Generate Free Targeted Website Traffic (15 tactics)
I really think every e-commerce site should contain a blog in order to generate free targeted website traffic. Following my collaborations with a significant number of e-commerce sites of different brands and volume, I realized that blogging was the most efficient way to create free traffic.
Quality blog content can generate traffic from searches, social sharing, and recommendations from other sites and blogs.
However, do not take my word for it. A survey by Hubspot revealed comparable advantages:
“As a result, we discovered that companies that were publishing blog posts the more often per month, the more they generate free targeted website traffic. Companies publishing more than 16 blog articles monthly received 3.5 times more visitors than those publishing between 0 and 4 monthly blog articles.”
In addition, blogs help you establish your brand, build your expertise, answer questions; and strengthen customer loyalty. Blogging allows you not only to increase your traffic for free, but also to improve your e-commerce conversion rate.
Obviously, blogging is not just about writing an article and expecting sales to begin to accumulate. You have to learn how to make your blog known for free. Fortunately, it is much easier to promote a blog than a product; and you are likely to make sales at the same time, because your blog is used to indirectly promote your brand.
You could also use the Shopify’s buying button to retail products from your blog!
It all begins with the quality
Creating high quality content is the first and crucial step when it comes to creating traffic. It’s not just about publishing a blog article. We need to create quality content to be able to be noticed, that is to say:
- Cover a totally new subject.
- Better deal with a given topic than anywhere else.
- Dealing with an existing subject in a unique way.
If you cannot implement any of these strategies for your blog, it will be difficult to promote it.
This first strategy is the most tricky to implement. You will realize that usually the subject on which you wish to write has previously been processed. But if you are in an original niche, or have the possibility to be the only one to write about a given topic, then don’t hesitate!
The next strategy will allow you to create captivating content. By treating a topic in a totally different way or by simplifying it, you add value to the readers.
The third strategy is to treat a subject in a different manner. This could mean writing by adopting a distinct perspective, using more visuals, sharing new ideas, or highlighting findings in a unique way.
Prior to starting, first do some research to study your competition using some tools like Jaaxy. Also do a keyword search on Google and see the results listed on the front page to get a better idea of the type of content that gets the most interest.
Promoting a blog starts with ideas for content. Before you start writing, reflect on how you will optimize your content.
15 tactics to generate FREE targeted website traffic
Once your content is created, it’s time to advertise it. These tactics are simple and effective; you can apply one or more of them according to your needs.
1. Sharing on social networks
Any time you post a new blog article, be sure to share it on social networks. If you do not already own a social media community, it’s time to build one. When it comes to sharing your content, do not limit yourself to a single share; keep sharing your articles at intervals of a few weeks or months.
2. Start a contact campaign
If you do not already have a community established on social networks or an e-mail list, try to leverage someone else’s audience. You could partner with other bloggers, e-commerce site owners and influencers willing to share your content on social networks or with subscribers on their e-mail list. You just have to ask.
Make a list of potential partners who may be curious about your offer or interested in your content, and get in contact with them. What would be the worst thing that could happen? They could refuse? It does not matter. But, they could also be interested.
3. Use the links as a lure
Occasionally, you could directly start making contact by introducing other blog users and e-commerce site owners in your articles. It is here to use this type of content as a bait to flatter the prides of the people mentioned; you increase the likelihood that these people sharing your article or the URL of your article on their website.
You can do this by writing a paragraph about them, posting a link that points to their website, or even asking them to participate in creating the content. The best part about all this is that by including already established experts, your content will add more value to your readers.
If the person you are writing to is not aware that you are going to mention it in your article, send them an e-mail or a social media message to let them know.
4. Post guest articles on others’ blogs
Guest articles are another way to generate free targeted website traffic by taping into the audience of others already established online. Guest blogging is an effective way to create traffic to your blog and make your website popular. The key is to ensure that the right audience is targeted. Write a relevant article that will interest your target audience, ensuring that you include one or two links pointing to your site.
5. Post comments on other blogs
You may use comments on blogs to buildup a relationship with other bloggers and reach their readers. While you leave interesting and useful comments, not only will the author read them, but his audience might also notice them; and it might be that they are searching for your name to get to your site. If you think it’s appropriate, you might even leave a link to your site in the comment directly.
6. Show up in Forums
The forums can also serve you to generate free targeted website traffic. There are several forums where members come together to discuss particular subjects. Just as with blog commenting tactics, you can make your website known and establish yourself as an expert by becoming active in forums conversations and adding value. Other members may click on your profile link; and also you could even directly insert a link pointing to any of your blog contents in your comment if the forum rules allow it.
7. Use a “social lock” to hide your content
You can prompt readers to share your post while they are reading it using a “social lock.” Consequently, to access the rest of the content, readers needs to share the article on social networks. This tactic will work, but only if people are really interested in the content you are concealing. Relevant downloads or other items may also work well in this case.
8. Organize a competition
You can publicize your website by organizing a contest properly using specialised tools you can find online. Internet users can participate in different ways; by leaving comments, through social sharing, or by subscribing to your e-mail list. All these actions will allow you to generate traffic immediately, or allow you to build a community to be able to create traffic afterwards. The key to a successful contest is choosing a prize that will appeal to people but will only attract your niche viewers. For example, do not offer money; instead offer your product or anything else in connection with your niche.
9. Be active on Facebook groups
Facebook groups can also be used to promote your blog and content. You are probably already part of several Facebook groups in your niche; if not, have a rapid look and join a few groups. You can not only read the publications of other members to generate ideas for content creation, but also share your finalized work with members of a passionate community. In any case, be sure to publish a valuable blog article, while taking into consideration the rules of the group.
