Your content deserves a second chance ↗️
You’re not leveraging alternative traffic sources
Three untapped traffic sources nobody is talking about
The problem with organic marketing is it takes time. Even the simplest of campaigns don’t get any attention.
It’s not that you’re wrong. It’s just that several creators are competing to gain your audience’s attention.
With turmoil in search algorithms and tug of war for AI-powered SERPs, it’s risky to rely only on traffic from search engines.
For those who already have decent traffic from search engines, it’s time to diversify, and for those who don’t have any, it's time to focus on building both from scratch.
Diversifying traffic provides stability to your business and helps you reach a newer audience.
How long does it typically take to see significant growth in blog traffic?
The time it typically takes to see significant growth in blog traffic can vary widely, but most sources indicate it generally takes several months to a year or more to see substantial results.
Blog traffic growth is rarely immediate or linear. It often follows a pattern of slow initial growth, followed by accelerating gains as content accumulates and authority builds. The timeline depends on factors like content quality, publishing frequency, niche competitiveness, and promotion efforts.
Most experts suggest it takes 3–6 months to start seeing noticeable traffic increases, with significant growth often occurring after 6–12 months of consistent effort. However, this can vary considerably based on individual circumstances.
Canva achieved significant traffic growth in just two months by completely revamping its blog strategy. They focused on creating high-quality content based on competitor analysis, social media trends, and direct reader feedback.
It’s important to note that while some blogs may see rapid growth, this is not the norm. Most successful blogs build their traffic steadily over time through persistent effort and continuous improvement of their content and promotion strategies.
What metrics should you focus on to measure blog traffic growth accurately?
What’s tracked will grow. The most important metric that you should focus on is conversions. If there are no conversions, nothing else matters.
Focus on every other vanity metric only to optimize conversions. Be it traffic from email, social media, or search engines.
Every other metric is directly related to traffic, but conversions are the outcome of that traffic that should be tracked.
With conversions as the North Star metric, these are the KPIs you should track:
- Overall Blog Visits/Page Views
This is the most fundamental metric, showing the total number of users visiting your blog. It provides a clear picture of whether your audience is growing over time. Track this monthly to identify trends and seasonal patterns. - Traffic Source Breakdown
Understanding where your traffic comes from (e.g., organic search, social media, email, referrals) helps you identify which channels are most effective and where to focus your efforts. This metric also helps you distinguish between new and returning visitors. - Organic Traffic Growth
Steady growth in organic search traffic is a strong indicator of improving SEO and content quality. It’s often the most consistent and valuable source of traffic. - Average Time on Site
This metric indicates how engaging your content is. Longer average time on site generally suggests that visitors find your content valuable and are more likely to convert. - Bounce Rate
A low bounce rate indicates that visitors are exploring multiple pages on your blog, suggesting that your content is relevant and engaging. A high bounce rate might indicate issues with content quality or user experience. - Top Performing Posts
Identifying your most viewed posts helps you understand what type of content resonates best with your audience, allowing you to create more of what works. - Subscriber Growth
An increase in blog subscribers indicates that your content is valuable enough for readers to want regular updates. This is a good measure of audience loyalty and content quality. - Social Shares and Engagement
Tracking shares, likes, and comments on social media platforms provides insight into how well your content resonates with your audience and its potential for viral growth. - Mobile vs. Desktop Traffic
With the increasing prevalence of mobile browsing, it’s important to track how much of your traffic comes from mobile devices to ensure your blog is optimized for all users. Alternative traffic sources to search engine traffic.
Alternative sources of traffic
#1 Internal links
Internal links are by far most effective and guarantee results almost every single time.
Identify high-traffic pages and add links to new or low-traffic pages. Make sure these pages are relevant to the topic of the page. This is not for SEO, but from a UX standpoint, irrelevant pages with generic link text (anchor text) get little to no attention and, hence, no clicks.
You can also create lead magnets on such high-traffic pages and add them to your email list.
Bonus, anyone?
I’ve been consuming HubSpot’s content for almost a decade (and now working with HubSpot), and I’ve noticed one thing — Almost every blog has a lead magnet.
The new pages, or low-traffic pages, get internally & naturally linked in pages that are getting tons of traffic from various sources, especially search engines.
Visitors flow from high-traffic pages to new/underperforming pages. No matter how small, there’s internal traffic on such pages. Which is better than 0 traffic.
Take a step back and think about whether the traffic source is essential or the traffic itself.
#2 Repurpose on Social Media
Repurpose content from a variety of angles and publish it on social media.
People are getting serious traffic from social media, so they’re replacing Google traffic with organic social media.
Checkout more posts from Niche site lady about how she is leveraging Facebook as an additional source of traffic. This thread is the best of the lot.
Here’s how you can create a system to repurpose your content on social media:
- Identify evergreen content
- Pick three content categories (people, tools, case studies, etc)
- Break down sub-topics and come up with ideas around categories chosen in step 2 — Brainstorm using AI.
- Generate alternate angles of the core topic and schedule on social media
- Pick three slots — one for engagement, one to promote products/services and one to repurpose blog content
- Create a video on the same topic & interlink the post in the video, and embed the video in the post.
Pro tip: Treat each social media platform like a country. Obey the culture.
#3 Email Newsletter
Create an email sequence to create drips to promote your content. Make sure you promote only the cornerstone article in an email sequence. Too many emails will annoy users.
Email sequence is set of emails that are sent out based on user actions. You can set triggers followed by email drips to promote the content. Consider using Beehiiv to set up the email sequence and promote your content effortlessly.
Everybody is creating content for newsletters, but why not repurpose blog content on newsletters? Or start a new series to amplify the reach.
Do you want to update your content for more internal links? I have prepared a solution for you. Get in touch & we can talk more on this.
