Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
What is really the best way to drive blog traffic?
Bloggers ask this question often.
I feel like it is a fair question.
Everyone seems to want the best way to do something.
Finding the best way eliminates the worst ways, right?
Finding the best way dissolves the mediocre ways, too.
You add the label of best, worst or in between, in your mind, based on a series of factors.
You Forgot to Add 2 Words to the Question
Bloggers ask: “What is the best way to drive blog traffic?”
Virtually every one forgets to add: “for me?”
Proper question:
“What is the best way to drive blog traffic for me?”
Why do you need to add the 2 words?
The best traffic-driving strategy for you:
- feels the most fun to you
- naturally matches with your intuitive talents, developed skills and personal abilities
- slowly earns your trust (the traffic numbers rise slowly but surely)
When you love doing something you will do it for a long time and get very good at it. Becoming highly skilled increases blog traffic.
Bloggers have fun doing different things. Meaning, the best traffic driving strategies for bloggers differ.
I have fun writing. Writing matches my talents, developed skills and personal abilities. Writing long form content is the best traffic driver for me.
Other bloggers have fun analytically dissecting email marketing, crafting enticing subject lines and compelling email newsletters. Each activity best suits their talents, developed skills and personal abilities. Building an email list is the best traffic driver for them.
There Is No One Best Traffic Strategy No Matter What Statistics Claim
Most traffic blog posts go like this: so and so traffic strategy is the best way because blah-blah-blah statistics are (insert biggest numbers).
But what if you hate list-building? What if you despise doing videos? What if you have no skills in the blog commenting department, no abilities in that area and writing genuine comments feels as boring as watching paint dry?
Statistics do not prove the best strategy for driving blog traffic. Statistics only prove what traffic-driving strategy has worked for other people. Blogging is never a one-size-fits-all approach.
This is why there is no universal best blogging strategy for increasing traffic.
Practical Ideas
I wanted to share a few practical ideas for driving blog traffic.
Pick a few that feel fun to you and play around with them.
Consider these tactics:
- guest blogging
- genuine blog commenting
- building an email list
- video marketing
- SEO-optimizing blog posts
Work from that list for a bit.
Goodness knows 10, 20 or even 50 different methods avail themselves and beyond.
But trying to find one best strategy from 50 wastes months of your blogging time.
Dial in on a few.
Toy around with ’em.
What feels fun? What seems to match your skills? What appeals to your personal interests?
When one tactic answers each of these 3 questions you found the best technique for you.
What Is the Best Traffic Driving Strategy for Ryan Biddulph?
At risk of sounding like a blogging douche-bag with 3rd person speak, I want to share the best traffic-driving strategy for me.
Perhaps my simple tactic will become – or is – the best traffic driving scheme for you.
Here it is:
Publishing detailed, long-form content spanning 1000-1200 words packed with practical blogging tips.
The best way that I drive blog traffic is by writing detailed, thorough content that solves Blogging From Paradise reader needs.
I estimate that 90% of bloggers miss the boat of this one.
Most trip over themselves experimenting with offsite methods to drive traffic to an underwhelming blog.
Guest blogging, genuine blog commenting and completing interviews are powerful ways to drive traffic to your blog.
But publishing detailed, thorough blog posts that solve your reader’s problems:
- drives heavy organic traffic through your tribe via their preferred methods; your community will share your posts on their blog, through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest
- drives Google traffic
- drives organic traffic through your preferred marketing methods, from social media, to Medium, Tumblr, LinkedIn articles, Facebook Groups and LinkedIn Groups
But this is just my personal, best tactic.
You will figure out your best tactic through experimenting.
A Single Best Tactic Needs to Be Used with Other Tactics or You Will Fail
The best way cannot be the only way to increase blog traffic because traffic flows to your blog based on a network like a spiderweb.
One strand of the web collapses and falls to the ground until the spider weaves the second strand; old spidey needs one connection between two strands to get the process going for catching flies.
But two strands ain’t gonna cut the mustard; spiders weave a rich tapestry of strands into a web to catch flies.
Think of your blog traffic strategy in identical fashion. The best approach needs to be linked to a variety of other tactics like guest blogging, blog commenting and list-building to weave a blogging web that “catches” web traffic.
After I publish this post with my best method, readers will only see it because I:
- email it to my list
- promote it on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn
- promote it on Facebook Groups and LinkedIn Groups
- promote it via MeWe, Flipboard, Pocket, Scoop,it, Tumblr, Medium and LinkedIn as an article
- commented genuinely on blogs which point readers to Blogging From Paradise
- guest blogged which points readers to Blogging From Paradise
At the end of the day guys, you need an entire web, not one “best” strand, to drive blog traffic
Conclusion
No best way to drive blog traffic exists because the best methods change from blogger to blogger.
Do what feels fun to you.
Test what best matches your developing skill set and personal interest.
Follow these steps to find the best traffic driving method for you.
