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Now that you have your blog set up and have written a few blog posts that matter, the next thing you’ll want to focus on in order to turn your blog into a successful business is how to drive massive traffic to your website for free. While there are many paid strategies for website traffic growth, this post only focuses on free ways to increase traffic. Use these 15 ways to drive massive traffic to your website for free to start seeing an increase in your views today.
Week 1: How to Start a WordPress Blog With SiteGround
Week 2: How to Write a Blog Post That People Want To Read
Week 3: 15 Ways to Drive Massive Traffic To Your Website For Free
Week 4: How to Make Money Blogging in 2019
1. Teach Yourself SEO
Did you know that 95% of web traffic goes to posts that show up on page one of a Google search? That explains why bloggers are so obsessed with having their posts end up on page one of Google searches and why Google is the #1 source of traffic for most bloggers. While there are many factors that contribute to how high your blog posts rank on Google, having a strong search engine optimization (SEO) strategy is one of the most important things you can do for your website in order to drive massive traffic to your website for free. Laura and Gemma from Make Traffic Happen have an excellent SEO e-book for beginners, as well as tons of free SEO resources to help you learn how to optimize your content for search engines.
2. Focus On Long-Tail Keywords
This is more of a 1(b) than a separate strategy, since long-tail keywords are an important part of any SEO strategy. Long-tail keywords are longer, more specific keyword phrases that are used to target a very specific niche. Usually, when someone types a long keyword phrase into Google, they are looking for something very specific. Compared to short-tail keywords, long-tail keywords are more likely to address the specific questions that a potential customer or follower has, which increases the amount of time they stay on your site after clicking through to a post. The longer someone stays on your post, the greater likelihood there is that they will click through to another post on your site or that the Google ranking for the post they clicked on will go up.
3. Build Backlinks
One way to show Google that your website is a reputable source of information is to have links to your site from other sites. An easy way to build backlinks to your website is to contact other bloggers in the same niche as you for link swaps. Most bloggers who have websites with around the same domain authority (DA) score or monthly page views as you would be more than willing to participate in a mutual link swap. If you don’t know your DA score, you can find it here by typing in your website URL. You can also join one of the many Facebook groups dedicated to helping bloggers build backlinks to their websites, so that you can connect with more bloggers who are committed to using backlinks to drive more traffic to their website.
4. Guest Blog On Other Websites
If you’re finding it challenging to convince other bloggers to participate in link swaps with you because you don’t have a high enough DA or enough monthly page views, you can instead contact bloggers to offer them guest blog posts on their site. Many bloggers have a hard time producing enough content on their own, so they welcome any opportunity to receive new, relevant content for free. This way, the blogger receives a benefit of getting free content on their site, and you receive the benefit of having a link your blog on another website.
5. Invite Others To Guest Blog On Your Website
Similarly, by inviting others to guest blog on your site, you offer them the opportunity to build a backlink to their site, while you benefit by having fresh content on your site that you didn’t have to spend time creating. This strategy isn’t for everyone, as some people value having only their own content on their website, so make sure you consider whether this strategy aligns with your blog values before deciding to implement it. This is also the time for me to remind you that if you have not yet decided on your blog values, now is the time to do so. If you’re having a hard time figuring out what your blog values are, make sure you subscribe to my course, Travel Pitch Masters, which will walk you through the fundamentals of building and growing a blog, as well as how to use your blog to secure sponsored (and, eventually, paid) travels so that you can start traveling the world for free in the next 90 days.
6. Include Internal Links In Your Posts
While building more backlinks to your site can help show Google that you have a trustworthy and influential website, building more internal links into your posts can increase your traffic by encouraging your website visitors to check out additional blog posts before leaving your site. If you are using WordPress, an easy way to include internal links in your posts is to install a plugin, such as “Inline Related Posts,” that will automatically insert a “related posts” link directing your readers to a similar blog post that he or she might be interested in reading before leaving your blog.
7. Repurpose Your Content On Social Media
If you just recently started your blog, you’ll probably want to focus much of your time on creating new content. However, once you have a substantial amount of content on your blog, you’ll want to follow the 80/20 rule and spend 80% of your time promoting your content and 20% of your time creating new content. After all, what’s the point of creating new content when no one is going to see your content? Luckily, social media has given us an effective way to promote our content for free, so our only task is to be strategic about how we repurpose our content on social media.
Let’s use this post on 15 ways to drive massive traffic to your website for free as an example. When repurposing this content on my social media pages for this post, I can easily create 15 different social media posts by highlighting one of these strategies in each post. That gives me 15 opportunities to promote the link to this post without seeming repetitive or redundant. Similarly, for a travel post on 35 free things to do in Chicago, I can easily create 35 different social media posts highlighting one free thing to do in Chicago in each post, thus giving myself 35 opportunities to promote the link to my post.