10. Submit your content to content-management websites
There are several online websites and magazines dedicated to curating content related to a particular topic. Each one of them use a method based on positive and negative votes to assess the popularity of the content. Therefore, if such sites exist in your niche, send them your content. Digg is a popular one; WebDesignerNews focus only on a specific niche.
11. Respond to journalists’ queries on Response Source
Obviously, being mentioned by the media can allow you to advertise your site. Use a medium like Response Source to get e-mail requests directly from journalists. If you think you can assist a journalist, send him a well-thought-out answer. If the latter uses your reply to write his story, he/she will usually add a link pointing to your blog for readers who want to know more.
12. Syndicate your blog
Although you need to write totally fresh stories for guest blogging, you can submit your existing articles on other sites. We call this “content syndication“. Therefore, you could search websites dealing with your particular niche to syndicate your blog; then there are also more commonly known platforms like Medium or LinkedIn. Make sure to include multiple links pointing to your blog and invite readers to click on it to discover more quality content.
13. Build an e-mail list
With a bit of luck, you might have already started building a mailing list on your website. If you only promote your products in your e-mailing, your contacts will probably unsubscribe. Instead, keep adding value between sending sales messages by also sending interesting and interesting blog posts. This will not only make potential customers return to your website, but also increase the likelihood that your visitors will share your content on social networks; enabling you to extend your reach.
14. Use Reddit
There is a huge community on Reddit that loves spending time on the Internet. Find sub-scripts related to your niche or about your blog article, and start participating. When you want to promote a new blog post, you will need to share it in a relevant sub-reddit. Here, it is not a question of inserting a simple link; likewise, the key to success is to make sure you start a useful or interesting discussion.
15. Answer questions on Quora
Quora is a platform where people ask and answer questions. Discussion threads exist on virtually every topic, and you can insert links in your answers. Also, when answering a question, you could for example insert a link pointing to an article in your blog that deals with the topic more in depth. Several of these threads will be consulted for months or years to come.
Writing quality blog articles requires time. After you have made the efforts, make sure you do whatever is needed to have your content read. Apart from the tactics presented in this article, there are several other ways to publicize your site.
And you, do you know of other ways to promote a blog? Share them with us in the comments section!
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Thanks for reading generate free targeted website traffic
I hope that you have enjoyed this article and that you will test a few of the ways I have described to generate free targeted website traffic. Any questions? Please use the box below and I will respond as soon as possible. If you enjoyed this article please share it socially and leave a comment below, I will hugely appreciate it!
John
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This is a great post for people like me that just got into blogging I have written 23 posts in 2 months but do not know how to bring people to read them. Thanks to you I have a better idea now thanks for the help.
Thanks for visiting my website Rodney. As I can see you are a very prolific writer. Your question is how to get people to read your content? I am assuming that you are targeting the right keywords, but I find your articles rather short. Google likes content that is over a thousand words. You should try that, even if it means that you post less often. Then you need to promote your site and articles. Share on social media, and promote on LeadsLeap. If you can afford the PRO membership, go for it.
I wish you the very best and I look forward to seeing you succeed with your online venture.
John ツ
Well, thank you for valuable strategies. Some of them I knew before, but I also found many new, that didn’t know -like Quora and Reddit–and I am interested to test these tactics. Thank you for this very informative post!
Thanks for stopping by Olina, and for taking the time to post a comment. Indeed it is very important to share your articles on social platforms as often as possible, as Google loves that. Also, as you have discovered, there are many other websites where you can promote your articles, not only Quora or Reddit, but also the most popular platform called LeadsLeap.
Let me know if you have any questions.
All the best.
John ツ
Hi John,
Being new to blogging, I can really appreciate this post. How much do I appreciate? Well, I’ve bookmarked it, so please don’t take it down any time soon. I’ll need to refer to it.
Your post has a lot good advice for new bloggers. Getting website traffic is a new bloggers struggle and may result in a new blogger giving up too early.
I knew of some of the advice that you gave but I didn’t think of platforms like Digg or Reddit. I’ll look into these.
Thanks again for this post. It was very helpful.
All the best,
Marco
Thanks for visiting my blog and for your kind words Marco. Don’t worry, I have no intention of taking this article down, instead I plan to post more interesting information on a regular basis, so stay tuned. I am an expert in social media marketing so I swear by sharing well written content on social media, there is a great need for good stuff.
I am glad that you enjoyed reading this article and I look forward to seeing you here often.
Best wishes,
John ツ
I tried posting guest articles on others’ blogs but I can’t seem to get a positive answer. What do you prefer for me?
Thanks for your comment Furkan. There is a procedure to follow for that, and here is e very well written tutorial by Pj, my favorite mentor: Increase Website Traffic with Guest Posting. Hope this helps you succeed with your online venture.
I wish you an awesome ‘wealth building’ day!
John ツ
How can I use twitter to generate organic traffic. My blog has enough articles but getting audience is a hassle.
Thanks for your question Justich. Unfortunately it is not enough to have loads of articles on your website, you need to help the search engines know that you exist, so sharing your articles on social media is very important.
Secondly, it is advisable to promote your articles.
After you have tried these two options, if you have any questions, please do come back to me, I will be more that happy to help you.
I wish you an awesome ‘wealth building’ day!
John ツ
Hi John,
I did use links as a lure. However I didn’t contact the blog owners to let them know. I was hoping that maybe they would have found my blog. After reading this article I think I will drop them an email so thanks for the tip.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Owain and I am glad that you found something useful in this article. Please do let me know if you have any questions.
I wish you an awesome ‘wealth building’ day!
John ツ
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