How To Get Your Blog Noticed

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Tina Dubinsky

Do you want to get your blog noticed? There is a solution that does not require you to hand over your cold, hard cash. It is a straight forward process that requires patience and perseverance to succeed.

If you are looking for a quick fix to get traffic to your blog, then this isn’t it. Buying and swapping links while they may have a short term gain can hurt your blog in the long run.

Increasing blog traffic takes time, passion and determination. Even if you’ve got plenty of the first two, without the third, it’ll be a tough road to get your blog noticed.

Before we break down some important aspects of blog engagement for beginner blog writers, let’s make one thing clear. While keywords are essential for search engine optimisation (SEO), they’re not the only answer for more engagement.

You can get more traffic to your blog by following these nine steps:

  1. Establish your authority as a thought leader.
  2. Add publishing dates to improve readership.
  3. Post consistently: Stay regular and on topic.
  4. Choose an appropriate blog post length.
  5. Use keywords to inform your article.
  6. Write for the web.
  7. Make your blog accessible.
  8. Share your blog posts.
  9. Socialise with other bloggers.

9 Steps to Get Your Blog Noticed Infographic

9 steps to get your blog noticed infographic
Infographic: 9 Steps to get your blog noticed.

How can I increase traffic to my blog for free?

If you’re looking for free ways to market your blog on the internet, then look no further than the mirror. That person looking back at you is the simplest and best way to increase your traffic.

Before you pay for a mention or swap links with another website, read Google’s page on Link Schemes.

Paying for links to increase your PageRank and get more traffic can hurt your blog.

Guest posting campaigns, link exchanges and cross-linking have a similar negative affect. You may see an improvement in the short term, but in the long run, it’s going to hurt.

Recently, I was approached by a website on self-publishing. The representative asked me if I would consider including a link to their blog in my article on character dossier content. In return, my site would get a shout out on their Facebook page. 

Sounds wonderful right? I’ll admit, my ego was nicely stoked at first. After a while, I decided it wasn’t in my best interest. Here’s why:

  1. The idea has similarities to a link paying scheme. Instead of money, my site would get free social media promotion on their Facebook page.
  2. The publishing blog’s link was of a related topic to mine. The articles most likely competed with similar keywords. By adding this link to my article, I was basically saying, “Hey! This article that I’ve linked to has more authority than mine.”

While it might improve the PageRank for their article, it would hurt the high ranking of my article.

Instead of investing time and money into linking schemes put that energy back into your blog. Write a new article instead.

Building blog traffic takes patience.

It takes a lot of time and energy to build a successful blog with content-rich articles. Make the commitment, then stick with it.

If your goal is to create a consistent following for your blog, follow these 9 steps to increase your engagement without spending a cent on advertising.

Image Credit: © freshidea | Adobe images

Establish your authority as a thought leader

Once upon a time, anyone could write about anything on the internet.

You can still write about any subject, but now, those who have authority on their topic and can prove it, get bumped up in the search engine rankings. Those at the top get more organic traffic.

Your authority as a blogger differs to page or domain authority. It relates to your influence on your topic and audience. How much experience do you have? What are your qualifications?

Instead of being a blogger who repeats information, be a thought leader who builds on existing information and shares new ideas and experiences.

To get your blog noticed create an About page.

Your About page tells the reader (and search engines) who you are. Many single-user blogs don’t include a short bio of the writer at the bottom of the article as it’s repetitive, so including your background on your About page is essential.

For blogs with multiple writers, that short bio about the author is critical. Have it link to a more in-depth biography that details your writers’:

  • Background.
  • Experience.
  • Qualifications.

Authority also comes from the way you write, your tone and the willingness to take responsibility for a topic. When you choose a subject for a blog article, it should fit with the overall theme of your blog.

For business blogs authorship is just as relevant.

While you might purchase blog articles from a marketing company, you should still add a name to the blog post when the marketing company acts as your ghostwriter for your business.