8. Engage In Online Communities
Not only is posting consistently to your own social media pages an effective way to drive massive traffic to your website, but engaging consistently on others’ social media pages and groups can be an effective way to drive massive traffic to your website as well. Join Facebook groups in your niche and contribute content that can help other members of the group whenever possible. This can take the form of general advice or blog content you’ve already written. Just make sure to read the group rules carefully and only post links to your website in compliance with the specific group rules. Similarly, you can create your own Facebook group to build a more personal relationship with your community and to help your community build relationships with each other. If you haven’t joined our Facebook group yet, you can click here to join today.
9. Build an Email List
Another way to strengthen your relationship with your readers and build community amongst your followers is to send out regular email communications to your email list. If you don’t yet have an email provider, you can sign up for a GetResponse account here. Having a quality email list and being consistent in sending out email newsletters to your subscribers regularly can be one of the most effective ways to drive massive traffic to your website in a meaningful way. An easy way to start building your email list now is to download a plugin, like Sumo, that lets you create pop-up boxes on your website to collect email addresses from your readers. Other fun and easy strategies for building an email list are hosting a giveaway or creating a freebie that provides value to your readers.
10. Create Landing Pages
While your blog should focus on a specific niche, it probably isn’t so targeted that you’re not able to further divide your niche into even more specific reader segments. Landing pages can be a great way to attract these more specific reader segments by providing your potential readers with specific reasons for following your blog that speak directly to their needs and values. You can either build out a landing page on your own website, or you can use a service like GetResponse to create a landing page that automatically connects to your email list.
11. Network
When I used to practice as an attorney, I spent a lot of my time networking with potential employers and clients alike. I quickly realized how small the legal community is, even in a big city like Chicago. When I switched over into blogging and online marketing, I mistakenly assumed that in-person networking was no longer important for me since all my work now takes place online. I quickly realized, however, that in-person networking is just as important now that I work online as it was when I worked at a traditional job. As a travel blogger, attending travel conferences and networking with fellow travel bloggers, casual travelers, and travel brands can not only lead to exciting new opportunities down the line, but it can also lead to future speaking opportunities that can drive massive traffic to your website for free – or for a fee, paid to you, not by you.
12. Make Sure Your Website Is Fast And Responsive
As nontechnical bloggers, it can be tempting to ignore the technical facets of a blog and focus on content alone. However, there are certain technical components to a website that affect the traffic you’re getting to your website. Two of these factors are website speed and website responsiveness. The first factor, website speed, refers to the amount of time it takes for your website to load when someone clicks on your link. You can check your website speed here for free. While the average website takes around 20 seconds to load, studies have shown that less than 50% of people will wait more than three seconds for a site to load before clicking out of it. The second factor, website responsiveness, refers to how your website appears on difference devices (i.e. MacBook vs. iPhone vs. desktop computer vs Android). Most WordPress themes in 2019 are naturally responsive, but it’s a good idea to double check that the theme you’re using is in fact responsive, just in case.
13. Incorporate Visuals Into Your Posts
Research has consistently shown that people consume visual content more eagerly and effectively than they consume written content. Thus, it’s important to break up your text into digestible pieces and to incorporate images throughout your posts. These images can take the form of photos, infographics, or any other visual that’s relevant to your content. If you’re not terribly camera shy, you can even try making videos for your blog, YouTube channel, or social media pages, as consumers absorb video content even more enthusiastically than they do images, so video content would be a great way to drive massive traffic to your website for free.
14. Analyze And Adjust
Since each website is different and has its own unique set of challenges, it’s important to constantly analyze your website traffic data and evaluate what’s working and what’s not working. Strategies that are extremely effective for one website may not be as effective for another website, for any number of reasons. Without regularly analyzing your data and adjusting your strategy, you’ll find your web traffic flatlining just as quickly as you saw it growing.
15. Get Active On Pinterest (And Tailwind)
Last, but certainly not least, make sure you’re using Pinterest and Tailwind to drive traffic to your website. Although many people see Pinterest as another social media tool, it actually functions more as an SEO tool than as a social media tool. Join as many group Pinterest boards as you can, and use Tailwind to schedule out your pins in advance so you don’t have to spend your entire day on Pinterest.
I have personally used these 15 ways to drive massive traffic to your website for free on my own websites and found them to be most effective. Let me know in the comments below how these work for you and your website!
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