How To Increase Organic Traffic: Blogging 101
When you consider that 64% of web traffic is the result of organic searches, learning how to build organic traffic to your own online store can be a crucial investment of time and effort with considerable payoffs. But it’s also some of the hardest work you’ll ever put in to your website. If you’ve already tried different strategies yourself, such as SEO optimization, pruning pages with zero conversions, creating social media posts, or building a referral program, it can be difficult to know where to go next.
In today’s article we introduce some blogging basics and strategies you can apply yourself for free. All it takes is a little effort, time, and patience.
Where to begin?
Choosing where you want to build a blog is the first step. You can create your own blog on different platforms and spread the word about yourself via social media and forums like Reddit. It’s usually simple and free, but there are some disadvantages and limitations, of course. For example, using this method prevents you from being able to acquire your own domain name and, more to the point, such a blog won’t even technically belong to you. On the other hand, a self-hosted blog with your own domain name avoids this problem and gives you more proprietary ownership — and even though it costs money, is still quite affordable.
- Our tip is to start with thorough research of your possibilities. Start with sites such as Wordpress, Medium, or Tumblr. Pick what fits you best.
How often should you post?
Search engines love frequently updated sites, so the more the better, right? Publishing regular articles is good for SEO, so it’s not necessary to stress how important it is to post frequently. That being said, creating content for the sake of creating content may cause a lot of damage to your reputation. It may sound a bit harsh, but you should never risk publishing low quality blog posts or ‘fluff’ pieces. Quality of content is much more important than quantity, as this ranks better in search results. This, in turn, drives more organic traffic.
- Our tip is to publish 1–2 times a week at minimum, and provide useful and true information. Try not to get too caught up in what people will tell you are the best days and times to publish a blog post. Just try to be consistent.
Which format should you choose?
The goal of each post should be to attract visitors to your online store — with that in mind, don’t forget to put CTA buttons and redirecting links to your store. Encourage your customers to subscribe and share their purchases and experiences on social media. Also, don’t forget our mantra: mobile-friendly format is the strongest weapon at your disposal. Mobile devices have become the primary method people use for browsing the web, so aim to provide the same reading experience across different devices and various screen sizes.
- Our tip is to encourage your readers to take action, whether it be by commenting, sharing and liking your content, or — ideally — making the effort to visit to your store.
#1 eBooks
A number of successful online stores have focused on organizing online courses or offering trials as an added bonus to signing up. This way they can increase the base of their contacts by offering visitors something they can happily exchange for their email addresses. In our case, why not a book? Creating an eBook might be very beneficial, not just traffic-wise but also in terms of acquiring new devoted leads. If, for example, you sell knitting yarns consider scripting a how-to on knitting different patterns, write a manual on how to knit animal toys, or come up with any number of other interactive and fun add-on activities that show your customers you’re invested in them. Always remember to build and promote a landing page dedicated to each campaign and activity, but keep in mind that the only function of a landing page is to gather information about those who filled out the form. Each element on this page should be dedicated to this single activity.
#2 Guest Post
This is very effective way how to get traffic to your own blog, and is a long term strategy for increasing your online presence and gaining valuable external links. Moreover, you can reach a larger audience this way by including a link to your landing page for downloading free content at the end of the article. Once you write a guest blog post don’t forget to share it on all your social media and tag the mentioned partners, encouraging them to share it on their websites as well. Always guest blog for traffic (not SEO), and don’t be afraid to be picky — target reputable websites with high quality content and decent traffic numbers, ideally within your own niche.
#3 Recycle Content
Why not reuse blog content whenever possible? You can create a video, a GIF, or a presentation by ‘evergreening’ old posts and relevant material. This can involve recycling your content and giving the text a different format, or creating a simple presentation about the technology you use, upcoming trends in your industry, and different uses of your product. Find out what kind of content attracts the most blog visitors and make an accurate presentation out of it which will help increase the likelihood of being ‘found’ by online customers. There are a number of tools out there which can help with this process, including Slideshare which is a popular educational device, and worth investing in if you’re considering this approach.
Driving visitors to your online store is the most important goal of any online merchant so don’t worry if you find yourself struggling in this department — we’re all in the same boat. Remember this: the best way to engage your audience with content is to educate them, and if it is presented in an easy-to-understand format your visitors will enjoy learning about your product and services. If you start applying these tips you’ll be in a much better position to attract clients, expand your clientele base, and increase your revenue.
