Are you having issues bringing traffic to your blog posts? Well there is most likely a reason why no one is reading your blog. Here are five things you're probably not doing, and should be to help answer the question why blog, even when it isn’t getting the love and attention you are hoping for.
1. The Content in Your Blog is Not Optimized For Search
This is probably one of the biggest reasons as to why no one is reading your blog. Optimize your blog post for the web. Make it search engine friendly. Yes, it requires a little extra work, but this is necessary so don’t skip out on this part. Take the time to create a blogging strategy—set up some keywords and a schedule.
Steps to do this could be a whole other blog so just a few things to remember:
- Include your keyword in the title
- Include the keyword in your first paragraph
- Include tags
- Include anchor tags in your images
- Include outbound and inbound links throughout your post
- Include the keyword naturally throughout the body of your post
2. You’re Not Posting Regularly
If you are going to blog, commit to that blog. Once you make that first blog post consider it a marriage. You the writer are married to your blog. Don’t let it down. Keep showing it attention; day after day…You know the rest. I now pronounce you writer and blog.
However, if you can’t find the time to blog every single day at least blog 3 times a week. That’s doable right? Once you see the results, you won’t regret it! In fact, the average company will see a 45% growth in traffic when increasing total blog articles from 11-20 to 21-50 articles (HubSpot). After hearing that statistic you shouldn't even consider asking the question of "Why blog?" anymore!
3. You’re Not Promoting Your Content
You could have the best blog post ever but if you didn’t promote it how are people supposed to know about it? Yes, there will be some who come across it in search and by happening to stumble upon your treasure of a website. But, why make it hard on yourself? Share that puppy! We live in a social world and it’s exactly the same on the internet now. Shout it out to the world, tell your friends, alert your customers—you have a new blog post! And how to do that? Social media, of course.
Post to the social media networks where your customers are at, as well as those where other industry influencers are. You want your customers to read your blog posts but you also want other professionals in your industry to deem it as valuable content as well. Push it out to multiple social networking sites including but not limited to (depending on your industry) Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest, etc.
4. You Have No Social Sharing Icons
Put some social sharing icons on that baby! So, if you already have someone who has read your blog and wants to share it with their friends socially, make it easy for them to do so. You can often choose what sharing icons you want to include but it’s best to put all of the networks so you aren’t limiting where they can share to. At the very least though make sure you include Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn.
5. Your Titles Suck
Ok, maybe that was a little harsh but you needed to hear it. Spice up those titles! Take some time to think of them instead of just slappin’ one on top of your blog because “you need to have one.”
For example, here are two titles that could be the same exact blog but which one would you click on, share or want to read?
“7 Tips for Using Internet Marketing Effectively”
“7 Tips for Using Internet Marketing to Leave Your Competition In the Dust”
Yeah, that’s right. You’ll most likely want to read the second title. Why’s that? Well, it’s exciting, compelling has an action word and is just more provocative to the eye and brain. Dare to stand out from the rest even if it means taking some risk in your blog titles.
P.S. I bet it will also make it more fun for you to write it! Those creative juices will be a flowin'!
Related posts:
Why Blog? 10 Types of Blog Posts That People Click, Read and Love
