Six Tips to Increase Blog Traffic

by: Carol Bryant, BlogPaws' PR Manager

I don’t get a lot of traffic to my blog; what can I do?

I wish more people tweeted to me or RT’d my tweets.

Why can’t I get more engagement on Facebook?

I am asked questions like this all the time and my answer is
always: How reciprocal are your relationships and how much time are you
spending promoting and smart marketing your content once it is
finished? Writing a blog can sometimes be seen as the easy part. Bloggers need
to not only write but also to market their blogs so it is discovered on the web.

Writing a blog can sometimes be seen as the easy part.
Bloggers need to not only write but also to market their blogs so it is
discovered on the web.

Shakespeare wrote plays but if he kept them tucked in a
drawer by his bed, we’d never know the Bard’s genius today. The same goes for
pet blogger and micro-blogger content. If you write it, they will not
necessarily come. If you treat it like a boomerang and put it out there in the
world— in a skillful direction— there will be engagement. Here are six
actionable steps you can take right now to get your blog or micro-blog noticed:

1 SEO for pet bloggers, or any blogger for that matter, is
important. Having been to all four BlogPaws conferences, I learned the value of
SEO (search engine optimization) and how to apply it to my own Fidose of
Reality blog. Guess what? The tips I received at BlogPaws worked! Guest blogger
Matt
Beswick shared some SEO advice on the BlogPaws blog.

2 Are you a reciprocal
blogger? Do you visit other blogs both in and outside of the pet world?
Have you taken the time to get to know some of these bloggers and their
writing/posts? If you don’t read and comment on their blogs, do not be
disappointed when people neglect replying to your posts. Blogging is give and
take, so get to know some bloggers, interact, and become a re-tweeter of others’
posts.

3 Attend #BlogPawsChat the second and fourth Tuesday of
every month and similar pet-related chats hosted by BlogPaws. Want to mingle
with pet people who also blog and/or micro-blog while honing your craft,
learning, networking and gaining new Twitter followers?  

Then mark your calendar: Starting in January 2013, join us
the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of each month at our live #BlogPawsChat on
Twitter from 8-10pm Eastern Time. That's right. We are chatting twice a month
in 2013! Catch up with your BlogPaws pals and talk about a new topic each chat.
If you have a specific topic you'd like us to discuss, email
it to kristin@blogpaws.com.

If you need a Twitter refresher or help, BlogPaws'
Special Projects Manager, Kristin Dewey, shared tips through her Cokie the Cat blog.

4 Visit sites that key you in on hot topics and ideas for
your blog. I wrote about this in “Eight
Ways to Get Traffic to Your Blog” and these tips hold true. I still use
them!

5 Blog consistently. If you are not blogging regularly, even
if regularly means once a week, people will forget your blog exists. Blog with
headlines that make people want to click through.  Headlines like Seven Money Saving Tips for New
Puppy Parents make the reader want to learn more and sounds actionable,
concise, and targeted.

6 Share your content. Make it easy to share with buttons on
your blog posts. Share blog posts on Twitter, Facebook, Google +, and where
applicable LinkedIn and LinkedIn groups. Be a source of advice and information
but not pitchy and self-promotional.

Do you have any ideas for tips that have helped you gain
blog traffic? Chime in below.