Ok, you’ve got a killer blog template, and some good content. Getting traffic to a blog isn’t as hard as getting traffic to a new website, but this isn’t like “field of dreams”, either.
Just because you built it doesn’t mean that “they” will come.
The first thing you need to do is to get listed in several of the major blog directories. Fortunately, a short list of the most important directories exists to help you.
Visit PingOmatic and make a note of the blog directories listed there. Why?
Because they are the “major” directories, and because you can use PingOmatic to alert them every time you update your blog. You used to have to do that manually, but WordPress now has settings that will do it for you.
In addition, you’ll want to list yourself in some of the less well-known blog directories, as your time permits. They may not bring you a ton of traffic, but a link is a link, and the more you publicize your blog, the better your chances of getting both human and search engine spider visits.
Just getting yourself listed in the directories will get you noticed, and will get you indexed by some of the major search engines, often in as little as a few days, certainly within a few weeks. You’ll also want to list your RSS feed in the Yahoo RSS directory, since that will also get you indexed by their search bot, as will listing yourself in the Google RSS directory.
You can either go to your MyYahoo account and add your feed URL manually, or you can post the “add to My Yahoo” and “Add to Google” buttons on your blog, click them yourself, and add your blog to the indexes that way.
Google and Yahoo are by no means the only RSS directories, and you’ll want to get listed in others. “Claim” your blog in Technorati, and check out some of the other major blog and RSS directories.
Another way to get more traffic to your blog is to exchange links with other blog authors. Don’t be indiscriminate about it, however. Take the time to visit some blogs and attempt to work out some link exchanges with the authors of a few you really like, and which have high Page Rank.
Keep in mind that the links on a blog are much more “visible” than the links on a website, that are usually buried on an inside page, and often never seen by your site visitors.
On a blog, they appear at least on the main page, if not all of the pages. Your reputation with your readers will be directly affected by the quality of the links you post, so choose wisely.
You can also search out other blogs relevant to your topic, and post comments. Many blogs allow you to post the URL of your own blog when you post a relevant comment.
Finally, post reprints of some of your articles in the major article directories, such as Ezine Articles, and be sure to put your blog’s URL in the “resource box” when you publish the article.
Keep in mind that you need to “optimize” a blog for the search engines the same way you would optimize a web page. Use Key Words in your Blog Title, and in the Titles of your posts. Try to use those same key words in the link text of any outgoing links in your posts, and try to work them into the first and last couple of sentences of your blog post. Try to keep your blog “themed” to a limited number of inter-related subjects. Use the “alt” tags if you post any graphics on your blog itself, or on the template.
Finally, exercise some patience. While getting a blog noticed and getting traffic to it is much easier than getting traffic and links to a standard website, nothing happens over night. Keep posting good, relevant content, and your readership, links, and traffic will grow!
Happy Blogging!
