Happy Blogger Tip Tuesday! This week, I thought we’d talk some about how to increase your blog traffic. Now I should put this out there first: I am getting nowhere near the amount of traffic of some of the bigger bloggers. However, my blog traffic has increased quite a bit over the past year and if you are looking to increase your blog traffic, this post may be of interest.
So, in thinking about how to increase your blog traffic, I thought I’d share where my blog traffic comes from and from there we can break down sources that might help you in increasing your blog traffic!
- Pinterest. Pinterest is my number one traffic referral. I will delve more into how I’ve been using Pinterest lately, but if you are looking to increase your blog traffic and don’t use Pinterest, I recommend you start!
- Twitter. I use Twitter to promote my blog posts (both current and past posts) and have found it to be an effective source of traffic. Here’s a bit more about how I use Twitter. This post is a bit more Twitter talk.
- search engines. This is all SEO (search engine optimization). I don’t always utilize SEO on my blog posts but I do think about it and try to put in some common search terms if it fits. For an SEO primer, check out this post.
- Facebook. I use my facebook page to pump my blog posts and I get a decent amount of hits on the blog from facebook. My Wedding Wednesday posts in particular drive a lot of my real life friends to my blog page.
- bloglovin. After Google Reader shut down, folks needed a way to read blogs. I use bloglovin on a weekly basis, but I get a good amount of traffic from the site. If you haven’t registered your blog on bloglovin, you’re missing out!
- Mar. Yep, that’s right. My girl is a big source of traffic for me. Love it.
- Cynthia. Uh-huh. DC Trifecta for the win! The blog tribe is real, y’all! Get ya one 🙂
- Friday Five Link Up. Our linkup brings a bunch of traffic to most participants, but as the hosts, Mar, Cynthia and I get a TON of traffic each Friday.
- Lindsay at Lean Green Bean. Lindsay has listed a few of my posts on her weekly post round up and it send quite a good bit of traffic my way. Lindsay’s roundup always has a ton of great links, so I’d recommend checking it out each Monday.
- Pinterest (android). More Pinterest love, this time from android phones.
So, what’s the lesson from my top 10 traffic referrers? Social media, engagement and the blog tribe. And of course content you are proud of. That really is probably the best way to increase your blog traffic. However, if you are already there with your content, take a look at your referral sources and see what you can do to grow those referrals from other sites!
What are your biggest traffic referrers?
Pinterest for sure! I was super surprised by that but it seems to be the most popular 🙂
Karen @karenlovestorun
Karen @karenlovestorun recently posted…ALL IN {Goofy Challenge/ Philadephia Half Marathon Training}
it took awhile for Pinterest to really start sending traffic my way, but now it’s pretty steady!
My tops are the same as yours…Pinterest, Twitter. The other is StumbleUpon. It’s really important to stumble your posts for some good traffic.
ah, yes! I haven’t done much with Stumble Upon — thanks for that reminder 🙂
So true! You’ve got to have content that people want to read and share. It takes time and effort to build up a following, but it’s nice to have a “tribe” supporting you.
Coco recently posted…Blogging Smarter — My CoSchedule Review
Yes! It definitely does take time to build all this up. And (for me at least) it’s a work in progress.
I just found your blog through Mile Posts and I’m so happy I did! I run mainly over in Annapolis and Baltimore, but it’s always nice to find another “local” runner.
http://jax-and-jewels.blogspot.com
glad you found me — it is fun to find runners in the area. 🙂
Social media is definitely a huge driving force behind my blog traffic. I started using your tip to tweet out old posts, and to my surprise, that’s aided in a huge increase in my blog traffic.
Kathryn @ Dancing to Running recently posted…Wow, I’ve Reached 1,000 Miles!
it’s fun because it gives life to older posts and inevitably someone who missed it the first time around sees it and shares it!
love this! you are #6 on my list too, hail to the “tribe”! 🙂 of course, Pinterest is nowhere near the top 10. Can’t figure it out to save my life but search ranks highest!! guess there’s lots of people out there looking for me 😉
Mar @ Mar on the Run! recently posted…Week 4: Lessons in Cross Training
I plan on writing a Pinterest primer very soon…hopefully it might help! 🙂
Great post, looking forward to reading the next one on Pinterest!
C.J. recently posted…5 Ways Personal Trainers Can Build Their Business Outside the Gym
Great tips as usual Courtney. I’ve been working on using Pinterest more but I keep getting distracted and surfing it myself!
Deborah @ Confessions of a Mother Runner recently posted…7 Tips to stay safer while on the run
hahaha, i totally understand that 🙂
Good post! My top 3 are Twitter, Pinterest and Facebook so I spend the majority of my time on those sites!
Betsy recently posted…Fears While Running
that makes perfect sense!
The blog tribe is so important! Great post!
Erin @ Her Heartland Soul recently posted…Omaha Crush 2014
it really, truly is so very important!
I’m under the ANDROID referrer right?! LOL!!!!!!
