Boot the blog exchange! 20 ways to generate REAL traffic!

August 16th 2006 -

Problogger’s got another Group Writing Project going, this time focusing on lists. And to make the deal even sweeter, they’re giving away prizes. Click here to learn more. Anyway, I participated, and here’s my submission.

Blog exchanges. Most bloggers use them. They’re a great way to get hits for your blog. But hits don’t necessarily translate to readers. In fact, most of your “visitors” will stare at your blog for a split second, then go back to watching the timer for the next 30 seconds or so. And even less will care to comment. But not to worry my friends. Here are 20 ways to build genuine traffic (in no particular order).

1. Use Technorati - This works best if you publish a post while the topic is still hot.
2. Host “hot” images - Heavily searched for after pictures will attract visitors to your blog, and many will read the post relating to the picture.
3. Use MySpace - From movies to bands, MySpace is being used heavily to draw people’s attention. Why not do the same for your blog?
4. Join webrings - Most webrings attract a small amount of traffic, but they’re a heck of a lot better than credits. And they never run out!
5. Comment on related posts - If you post on a topic, use Google Blogsearch or Technorati to find related posts and comment on them.
6. Guest posting - Write a guest post for someone or allow your readers to write a guest post for you. Writing for someone will gain you a wider audience and allowing your readers to write a guest post for you will make them feel as if you are interested in what they have to say.
7. Get involved in the Blogosphere - Write articles for Global Voices, participate in events such as the Blogathon and even group writing projects such as this one.
8. Submit articles to Del.icio.us - If it doesn’t work at first, keep trying. Make sure you submit your best articles.
9. Comment on Technorati Top 100 blogs - These blogs are obviously very popular, and some of their readership might spill over to you.
10. Join Blog Carnivals - Blog Carnivals such as this one are a great way to gain like-minded readers, as they pool related topics into a “carnival.”
11. Return comments - One of the easiest ways to gain genuine traffic. If some leaves a comment, return the favour.
12. Submit an article to digg - Digg is mainly for techies, so it’s best to submit something of that nature. Or, if you have a post that relates to a heavily dugg topic, post a link to it in the comments.
13. Encourage distribution of your content - Leave links at the end of your posts to submit them to various social bookmarking sites, email, etc.
14. Submit an article to Boing Boing - This will be difficult indeed, but if it succeeds, the traffic will be worth it.
15. Do link exchanges - Not with n00b blogs, but with serious blogs with serious readers. A blog with no comments on virtually all its posts is not a good candidate.
16. Leave links everywhere! - Seriously, flood the Internet with them! Someone will eventually click.
17. Syndicate - Most bloggers have implemented syndication of their blogs. If you haven’t, what are you waiting for?
18. Encourage readers to return - Once someone leaves your blog, there’s no gurantee he/she is coming back, so leave options open for them to return, such as adding you to their favourites.
19. Break the news - Difficult, but worth it.

And finally, the last (and probably the most important tip),
20. Write good posts - Good content always attracts traffic.

Whew! Quite a list. I hope these tips will help you to boot the blog exchange, or at least use it less.

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14 Responses on “Boot the blog exchange! 20 ways to generate REAL traffic!”

Melody Says:
August 16th, 2006 at 11:57 pm
U know de Blog bizniz!!
John Says:
August 17th, 2006 at 9:19 am
Nice list. I think that webrings and blog carnivals are the key, because people who are interested in your topic are more likely to come back or link. Hosting a blog carnival is even better.
Mama Duck Says:
August 17th, 2006 at 11:57 am
Excellent ideas. Hosting the carnival of the vanities really helped to jumpstart my blog, it was not quite a month old at the time and gained a lot of traffic from this - more so than submitting to the carnivals, altho I do that as well. Many different links from many different places - some of the most unexpected or unlikely people have given me the most traffic of late, actually. Our list is up if you’d like to look… have a great day!
Shadows Edge Says:
August 17th, 2006 at 2:21 pm
Nice list. I haven’t really checked out blog carnivals or webrings yet. Guess I need to add it to my list of things to do.
Jersey Girl Says:
August 17th, 2006 at 3:19 pm
Nice list…i agree with webrings as well..and have just started dabbling with carnivals.
Angela Says:
August 17th, 2006 at 3:24 pm
great post! thanks for the info!
Dr. D. Says:
August 17th, 2006 at 3:35 pm
I’d say number 20 is the most important, all else secondary. Traffic amounts to nutten really. If I don’t get comments….I stop blogging. Pronto!
Jaypee Says:
August 17th, 2006 at 3:52 pm
excellent post! i’ll try to apply some of it. i certainly need to work on my blog’s traffic. i don’t get that much. this tips would certainly help me out. first thing i’m doing is exchange links with you, that’s if you don’t mind.
baggage Says:
August 17th, 2006 at 6:31 pm
Thanks for this. I never thought about hosting a carnival. I think that is a great idea.
Konquest Says:
August 17th, 2006 at 8:27 pm
Writing good content should be at the top of this list. All esle should/will come after you write good content.

Content is king!
Abeni Says:
August 17th, 2006 at 8:30 pm
Great tips.But I say write well and you will build a following
CO Says:
August 17th, 2006 at 9:37 pm
Great tips. I never heard of “blog carnaval” before. I’m definitely checking it out.
Josh Maher Says:
August 17th, 2006 at 9:38 pm
Interesting list of tips…..

http://joshmaher.wordpress.com/2006/08/14/top-ten-reasons-you-should-not-blog/
JJ Says:
August 22nd, 2006 at 4:46 pm
Rule #2 is so true. I get at least 100 hits a day from Google image searches. There’s something about cameltoes and mooseknuckles that attract tons of people.