Select people from within your organisation who have relevant experience and qualifications to form a quality team of editors to review the blog articles you purchase.

They can check for:

  • Brand consistency.
  • Accuracy of information.
  • Relevance to your brand.

A considerate blog writer will work with your team to ensure the articles they produce meet your standards. They may even interview your employees to obtain information.

The team member who reviews the article can then have their name associated with the post as the author or editor.

By associating a real name that has authority on the topic with the blog article, you’re telling the world that the information you publish has merit.

Add publishing dates to improve readership

Readers (and search logarithms) look for dates on blog pages to ascertain whether the content is timely and relevant.

The first critical date is the published date. It tells the reader and search engine the age of the article. The age of your writing speaks to its relevance, which is why it’s always a good idea to edit old articles.

The second date that a blog may contain is the revised date. A revised date tells a reader and search engine that you are invested in your content by reviewing and updating old information.

Get your blog noticed with new content.

You may want to create a new blog page if old content is out-of-date and things have changed significantly.

It’s still a good idea to edit the old page. At the top include a short summary paragraph and link to introduce the new page that replaces it.

Some websites deliberately change their original published date to stay current in Google’s eyes. These deceptive practices have avoided Google’s penalty wand so far, but changed dates are on Google’s radar.

A blog post without a date is like a fish out of water. Fresh content catches the attention of users and search engines and drives traffic to your blog.

Coffee with note: If content is king, consistency is queen to get your blog noticed
Image Credit: © MarekPhotoDesign.com | Adobe images

Post consistently: Stay regular and on topic

It’s an old adage, and yet this simple piece of advice continues to ring true. To get your blog noticed, publish your articles regularly and with a degree of predictability.

You don’t need to post every day. Many successful blogs post once or twice a week, some even less. Choose a weekday when more readers are online and decide how often you will post. Then stick to your schedule.

Consistency also relates to topic and format. You should check your blog article against:

  • The topic or theme of your blog. Does it fit?
  • Your writing style guide especially for voice, language and punctuation.
  • Keywords which help search engines index and categorise your post.

The more consistent your content, the more search engines like Google trust your content. With the right keywords, you’ll find your audience.

Choose an appropriate blog post length

There are heaps of studies done on the best length for a blog post. These studies look to search engine page statistics to see what performs well.

A few years ago, 800-words was the goal for the length of a blog post. Now, some blog writers aim to achieve over twice that length, writing an average of 1,700 to 1,800 words.

Before you begin writing long epic posts consider what’s best for your blog and your audience.

There are some inclusions in a blog post that negate the need for lots of words. To get your blog noticed use:

  • Videos.
  • Questionnaires.
  • Memes.
  • GIFS.
  • Infographics.
  • Quizzes.
  • Polls.
  • Downloads.
  • Forms.
  • Meaningful images.

What do all these things do? They create user interaction or engagement with the text. Interactive elements keep the reader on the page for longer, and Google sees participation as a plus for SEO.

By all means, write a lengthy article if your topic calls for it. Knowing your audience and what answers they seek is the best means for deciding the length of your blog articles.

Some blog posts just need to be pithy.

Image Credit: © adragan | Adobe images

Use keywords to inform your article

Most people when they focus on keywords think marketing and SEO. While SEO is important for getting your blog noticed, keywords and keyword phrases also help to:

  • Inform your article.
  • Communicate your message to the reader.

The contention with keywords lies with how many times you use them and where you place them in your article.

If you put too many keywords into your writing, your blog post will be awkward to read. “Stuffing” also reflects negatively on SEO. Remove repetition with synonyms and use keywords in a meaningful manner.

Keywords inform the reader about your topic. They also help search engines categorise your page so your audience can find your posts.

Position keywords in:

  • Your blog title.
  • A couple of subheadings.
  • During the text a few times, especially at the start of the first paragraph.
  • Your image meta tags.
  • The meta description.
  • The meta title.
  • The URL of your page.