I would have to say GOOGLE SEARCH, Facebook, StumbleUpon and some forums are my top traffic sources but every so often Twitter and Pinterest do the damn thing! 😉
GiGi Eats recently posted…What The Fudge?
someone else mentioned stumbleupon and that reminded me to get on that horse! 🙂 and yep, it’s alllll you girl 🙂
I use tiny url to condense my blog adress so of course on google analytics it just shows traffic from Tiny url. I don’t know where it comes from though.
Meranda@fairytalesandfitness recently posted…3 Alternative “Safe” Running Routes
oh that’s interesting! i wonder if there’s a work around for that?
Courtney, I always love your blogging tips! Most of my traffic comes from Twitter and Facebook; those two haggle for first place each day, depending on how active I’ve been on either on them. Thank you for the tips on SEO – I know NOTHING about this, so it’s super helpful! Great post, as usual!
Tara @ Running ‘N’ Reading recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday!
SEO is so huge and I really am just scratching the surface with it, but having a basic understanding has helped me! Glad I’m able to share what (little) I know!
Thanks for the tips! While I do get hits from pinterest, it isn’t as much as I think it should be and I always question how much I should tweet my posts! I will be following along on this series and putting some of your tips to work, thanks 🙂
Annmarie recently posted…Skoop Review- Get Your Super On!
i generally tweet things 3-4 times a day (spread out of course) and w/other real time tweets in between. glad this was helpful!
I’d be interested in hearing how Pinterest gives you traffic.
Rebecca Jo recently posted…Ups & Downs… a day late…
i’ll share more in a future post, but basically pinning quality content can drive people back to your site. it takes awhile to start seeing the traffic, though!
Here from #SITSblogging…Great tips and valuable info about different blog marketing strategies – thanks! For now I’m concentrating on Twitter and FB (and posting more frequently) but these are all good ideas to keep in mind!
Michele @ A Storybook Life recently posted…Three Good Things, Vol. 3
thanks for stopping by, michele! 🙂
Thanks for this! I’m really working on increasing my Pinterest presence so I know I’d love to hear more about what you do specifically.
Elizabeth recently posted…Happy Monday!
i’m going to share more specifically soon, but sharing to group pinterest boards can be really helpful.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for this extremely helpful post! Because of your advice, I’ve created a Pinterest account for my blog. Now I’m off to sign up for Bloglovin’.
Molly @alsoranagain.com recently posted…Weekend Update
awesome! those are two great steps! i just followed you on pinterest 🙂
My stats are so out of whack since I switched over, google analytics isn’t picking up the new site, so I’m not sure where my traffic is coming from right now 🙁 Great post!
Sue @ This Mama Runs for Cupcakes recently posted…Safety First…….Tuesdays on the Run Link-up
ah, that’s frustrating! i am so fascinated to see where my traffic comes from!
Oh man. Just your link about the SEO breakdown is a game changer… Can’t wait to dig deeply into all of this information. Thanks for sharing it!
Tabetha recently posted…Season One, Episode Five: Some people go to tenements for fun…
oh i am so glad it was helpful 🙂
I am pinning more on Pinterest myself and trying to participate in the link ups! Great tips- thanks!
Mary Beth Jackson recently posted…Level up- Week one with Run the Edge
i’m glad this was a helpful post!
Thanks for the tips. I definitely see a lot of traffic from linking up to your Friday Five, and have been trying to think of a clever linkup to start myself! I get a decent amount of traffic from Pinterest which always surprises me. I know I could get a lot more if I actually worked at pinning more of my posts…
Debbie @ Deb Runs recently posted…Living Healthy At The Beach
linkups are great — you should definitely go for it 🙂
Great post! I need to get better about using Pinterest. Well actually, I should get better at blogging consistently first 🙂
haha, definitely the latter than the former 🙂 thanks for stopping by!
Great post! It’s awesome that Friday Five has brought so many views to your blog. It does for me too, I love it! Thanks for the tips!
Kristen recently posted…A Bit Of A Wakeup Call
thanks kristen! i think regular friday fivers see a lot of traffic from the linkup — which is awesome!!
great post! I’m interested to read/see how you incorporate pinterest. I use it but haven’t seen much traffic stem from it. I’m probably not doing it right lol!
Helly recently posted…First day of school!!! Er…I mean work! 🙂
thanks lady 🙂 i’m interested to share because just like 6 months ago, i got NO traffic from pinterest and didn’t understand how it worked 🙂
Here are my top referrers of all time: Search engines, Facebook, Online Sweepstakes, WP Dashboard and and Twitter with Pinterest close behind. Great information. I have to figure out how to utilize these sources more. #sitsblogging
Diatta @ Femme Fitale Fit Club recently posted…How to Avoid Making Unhealthy Choices at The Grocery Store
sounds like your SEO is working!!
Pinterest, Facebook, Search Engines, Bloglovin, Twitter – that seems like the main sources for me!
Cynthia @ You Signed Up For WHAT?! recently posted…Tri Talk Tuesday: Ten Triathlon Race Etiquette Tips