are one thing, but straight links are a dime a dozen, they're just not worth what they used to be. Sure, you can get some pagerank but when it comes down to it, the power of return visitors is invaluable.

If you can get your visitors to believe that you know what you're talking about, they'll keep coming back.. and which would you rather have.. 1000 visitors that keep coming back every day, or 3000 visitors that come once and never return?

Lately I've been thinking about what types of blog entries I need to write in order to create market discussion... the kind of discussion that picks up my blog entry and talks about it on their blog.

While I don't have the answers yet, I do know that part of the solution includes doubling the amount of time that I invest in each blog entry.

Would be curious if others have suggestions on how to spur positive market discussions from thy blog?

I'm just following your advice, I'm posting a comment. I'll start commenting proactively. Thanks for the advice.

Dave, I'm a little confused about your praise to Bud or SEO Traffic Rank's comment above. I understand the part about praising him for leaving a "worthwhile comment that demonstrates he's read through this discussion and has something to add." (Good Job Bud!)

But I don't understand why you praised him for "reinforc[ing] the key words that he wants to be found for on Google and the other search engines 'SEO traffic rank'", when on another post (Google, Yahoo and MSN support "nofollow"? What's that?), you mention that these "nofollow" tags make it so the links have no worth. As far as I can tell, this post was written after the "nofollow" post so I imagine you can see my confusion.

Please enlighten us about this subject and thank you for all your advice!

sound f/x: hand slapping forehead
sound f/x: Homer Simpson saying "Dohhh!"

Jeez, you're right, Boyd. I spaced about the fact that my site uses the nofollow tag to minimize the ill effects of spammers trying to game links from my blog. In fact, using a keyword or key phrase as your "name" on a comment here will gain you naught on Google.

On the other hand, to recover just a little bit, it is true that what Bud has done is reinforce to those of us that VISIT this page that his site is all about SEO traffic rank and that might just appeal to some % of the visitors who would then click on it, whereas they would be far less likely to do so if it just said "Bud".

Nonetheless, point well made. Thanks.

Hi Dave,

I just discovered your blog through a google search of "get more traffic to my blog" (just missed the "how do I", otherwise I would have nailed the post title.) It is funny how many times we must be reminded of the truth; networking is key in all business. Our best customers (or visitors) are built on trust and trust is built on consistency, truthfulness, and sharing. So I've basically been lazy, thing google, yahoo! and other search engines would lead the way. What I really need to do is go out and intelligently work with and appreciate others who are promoting the topics that I stand behind.

namaste

michael

I appreciate the input. I'm writing a blog trying to help musicians, movie makers & other forms of artists get discovered, but that's difficult when I'm having a hard time getting discovered myself!

I've taken everything you've said to heart. Thank You!!!

Excellent, I found this post interesting. The reason I say that is because I am currently a seo specialist, and I am new to the blog scene, but am currently putting a blog up on my website for viewers, and thinking this will help draw more traffic.

So you really think it is REALLY better to go for quality and not quantity? I suppose it makes sense intuitively. Funny how most people lose their sense of value when sitting at a keyboard.

I think this is a good idea to start participating in the topics or dicussion that are related to your blog. I totally agree with that but I’m not sure if it will work. I will start doing now and see what the effect is.

Having said that, I have a friend and his site has a lot of traffic. The secret that he shared with me is “Keep Updating Your Blog” as frequent as possible even though sometimes the content sucks. I’m not sure the word “even your content sucks” is a true statement. In short to summarize, probably we can call it a “Brute Force” method which is to update your blog as frequent as possible regardless of the quality of your content. I kind of disagree with this statement but I’m not sure since I’m very new in this. Probably some experience bloggers out there have the answer or have something to share.

I found your post to be very informative and encouraging. My site is brand-new and I am looking forward to generating more traffic. Your suggestions are concise and direct, just what I was looking for in advice :) I realize that it will take some time to obtain high levels of traffic, but I plan on making the effort necessary to accomplish this goal. I agree with Champdog's statement about the need to update a site, which is what you had also highlighted in your post. What I really appreciate the most in your post is the time breakdown. You had indicated that is best to spend 2/5 of your time on writing posts that are filled with content and are original, and 3/5 of your time contributing to other blogs. Thanks Dave.

