How to Increase Blog Traffic

Traffic is one of the most Essential parameters for your blog; the more people who find your blog, the people who will read your ideas. If you're ready and willing to have your blog admired in the online community, then try a few different methods of increasing blog traffic. You'll create better content in the end, and probably have dozens of new viewers each day.

Choose a catchy and descriptive title:The title of your blog is one of the first things that readers will see and one of the factors that search engines use to determine what your blog is about. The title of your blog should let readers know right away what your blog is about. It should be easy to remember, not too long, and not too similar to another website's name.  

Focus on your design. The first thing people notice when they visit your blog, is the way it looks. And although the old adage goes that one shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, the same isn’t always true for a blog. If you want people to stay on your blog, you’ve got to hook them with an eye catching design; once they’re interested in the appearance, they’ll start reading to see what you’re all about.

• Create a title/header that matches the theme and content of your blog. A clean, well designed header will tell readers a lot about your blog, and hopefully have them sticking around.
• Keep your color scheme to a maximum of three hues. Too many colors can appear overwhelming, and distract readers from content. Choose at least one or two neutral colors, and one or two bright/bolder colors.
• Create a small logo or image to represent your blog, if applicable. Having a ‘brand’ will make your blog memorable, and help others to recognize it when they see the logo around the internet.

Organize your content. If you have a great design and content, you have to be sure to have great organization to match. If readers can’t find what they’re looking for easily, they’ll be much less likely to visit again in the future or to recommend your blog to others. Create a navigation bar at the top of the page or in a column, with links to common articles. Furthermore, set up a ‘tag’ system in which you can tag articles with keywords or phrases that will make it easier for readers to search.

• If you’re coding-savvy enough, add a search bar to your blog. This will allow your readers to search from within your blog content without scrolling through pages of titles or links they’re not interested in.
• Create general categories/links for your nav bar, with more specific sub-categories for each general link. This will make searching your blog easier.

Focus on your target audience. Although you likely want anyone and everyone to start reading your blog, typically only a specific target audience will make up the primary readership. Look at popular blogs that are similar to yours or how you want your to be, and emulate the ways in which they hook their audience on content. By creating specific.

Add interesting images. People are visual, and they’re more likely to read an article or blog post if there are images to accompany it. If you’re a photographer or graphic designer, use your creative know-how to prepare images that fit the content of each individual blog post you create. If you’re not so artsy, use images from the web (with permission/linked sources) interspersed throughout your writing.

Link to yourself. If you have a stockpile of blog posts you’ve already published, don’t hesitate to give them a shout-out in your new posts! Readers will be drawn deeper into your blog with each link, and be more likely to stick around and explore a bit if you provide plenty of links.

Post regularly. If you have great content but only post once a month, even the most loyal followers will eventually get burnt out on waiting for an update from you. Try to set up a regular blogging schedule, so that you’re posting at least once a week. Keep in mind, the more you post, the more chances you have to get readers.
Use social media platforms to promote your blog. Possibly the most effective way to promote readership outside your friends and family is to promote your blog on social media. Although it can be difficult to manage multiple accounts, if you’re able to juggle your presence between a few different sites, you’ll likely notice a significant increase in viewers. Consider using social media platforms such as:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Pinterest
• Instagram
• Reddit
• LinkedIn
• Google+
• Tumblr

Participate in other blog communities. If you’re an avid reader of other blogs in your genre, you’ve probably noticed that people will comment with links to their own blogs at the end of popular posts. Commenting alone is a great way to get your name and ideas out in the world, but if you’re able to add a link to your blog as well, you’ll likely grab a few attentive readers. This is good, because the people who click through to your blog are likely some of the most loyal, possibly gaining you a solid following.