20-Feb-2008
How To Get Lots Of Free Traffic
I had a couple of questions asked about how to get lots of traffic. This came about because I mentioned that in January, on one of my blogs, I had 148753 unique visitors. I also said about how another of my blogs managed over 40,000 hits in one day.  There is no real big secret, no magic wand - unfortunately. As I see it there are Two Parts to getting traffic. The first is the same as you will read everywhere. It's a matter of routine, sometimes boring, in that you do something everyday to attract more referrals. The things usually mentioned are the likes of: leaving comments on other blogs, participating in forums, exchanging links, blog directories, writing articles, social networking, using keywords properly, publishing blog carnivals, offering a freebie on Craig's List and so on. You've no doubt read all of this before. And, of course, you mustn't forget to make it easy for readers to subscribe with Feedburner or something similar. This is what I call the bread and butter of blogging. It's stuff that needs to be done to create a solid foundation. If it's all done systematically it will bring traffic. Okay so that, very briefly, is Part One. Now we move quickly on to Part Two.  There is still no magic wand but, if Part One is the bread and butter, Part Two is the cake - iced and decorated just how you like it.Problem is, like decorating a cake, so my wife tells me, it takes time and concentration. It's about, what those self help books call, going the extra mile. It's the newspaper exclusive scoop if you like. You have to find something, in your niche, that people are desperate to read, something they are searching for on Google, Yahoo and so on. In other words fulfil their need. It's also about writing something, where the content is a bit special, so other blogs will want to link to the post. Link Baiting in other words. I'll give you an example from one of my celebrity blogs to illustrate what I mean.  Late last year George Clooney was seen with a new girlfriend Sarah Larson. All the celeb blogs had this story and it's unlikely that a newish blog would get many referrals from the name George Clooney as a keyword. The big guys are all on the Google first page.I started, however, 'investigating' Sarah Larson. The blogs all repeated the same stuff that she was an actress and model. "So how come no one knows anything about her," I asked myself. I hit lucky and found out that Sarah Larson had once been on a reality television show called Fear Factor. So I went back through their records year by year and, eureka, there she was in 2005 and there was a bio about her. She had told Fear Factor that she was a Go Go Dancer in Las Vegas - and this, though it might not sound much, was my Big Story. No one else had realised this, they were all busy copying what everyone else had written. I'd gone the extra mile! My Big Story was only 100 words but it was dynamite because people wanted to know about Sarah's background. It brought me in tens of thousand of hits. One link, from a big celeb website, sent me over 17,000 referrals alone. I even had an ex-boyfriend of Sarah's contact me. I did a post about this. Again this brought lots of hits. This was all in September 2007 and since then I've concentrated on trying to get exclusive or near exclusive stories, something that other bloggers haven't noticed. Sometimes they get lots of hits, sometimes they flop. Oh, and I suggest always following up a Big Story with further posts on the same subject. All of this, as I said before, takes time and effort. With blogging you get out what you put in. Now some other bloggers have said stuff like, "Yes but they are artificial hits, they aren't of much value." Rubbish!! This is just negativity. As far as I'm concerned all traffic is good traffic - even if they only arrive at the blog once - because they make me money. And that's why I'm bloggging. It's a numbers game, though the purists won't accept this. Get some visitors and you'll make some money. Get lots of visitors and you'll make lots of money. It all depends if you have the time, the drive and nose for a good story relative to your particular niche. It's a corny old cliche but content really is King - if it's the right content. Concentrate on Part One but have fun with Part Two when you have time. It's worth the effort because it makes money. Just my opinion, of course. Good luck, Mike. Sarah Larson Posts: Exclusive: Was Sarah Larson A Go Go Dancer More Information About Sarah Larson Exclusive: Sara Larson's Ex Boyfriend Contacts Celebrity Insider Photos Of Sarah Larson Before She Met George Clooney George Clooney And Sarah Larson In Accident Sarah Larson On Crutches Sara Larson: Is This The Look Of Love? Sarah Larson Could Cost George Clooney $100,000 Labels: Blogs, make money, Referrals, traffic |
I have heard a lot about your "part 1" but no one seems to go into as much depth as I would like. If you did more posts on the basics I would enjoy that. I am a new blogger starting out and am having a hard time getting much traffic. This could be ur exclusive :).
Insomnia helps as well, Mike...
I'm not joking because when the Stephanie story broke I was the first blogger to take the story up. That happened because I was wide awake at about 2.00am.
When her second video was leaked I was also the first to get it because the news started to hit at about 4.00am.
Excellent example Mike. If you haven't done so already, you should do a search for "Google is Like The Stock Market" at Blogger Unleashed as Vic also gives examples of how to write posts on topics that the "big boys" will have missed.
It's not always easy and I think it's an art form that your have to perfect over time. I think celebs are the most useless people on the planet but I have been trying to read up more about them.
Wow, you sound like a pro-journalist! I'm surprised no one has approached you to write articles for the magazines (though I guess the mags just look at blogs like yours and plagiarize!)
for the very first time, I finally found one expert spilling the real secret behind the true making money online.
I was just starting to believe that everything is a joke to get that much hits but now I know it can be true. All you need is to spend time and put your heart into it. It doesn't matter if you like what you write but knowing what you're writing about. It's still a lot of work to get a lot in return.
Thank you so much for the tip...
Fascinating insights, thank you
fascinating insights, thank you
Many thanks for all of the interesting comments - much appreciated.
Mike.
Great post. Its so true. Bloggers are always awarded for going that extra mile. Its the kind of information you would not find anywhere else..not easily atleast.
Isn't internet marketing all about generating as much traffic as possible and converting this traffic into signups and sales?
I know it is... that's why I concentrate on getting as much free traffic to my website as possible. Here is one great source that has helped me a lot. http://www.easy-viral-traffic.com/members.php
Wow!
Part 2 has impressed me so much!
I was thinking about this idea but couldn't concentrarate. Mike has helped me so much to do it!
As for me I also use free Impact Popup in my articles to attract visitors’ attention.
It works great! You cant try it too!
Impact Popup
Very interesting. My website is about Part 1 but I haven't given people much about pat 2. I will have to work on that.
check out my blog yonkerstruth.blogspot.com
Nice to see your blog about online business at home. It is having a nice posts in your blog adn I am also having a good website for getting traffic via promotion in our Indian Free Classifieds.
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