Great post. Building communities and relationships are vital to your blogs success. Traffic will come, maybe not as fast as many of us would like, but it will come.

I did all the submission and they work! This was about 1.5 years ago. Now, after the December Google search update, my traffic went down 50%. I have no idea what to do to get it back. Oh well..

I didnt know it will help by commenting on blogs. :)

I don't know why some blogs are highlighted as interesting on Yahoo 360 (blogsite). My site has changed lately since I was able to upload videos so I want more traffic from people who could relate.
Thanks,
Mary

Good advice i think dave, and i'm going to give it a shot. After going to all the trouble of writing it, you've gotta do some promotion! Some of the richest/most famous people on this planet arent really all that great at anything, they just "sell" really well, wether it be their ideas or themselves!

This information is useful, I used it last night and already got a couple of hits. Not what I anticipated but its better than nothing. Hopefully I Gain more over time. Thanks alot

I was looking for something like this. That's a great way to look at it. If you don't contribute and read other's blogs why should you expect other's to notice yours?

This discussion is still attracting attention and comment posts a year & 1/2 since it's been published, being a testament to how urgent and relevant it continues to be. Dave's advice of being involved is right on. But I would also add that peoples' search patterns follow predictable patterns, and it's partially the responsibility of the blogger to put themselves in the path of Web voyagers. And often times, it's just a slightly more intelligent headline selection. To see this in action, just go to Google and ask "How do I get traffic to my blog?" You'll see Dave's post right there on top. And you'll see the HitTail site currently in position 8. HitTail, an application that Dave was so kind as to help us beta test, is an application that teaches you precisely how to do it.

Thank you for this insightful post. Blogging is more than just your own, I agree with that.

In a sense, even though we might sometimes not like it, want it all to ourselves -- we're still apart of a community.

Good read.

It is also fun. I force myself to get involved and find that I just get into these subjects and I end up following paths to other blogs I never thought of. It does feed traffic back as undoubtedly this post will.

Great advice. Dave. Thank you. Started doing the same thing. Have a long way to go though.

Using Feedburner and MyBlogLog helped my site try those! Comments, Comments, Comments... Stumble

I was looking for some ideas to get more traffic to my Blog http://incomefromblog.blogspot.com
Now I got the tips from you. I will post comments on other Blogs... LOL Let me start here...

I just started my blog and im struggling to get views on it? It is an interesting place where i state my thoughts and even post questions to think about. Just wish i could get some hits!!!

Hi,
Use social bookmarking websites like digg.com, netscape.com and npgb.org...
- William :)

First one needs valuable creative or useful content in order for their site to go viral. Also you will have to do some marketing of yourself and your blog, you can write articles on helium.com, articlepanda.com, associatedcontent.com or any well known site where you can give people a taste of what you have to offer. Be sure to leave a link back to your site for your services. Last but not least you will want to talk to an SEO professional if you want to stay on the cutting edge of organic search.

Hi Dave, I was wondering if you could provide me with some great tips on getting my visitor base up to around 700 visitors per day. Thanks in advance!

Hi Dave. I found this ask Dave spot when trying to find some info.I agree with your advice of being present to get yourself out there. I have just started and found this advice several times, I'm working on mine RealPackage.com/blog haven't really been out much but have found your site very informative. I am going to try your advice and will let know how it goes. Thanks Sue Jones

Thanks a lot for the good advice, I have set up a business blog recently and have been waiting for the traffic, but now because of your comments I know what to do.

This is great information. It has really opened up my veiw on building websit traffic to blogs and even websites. Keep up the great work.

Great post ! I've just started a blog and this kind of valuable information is exactly what I needed.

Good tips here is another a single content blog with lots of original content and picking the right tags to use with social bookmarks can go a long way to bring in short and long term traffic I found one tag that I had on the first page of its category for 213 days :) people searched for the phrases but very few bloggers used it as a tag.

Good post but I do think all are missing out on the seo part which i feel is relevant to getting traffic. Using an seo plugin can surely better your ranking which will/should lead to an increase in hits.

