My Fleep: Internet
How to Keep Your Blog Traffic - Tips for a Stickier Blog
So you finally figured out how to get those visitors to
your site, huh? Well, partner, it's not over. Now you've
got to keep them there if you hope for your blog to be
effective.
So, how do you keep your blog traffic? I knew you'd ask
that...
1. Your Audience Is More Important Than Your Search Engine
Rankings
Who knows what way the wind will blow in years to come. You
may be able to do without traffic from Google one day -
just like you're probably doing without traffic from Hotbot
right now.
However, you'll never be able to do without your clients
and prospects. If you could you wouldn't be in business,
would you?
So pay attention to what your audience wants to hear. If
you configure your blog correctly in the first place, you
won't have to worry about a good ranking so much.
2. Don't Add to the Noise.
It's okay to be silent for short periods if you have
nothing interesting to say. In the meantime, while you're
keeping your lips tight, find something *really*
interesting to say.
Of course, I believe that there's never nothing to say. But
I'm a writer and not everyone thinks that way.
After the first six to eight weeks, post every day if it
suits you and you have words of interest. But after that,
if you can sense that your posts aren't full bodied and
home brewed, it really is fine to make us go without for a
few. We'll live. We won't think so, but trust us, we will.
Just make sure you have something darn near-earth
shattering to share when you get back, so we will all sit
up and take note... and realize that we missed you.
3. When You Do Talk, Do It Loud and Proud
(Even if you find out later you were Loud and Wrong)
It's considered impolite to behave like a Rock Star when
you're having a business dinner, even if you are one.
But guess what? When you're blogging, you aren't at a
business dinner. That's not to say that you must indulge in
Rock Star behavior if it doesn't suit you..
You don't even have to be *a* star. But you definitely want
to be noticed, maybe referenced, and hopefully linked. A
great way to do that is to be different. The most unique
thing about you is You. Inject your personality in all that
you do online.
So if you have news, share it. Heck, if you have gossip
share it, just always, always, always, link to your
suspicions or sources. On the rare occasion that a
high-profile blogger's information is totally off-base,
they print a retraction. So don't be afraid to suppose.
Just let us know whether you are sharing a rumor, hunch, a
fact or opinion.
4. Do Unto the Blogosphere, and Make It Easy for Them to Do
Unto You
When I have credible sources, I link to them. Even if I
read something from the Google Blog, but know when I first
saw it first at Micropersuasion, I'm still linking to
Micropersuasion. That's all there is to it.
(And let me tell you - it's a Huge deal when Steve Rubel
links to an article that you wrote even when it's not
posted on your site - think about that the next time you're
tempted not to link out because "they have enough traffic.")
For the majority of people, I realize, that situation may
never be in consideration. Most of the people reading this
have nothing to do with search engines, public relations,
or internet marketing.
Well, I'm here to tell you that even if your business is
timeshare resales, you should still link to your sources.
You never know who is reading and who is going to link
back. Especially if you're in a business niche where twenty
visitors eventually means at least one sale, find out what
the neighborhood is like in your part of the Blogosphere,
look around, and play nice with the other kids.
5. Blog Like You Talk - But if You Talk "Funny" Get Someone
Else to Blog with You
Nothing will scare your visitors away faster than landing
in techno-babble by accident. I landed at a friend's site
about search engines, and the first paragraph I saw said
something about (a+n) times the square root of pi and I
clicked out before I even remembered why I went there.
Don't get me wrong - if that's how you talk, keep it real.
But if that's not the language your clients speak, you
might want to either have an employee represent your
company in the blog, or do a team blog that represents all
the prominent voices.
6. Give Every Subscription Option Under the Sun
Most people paying online are going to use their credit
card or debit card, by far. How crazy would you have to be
to say, hm, 90% of people use credit cards, but the hell
with that. If they want my binoculars, their only choice is
to send me a $20 check by snail mail on Tuesday mornings.
In this same way, refusing to turn on your site feed,
because most people are currently following you by email,
makes absolutely no sense. Refusing to start an email list
or offer subscriptions to your blog headlines, summaries or
posts via email is equally nuts, particularly now that
there are tools in place that will translate feeds to email
for you.
Not serving as much of your audience as you can is turning
down money, plain and simple.
Hopefully these tips will help keep visitors coming back to
your blog. It's like the old adage said, it's easier (and
cheaper) to keep your present customers than it is to
constantly find new ones.
The same thing goes for your blog visitors.
----------------------------------------------------
Come to http://www.rescueyourblog.com/blogtraffic for more
blog tips.