You can also use multiple keywords in your text. Related keywords contribute to great subheadings and also help to inform your article.

Research your keywords and use keyword phrases that your audience is entering into search engines.

Write for the web

Do you know what poorly written articles do to your online reader?

They lose interest and leave. This behaviour affects your PageRanking because visitors aren’t spending enough time on your page. They’re not engaged.

Instead focus on the structure, delivery and content of your blog article. Answer your reader’s question, and make your article easy to read by breaking up the text with:

  • Headings (H2 & H3).
  • Short paragraphs (3-4 lines).
  • Vary sentence length and structure.
  • Lists (numerical and bullet points).
  • Interactive elements.

Make your blog accessible

For many years, I’ve hosted my websites and blogs on relatively cheap shared hosting plans. As well, the plugins and themes I added weren’t “light” or mobile-friendly.

This conservative approach to blogging hasn’t helped me to get more traffic. It slowed my sites down, and my blog traffic suffered.

If you have a personal blog, a conservative approach might be the way to go. However, if you want to monetise your blog or if it’s connected to a revenue stream, you may want to spend some to make some.

To make your blog more accessible and ultimately improve the traffic to your blog:

  • Change to a lighter WordPress theme.
  • Move to a preferred WordPress host.
  • Ditch the heavy plugins.
  • Optimise your images (and use original imagery).
  • Design your site so that it’s mobile-friendly.

While I haven’t blogged much at this domain over the last 12 months (thanks to my blog writing clients), website improvements have increased visits by 33%, and people are staying longer too.

Image Credit: © KevinKing | Pixabay

Share your blog posts

Do you hesitate when it comes to sharing your blog post with friends on social media? Writing and sharing your inner thoughts can be as terrifying as public speaking.

It may be comforting to know that a large percentage of your friends won’t see your post. A few good friends may like or share it, and those friends are most likely the people you interact with regularly.

To get your blog noticed, share your article with your friends and social media followers. Sharing your articles on social media will also help establish your authority.

Share your blog posts on:

  • Facebook.
  • Twitter.
  • Instagram
  • YouTube (especially if you create vlogs).
  • Linkedin (if they’re employment or training related).
  • Pinterest (if you have a relevant, original image).

Socialise your blog off

Get out from behind your writing and go read other blogs.

Learning about what other people have to say on your topic or related topics is healthy for your mind and a part of life-long learning. It will also help you make genuine connections with other readers.

If you read a noteworthy article, join the conversation by leaving a legitimate message. You know that feeling you get when someone posts a note on your blog? Give that feeling to someone else.

Don’t wait for your tribe to come to you. Find your followers by reaching out across the blog-a-sphere and social media. Get more traffic to your blog by letting people know you’re there.

You won’t know what you will discover until you go looking.

Perhaps you’ll read an article that you totally disagree with, and it’ll be the impetus for a rebuttal article on your blog. Or you could read some wise words that you need to share.

Are you ready to get your blog noticed?

If there’s one lesson that you should take away with you, it’s about consistency.

  • Choose a topic that’s consistent with what your blog is about. 
  • Post frequently and consistently to attract a repeat audience.

However, if your readers have trouble reading your text, your traffic won’t hang around. How long people spend on your page is as important as the number of visitors that find it.

Search engines like Google and Bing measure how long users stay to read your articles. These simple statistics say a great deal about the quality of your content which goes a long way to getting your blog noticed.

So, yes, you can get more traffic to your blog for free, and as artists who are blog writers, we must also practice the art of writing for the web.

Preview of infographic download for 9 steps to get your blog noticed

Download my free infographic Get Your Blog Noticed

Are you struggling to get your blog noticed? I help creative entrepreneurs write quality custom blog articles that consistently appear in Google’s top search engine results.

Sign up now for my free monthly eNewsletter on Entrepreneurship, Writing and the Arts, and I’ll also send you a free download to my infographic Get your blog noticed for your personal reference.

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