20 Ways to Help Increase Website Traffic

Many business owners who have hosted a blog may have experienced the frustration of trying to gain readership. Though we’d all like it if readers just magically came to us, the reality is, it takes some work to build an audience.

It’s easy to get frustrated and just give up on blogging, but once you experience the benefits, you may better understand how your blog can potentially impact your business by attracting traffic to your site, helping you build a social media audience, and making an impression on prospects and clients alike.

Following are 20 possible strategies that can help you boost readership and increase website traffic and traffic to your blog.

How to Help Increase Blog Traffic and Website Traffic

1. Write more.

Want to increase blog traffic? Start by writing more! Although the algorithms change from time to time, search engines generally give higher priority to websites with fresh content, so if you want to get more attention from the search engines, consider updating your blog at least twice a week. 

2. Consider search intent.

When people search for things, the search engine aims to bring them the most relevant results. For this reason, it’s very important to think carefully about search intent behind people’s search queries. Ahrefs says that you’ll want to make sure you’re creating relevant content that engines can prioritize for people. Not sure what type of content to create? Type in your target keyword to see what comes up. What is the main format for this type of content (blog posts, videos, etc.?), what type of content are others creating (listicles, reviews, etc.?) Finally, what is the main angle that they’re using to capture reader interest? What solutions are they promoting? Paying attention to what others are doing will give you a good idea of how you can start yourself. 

3. Write evergreen content.

Sure, you can write about seasonal topics, or trending news stories. But it can also be a good idea to make sure you’re sprinkling in plenty of content that people are going to be searching for long-term. With this approach, your blog can steadily build traffic from people who are looking for topics year-round, not just one time.

4. Make your content easy to read.

Readability and site experience are also other factors that search engines use to rank and deliver content. To understand best practices, it’s important to consult each search engine’s guidance. However as a general rule, consider using plenty of subheads, bullets and numbered lists. Use formats that are easy to read. Listicles, posts that are formatted as a list (Like this one!) tend to do especially well relative to other formats. Consider including numbers in your titles so people know what to expect when they’re reading. 

5. Spark discussion.

Don’t just invite readers to leave a comment, make them a part of your conversation. Ask their opinions on things, share questions that they want to answer, and try to spark discussion wherever you can. Responding to their comments may make them feel heard, which may even boost the affinity they have for you which can sometimes translate to more sales. 

6. Promote with social media.

Another way you can increase website traffic is by promoting your content on social media. Consider sharing each new blog post across your social media networks, including Twitter, LinkedIn, Meta, Pinterest, and more. If you spend time cultivating your networks and share great content, social media sites may even become some of your top traffic sources.

7. Write better titles.

You can increase website traffic by making your titles more engaging. In fact, the titles for your blog posts may even be more important than the content itself. That's because titles can ultimately help potential readers decide whether they should click and read more. Some digital publications practice this with a question and answer format in their headlines that can resonate with readers who are experiencing that exact problem ­­– offering a solution can go a long way in earning their click.  

8. Know your niche.

While you personally may be interested sea life, exotic travel destinations, baseball, and weight loss, you may lose your audience if your content doesn’t follow a clear theme. Start by thinking about your target audience and researching what they want to read about. From there, take the time to think about how your brand and its message can join the conversation. 

9. Include photos.

Generally, photos tend to boost readership. Not only does a photo make the post more visually appealing, but you can also include keywords in the Alt Image tag on the photo, boosting search engine optimization (SEO) for your site. Consult experts to understand image rights usage. 

While producing videos may seem daunting, many companies and individuals generate short videos with their smartphone cameras to start out.

10. Incorporate keywords.

Speaking of SEO, keywords are a key component of SEO. One potential way to generate more traffic to your website is to develop a keyword strategy for each page. SEO, however, is about much more than just plugging-and-playing keywords – it can be a complex discipline that has many important technicalities and nuances that may not be apparent to the average business owner, extending beyond keywords into how websites are built. Consulting experts can go a long way in helping you understand these ins and outs, and one potential strategy you may consider is to hire an SEO firm to help you optimize your site. 

11. Incorporate links.

When you mention another company’s product or service in a blog post, include a link to that company’s page. Not only do search engines generally like to see outbound links on your site, the company you mention may also notice your post and link back to you, which may increase your authority in the eyes of the search engine. Again, consider reaching out to SEO experts who can explain in depth how authority and linking work. 

12. Add social sharing buttons.

At the top and bottom of your blog posts, consider adding social sharing buttons for Twitter, LinkedIn, Meta and other social networks you think your audience will be on. This can make it easy for your audience to spread the word to other folks who share their interests, potentially driving more traffic ­– and maybe even more sales – to your site. 

13. Repost past content.

We aren’t all looking at social media at the same time, so when you share a new blog post link, some of your followers won’t see it the first time. Reposting can be an easy way for you to use existing content to drive more traffic to your site. 

14. Consider guest contributors.

When others write for your blog, you add more content that you didn’t have to write yourself. As a bonus, those contributors may also share with their networks and may ask you to write for them, potentially opening up new readership avenues for you. Additionally, choosing experts in specific fields may even help you establish your own presence as an expert in the eyes of your audience. 

15. Add video.

Videos can go a long way in supplementing written content on your blog. While producing videos may seem daunting, many companies and individuals generate short videos with their smartphone cameras to start out. This may be an option you can consider to “test-and-learn” the performance of videos to your audience. 

16. Invest in promotion.

Many popular social networks have business or advertising suites that allow users to promote content for a fee. 

17. Conduct giveaway events.

Consider fun theme days such as “Free Book Fridays” where your readers can win a prize by submitting a comment or sharing your link via social media. You can provide prizes yourself or invite companies to donate or sponsor these promotions.

18. Write guest posts.

Locate other blogs that reach your target audience, and offer to contribute guest blog posts. If the site has a substantial audience, you readers may, in turn, want to engage with more of your content.

19. Cross-promote to your mailing list.

Instead of writing all new content for your electronic newsletter, share the first paragraph from several recent blog posts and include a link to continue reading on the site. Not everyone is taking the time to read your blog each week, so this may help get your subscribers invested in your blog.

20. Have fun with your blog.

Finally, have fun with your blog. If it feels like drudgery, your readers will notice. But if you enjoy producing the content, that will come across and have a tremendous impact on your success.

A version of this article was originally published on September 02, 2013.