What if you spend all yr time writing articles and you simply haven't got the time to join other bloggers?

Good tips. And yes, have consistent, quality, and relevant content, and the readers will come.

Hi Dave,

Great article! I have just started out a new blog and after reading your advice, I realize that getting involved in the right target audience and community is vital to creating quality traffic and backlinks to my blog...

In a word, "Socialize" and that's the way to go!

Nice article, very informative....

I beleive this is the first common sense advice I have seen in my search of looking for ways to increase traffic on my blog. It makes perfect sense, great job delivering the clear message.

This is really great advice. My friends and I just started a blog, and we've been trying to figure out how to get more readers. Thanks for the advice!

I think that a lot of new bloggers tend to reach for the panic button if they have a bad day every once in a while, they get so obsessed about their statistics that end up checking them every 2 minutes to see if anyone else has checked out their blog.
I can confirm I went through that, although I have only had my blog up for less than a month I have built a somewhat consistent and participatory audience. I can tell you that I have tried to participate in other forums and blogs to get my message across as well as some exposure, I want to thank you for all the great tips you offer the blogging community and if you ever get a chance check out my blog, I would love to have you there.
http://maxthemac.com

Great Article Thanks wasn't exactly what I was looking for but it was a good read :)
I agree with your comment about "how do I become part of the blogosphere discussion?" great point!

I try to tell readers in Flixya but they don;t get it :(

Thanks Again
Thomas3940

Dave, your insight is invaluable! I greatly appreciate the direction you've given me and am putting it to use as of now!

Thank you. I found your advice on generating more web traffic informative and I'll definitely follow your advice and get involved.

Great article! I'm only just now (2008) getting into the website and blogging scene and from what I have read lately, your point regarding getting involved with blogs (and forums?) is more relevant for creating traffic to a website or blog now than in was in 2005 when this thread was started!
If there’s one thing I have observed in my life, it’s that people love to yap: so by all means please yap it up – however, please yap intelligently!! Don’t spew senseless and irrelevant drivel.

Cheers

nice idea useful for new comers like us thank you

I agree, it is nice to post your thoughts, but much more fulfilling to participate in other people's sand boxes too. People love discussions, and sometimes even debates, but lectures get boring. So go out and read and react to everyone else who has similar passions.
-Matt

I'm on a new way of blogging. I read your post, and I thnink that will be heplful for me and for my future readers. Thank You a lot !

Thanks Dave! I just started using your techniques and now my hits have gone up to 500 per day which used to be only around 50! Sweet!

By the way if anyone interested in information security here is my weblog address:
http://cryptoexperts.blogspot.com

Thanks for this very good advice. When you drop by someone else's blog and post a comment, they do tend to come by yours, if only to see who the new person is.

I think you've missed a traffic draw:

Reviews for obscure or niche products.

A review such as for the Griffin FireWave - a firewire audio device for Macs has been a huge draw to my FIXYOURTHINKING.COM website.

Furthermore, expanding your horizons on occasion with a different topic and offering polls with discussion can help - getting an occasional friend to start off the conversation is good too.

I there. I just started blogging about 2 weeks ago, but can't seem to get traffic to my blog. Please can't you help me. I would like to see my blogs perform. Thanks for the useful information.

So true, I spent quite alot of my time trying to promote but it's so tough if you take the wrong route. Get out there and comment, it sounds simple but it works.

www.themoviemonkeynews.blogspot.com

Thank You. Its simple rule of giving and taking. As I give , I will get. Your advise is very fruitful and helpful. Hope everyone here will be benefited from your advise.

I am a web marketing manager and I want to increase our web traffic, and I want to have Your comments and advices.
Thank You

That is good read right about there. it seems so simple after you read it... hits you like duuh, that should have been the first thing to do to get the blog to more people out there... but hindsight is always 20/20

Cheers,
Chimbles

The very reason that I found this site is because I have started blogging to generate more traffic to my site. So Dave's advise is very sound and only reinforces what I have learnt at seminars. It is all about the discipline to actually do it. Like anything else if you keep on doing it it becomes a habit. This is a good habit to develop though.