Well after traffic to this blog literally flatlined I said in my last blog post that it was time to address the issue and take action. So what have I been doing?
Firstly I’ve started regularly visiting the Warrior Forum and leaving comments. This is something I used to do but had fallen out of the habit as I started to concentrate on other things. Before I started leaving comments I changed my signature that appears below each post to something that is intended to interest readers enough to follow the link and visit this blog.
I have seen a few visits from the forum so far and I intend to repeat this method on other forums. I’ve started a new notepad listing possible forums and blogs to post on and found a useful list of forums related to internet marketing here.
I’ve also been commenting on blog posts. To find relevant blogs I’ve used Google to search keyword phrases like ‘internet marketing’ and ‘get more traffic’. I select blogs from the side menu and have also been using the Past 24 hours timespan to find the more recent posts.
Another method I want to try is bookmarking. This week I set up a Stumbleupon account and have started to ‘Stumble’ some pages in a few niches that interest me. I haven’t Stumbled my own content yet, but intend to start with this post. The reason for this slow start is I want to avoid being penalised for only promoting my own material.
So that’s my initial response to my traffic flatlining. I’m sure the methods I’ve started with will get results but they are rather time consuming to implement. For this reason I’ve decided the next step is to expand into social networking for a more viral process. I’ll let you know my next actions and the results I’m getting next week.
What’s your experience with traffic (or lack of it?) Have you found something that works or is a definite waste of time? Leave your comments below and also let me know your blog address so I can come over and visit too.
14 responses to “Recovering from Traffic Flatline – My Results So Far”
Hi David,
Good to see you are recovering. Blog commenting are good ideas. Have you trying article marketing? Also are you using an SEO plug-in, I can recommend yoast, and what about adding ComentLuv to your blog.
Cheers
Roger
Hi Roger.
All good suggestions. I have put article marketing some way down the list of methods to try, mainly because it usually takes me a while to write a good one. I have All-in-One SEO installed and now I’m beginning to get visitors I shall be adding CommentLuv soon.
Thanks for your input. Much appreciated.
David
I’m going to say something quite controversial: why do you want traffic to your blog?
What is your aim for this traffic? Say you got 10,000 visits a month? So what….ok that might be a little blunt but it’s something i fell for. You need a direction for this traffic. I’m guessing you want them to sign up to your email responder. Do you have an email follow up sequence? have you created a product to sell? What’s your USP? Just my 2 cents….
Hi Rob,
Good, fundamental questions that everyone with a blog should be able to answer.
I do have an email follow up sequence and a product in progress, and I do realise I’d complete the product quicker if I wasn’t blogging.
I did question the wisdom of starting a blog and a bit of detective work will reveal this domain name was registered long before my first post here. I only started blogging after hearing Alex Jeffreys’ advice and seeing Dean Holland’s early posts.
I see this blog as an opportunity to be seen as someone other than a marketer behind a sales page or membership site. It’s also a means to grow an audience and communicate with them, collect their views and survey their needs. Also somewhere to express my opinions, give an insight into my online progress and announce products or services when they are ready.
Hi David
I truely belive having a blog is a fundamental ingredient when you are marketing online.
1) You get people to KNOW, LIKE and TRUST you… Without this, they don’t buy
2) You get to write about your progress… this is very good for holding yourself accountable
3) When you have a blog thats been around for a long time, with good content. Then it is so much easier to rank an affiliate review post when there is a launch going on
And I could go on…
Anyway, speaking of traffic generation… I find it very usefull to join related FB groups and post links to my helpfull blogposts in there.
You could also benefit hugely from doing YouTube videos and with some linkbuidling help from Fiverr.com, you can really drive lots of traffic really quick.
Videos are also very very usefull when we want to elevate the KNOW, LIKE and TRUST (KLT) factor.
Good luck with your traffic efforts… I will be sure to come back and see how you are doing and maybe get a few pointes myself 🙂
Hi Marlene
Thanks for taking the time to comment. I agree with your points above, especially the one about holding yourself accountable. Really important if you find you’re not making the progress you should.
Thanks for the other traffic methods too. YouTube is yet another thing on my to do list. First I think I need to work out how to get through that list faster!
Hey David
Personally I enjoyed your first post. It gives the reader a first insight into how you are using your blog to generate traffic at this early stage. Plus how you see your traffic driving tactics developing in the future.
As you mentioned about social networking, i use a plug in to enable people to pass on my information. If you view this page you will see what I mean http://www.paulconway.biz/getresponse/
Look forward to your next post
Paul
Hi Paul
Thanks for your kind comment. I’m looking at bookmarking plugins and other means of spreading my content at the moment. I’ve added Easy Social and tell-a-friend to my list of possibles.
David
Hi David
Great post and some thought provoking comments too
Thanks for the link to that IM forum list – really useful
The main thing I noticed was that I have no way of finding you on other social sites from your blog.
When I visit blogs I really like to find the bloggers Facebook page, Youtube channel etc
Something for you to consider and add to that to do list, which if anything like mine doesn’t seem to get any shorter.
Regards
Sue
Hi Sue
Thanks for your comments. I have a personal Facebook page but one of my targets this week is to set up a Fan page to connect to my blog. A YouTube channel is further down the list, which as you say doesn’t get shorter. At least there’s no chance of getting bored when you enter IM!
Hi David,
I am new to IM and have no experience with blogging myself. That said, I like the approach you have taken here and I think your followers will appreciate your honesty.
Your plans to generate traffic are well thought out and the posts above have great suggestions. I look forward to hearing more about your quest. Keep up the good work!
All the best,
Melissa
Hi Melissa,
Thanks for your kind words. My plan does seem to be working so far as I have seen an increase in traffic. I’ll post an update in a few days.
David
Hey David,
I normally get more traffic when I do YouTube videos because they are easy to do, rank really high in the search engines and a high percentage of people nowadays prefer to watch someone speaking instead of reading a long article.
Of course video traffic is only one part of the equation, I have seen a lot of traffic from facebook groups but you have to be pretty careful with what kind of posts you share and on which groups you do it (there are strict rules for this such as no opt-ins, no affiliate links, etc).
I believe the more you write, the more traffic you’ll get but you need to find the sweet spot for the update frequency.
Nobody will keep up with a blog that updates daily and nobody is going to be interested in a blog that updates its content only once a month.
So those are just a few things to consider, wish you the best and a prompt spike on your traffic! 😉
Sergio
Hi Sergio,
Thanks for stopping by. YouTube video is on my list of to do’s, but at the moment I’m looking into using Facebook so I appreciate your comments about Facebook Groups.
I also take on board what you are saying about update frequency. I’m a once a week guy at the moment but I’m planning to slot in an extra post here and there in the near future.
David