So you finally figured out how to get those visitors to
your site, huh? Well, partner, it's not over. Now you've
got to keep them there if you hope for your blog to be
effective.
So, how do you keep your blog traffic? I knew you'd ask
that...
1. Your Audience Is More Important Than Your Search Engine
Rankings
Who knows what way the wind will blow in years to come. You
may be able to do without traffic from Google one day -
just like you're probably doing without traffic from Hotbot
right now.
However, you'll never be able to do without your clients
and prospects. If you could you wouldn't be in business,
would you?
So pay attention to what your audience wants to hear. If
you configure your blog correctly in the first place, you
won't have to worry about a good ranking so much.
2. Don't Add to the Noise.
It's okay to be silent for short periods if you have
nothing interesting to say. In the meantime, while you're
keeping your lips tight, find something *really*
interesting to say.
Of course, I believe that there's never nothing to say. But
I'm a writer and not everyone thinks that way.
After the first six to eight weeks, post every day if it
suits you and you have words of interest. But after that,
if you can sense that your posts aren't full bodied and
home brewed, it really is fine to make us go without for a
few. We'll live. We won't think so, but trust us, we will.
Just make sure you have something darn near-earth
shattering to share when you get back, so we will all sit
up and take note... and realize that we missed you.
3. When You Do Talk, Do It Loud and Proud
(Even if you find out later you were Loud and Wrong)
It's considered impolite to behave like a Rock Star when
you're having a business dinner, even if you are one.
But guess what? When you're blogging, you aren't at a
business dinner. That's not to say that you must indulge in
Rock Star behavior if it doesn't suit you..
You don't even have to be *a* star. But you definitely want
to be noticed, maybe referenced, and hopefully linked. A
great way to do that is to be different. The most unique
thing about you is You. Inject your personality in all that
you do online.
So if you have news, share it. Heck, if you have gossip
share it, just always, always, always, link to your
suspicions or sources. On the rare occasion that a
high-profile blogger's information is totally off-base,
they print a retraction. So don't be afraid to suppose.
Just let us know whether you are sharing a rumor, hunch, a
fact or opinion.
4. Do Unto the Blogosphere, and Make It Easy for Them to Do
Unto You
When I have credible sources, I link to them. Even if I
read something from the Google Blog, but know when I first
saw it first at Micropersuasion, I'm still linking to
Micropersuasion. That's all there is to it.
(And let me tell you - it's a Huge deal when Steve Rubel
links to an article that you wrote even when it's not
posted on your site - think about that the next time you're
tempted not to link out because "they have enough traffic.")
For the majority of people, I realize, that situation may
never be in consideration. Most of the people reading this
have nothing to do with search engines, public relations,
or internet marketing.
Well, I'm here to tell you that even if your business is
timeshare resales, you should still link to your sources.
You never know who is reading and who is going to link
back. Especially if you're in a business niche where twenty
visitors eventually means at least one sale, find out what
the neighborhood is like in your part of the Blogosphere,
look around, and play nice with the other kids.
5. Blog Like You Talk - But if You Talk "Funny" Get Someone
Else to Blog with You
Nothing will scare your visitors away faster than landing
in techno-babble by accident. I landed at a friend's site
about search engines, and the first paragraph I saw said
something about (a+n) times the square root of pi and I
clicked out before I even remembered why I went there.
Don't get me wrong - if that's how you talk, keep it real.
But if that's not the language your clients speak, you
might want to either have an employee represent your
company in the blog, or do a team blog that represents all
the prominent voices.
6. Give Every Subscription Option Under the Sun
Most people paying online are going to use their credit
card or debit card, by far. How crazy would you have to be
to say, hm, 90% of people use credit cards, but the hell
with that. If they want my binoculars, their only choice is
to send me a $20 check by snail mail on Tuesday mornings.
In this same way, refusing to turn on your site feed,
because most people are currently following you by email,
makes absolutely no sense. Refusing to start an email list
or offer subscriptions to your blog headlines, summaries or
posts via email is equally nuts, particularly now that
there are tools in place that will translate feeds to email
for you.
Not serving as much of your audience as you can is turning
down money, plain and simple.
Hopefully these tips will help keep visitors coming back to
your blog. It's like the old adage said, it's easier (and
cheaper) to keep your present customers than it is to
constantly find new ones.
The same thing goes for your blog visitors.
----------------------------------------------------
Come to http://www.rescueyourblog.com/blogtraffic for more
blog tips.
