The subject of getting traffic to a website is a BIG topic. It has a lot of moving parts and some things work better for some than for others. There is no single effective method to build traffic. If there were, everybody would be doing it.
It is true, however, that some things tend to be more effective than others. My personal experience in this business has shown this. And I’ve seen new bloggers over-emphasize certain things and they end up wasting time.
So, I’ve devised a chart to rank certain popular traffic generation methods in terms of effectiveness, scaled from 0 to 10. 0 means it is mostly a waste of time, and 10 means it works insanely well.
Now, first off, let me note something for you…
This is my OPINION. As I set at the outset, nothing is set in stone here and some people make things work better than for others. M’kay?
Alright, some details…
Launching A Product With Affiliates
For me, this was the single most effective traffic generation I ever did. For me, it was the second launch of Blog Masters Club. I had people like Darren Rowse (Problogger), John Chow, Robb Sutton, and many others…. all of them were promoting for me. That, of course, brought a lot of traffic over as people checked me out.
Plus, there’s a not-so-hidden truth about this (and perhaps some just don’t have the balls to say it, but I will)… when they’re trying to get their readers to buy, they naturally say good things about me. Right? It is extremely powerful social proof in the niche. Even if the reader doesn’t end up buying from me, I’ve benefited strongly from all these people saying great things about me.
It is what Jeff Walker has called “the launch echo”.
Guest Posting
Guest posting continues to be effective, however I believe that effectiveness is waning in some niches. In the blogging niche, it is waning because guest posting is now so common that readers don’t tend to click on the bio link at the bottom.
The “trick” here is to stand out. A solid example is Derek Halpern, from Social Triggers, essentially “guest posting” on blogs in the form of video blog evaluations. Two things to note here:
- It is a video, which automatically stands out in a sea of written posts.
- It places him in automatic authority position, since he is now evaluating the blog of a person who is the authority of that particular “tribe”. Those readers see that person taking advice from Derek, which automatically places Derek on a pedestal.
Smart marketing, and I’ve told Derek as much in our private chats. 
SEO
SEO is effective, of course. That said, it is a lot of work. You have to specifically target long-tail search phrases that people are looking for and where you have a chance to outrank.
I’m not going to get into a whole thing on SEO (it is, in itself a huge topic), but needless to say, done correctly, it draws traffic.
Videos & Podcasting
Multimedia works well. Videos hold attention very well. Plus, online video is becoming more and more mainstream as it is now finding its way onto televisions through devices like Apple TV or Roku. Essentially, web-based video is slowing pouncing on the territory traditionally dominated by cable TV stations. And people are USED to sitting there and consuming video. They like it.
Video can also be a double-edged sword. It can still bore the snot out of people quickly and do you no favors. Also, like any web content, a video has to be SEO optimized in order for people to find it.
Podcasting is not nearly as mainstream as video, but it is still a powerful traffic generator when done right. Pat Flynn has generated a lot of traffic from his podcast. While I’ve not done it personally, I know enough about it to relay this advice… iTunes is a search engine. So, your podcast has to be SEO optimized according to the rules of iTunes. So, if you have a podcast with compelling copy, targeted search optimization, good topics… you can pull in listeners. Make it professional and use the platform to routinely pull people to your site for various incentives.
Blog Commenting
With this one, we’re starting to get into the less effective ways to draw traffic. See, blog commenting works, but it is basically a big game of back link generation. It isn’t going to work any miracles. It takes time, and it takes a LOT of commenting. But, the volume of backlinks can help your search rankings and, in turn, traffic.
The usual rules apply. Make the name field of the comment SEO targeted. And use real, human comments that fit the conversation and not stupid spammy ones.
Article Marketing
This one is losing effectiveness, in my view. Some many disagree. It still works, and like commenting, it is basically a big back link game. Some people do article marketing and notice no real effects. Others do it and it has a noticeable effect on traffic. But, Google is smart and they’re not fond of being gamed. So, while this tactic still has some effectiveness, it isn’t the magic pill it was once thought to be.
I’d recommend doing it, but don’t expect it to be a traffic miracle. Do it for back links. And you might draw some people over from the big directories like EZineArticles.
Social Media
A lot of bloggers overemphasize the traffic generation power of social media. They do it as their primary way of promoting their blog. But, the truth is that it has limited effectiveness when compared to the time demands.
To really draw people from social media, you have to be VERY active. Because you can’t just one-way flow links out there and get attention. You have to actually interact and provoke conversation and that takes time.
For most people, Twitter feels like talking into a sea of noise. Even your “followers” don’t notice most of what you say because of all that noise. It reduces effectiveness.
Facebook has a much higher level of user engagement. But, still, building up the fan base is an uphill climb unless you have other platforms to build inertia from. Your best bet is to get really active in related groups. Also, hold creative marketing campaigns to build up page fans. Giveaways can work. Watch what mommy bloggers do on Facebook. You can learn a lot.
Writing More Often
Writing more often can help you a bit when your search rankings since Google loves often-updated sites. But, in and of itself, writing a lot is NOT a traffic generator. For most new bloggers, increasing post frequency to build traffic is just an exercise in frustration.
Simply put, nobody knows about you. So, you’re talking to yourself. So, you have to do some of the other things mentioned above to get “out there”. Go where the people are, engage them, and attract them to your blog.
Have A Traffic Strategy
There are numerous other ways to build traffic that I haven’t even mentioned. Facebook ads, ad swaps, paid email drops, etc.
Most bloggers find traffic difficult because they are always focusing on the low-hanging fruit. And they don’t want to work very hard or pay anything.
The best traffic generators are the ones most people don’t want to do – because it takes more creativity and takes more work.
Traffic isn’t this big invisible force field, oppressing new bloggers. Please, nobody organize an “Organize Cyberspace” protest to protest the oppression of “big evil sites” keeping the little guys down. Nah. Its just a matter of some being willing to do what it takes.
David Risley has been building and operating authority blogs for 15 years, and operating a six-figure business doing it for a decade.
Far too many people work from the bottom of that list (myself included!) and I happen to agree with you as far as the order of relevance and importance.
An interesting data-point I stumbled on one day was looking at “time spent on site” in my site analytics. When a visitor comes to my site from a certain site that posts my “guest posts”, the average time of that visitor on my site skyrockets compared to visitors from other sources.
Very true. In a way, you’ve “pre-qualified” them and they’re more interested than somebody just casually surfing around.
This is very true and exactly why SEO traffic is sometimes overrated IMO. The conversion rates for people coming to your site when they’ve either heard about you by an authority or read something you’ve written (guest post) are much higher versus cold SEO traffic.
A couple of years ago I got an article published by Microsoft for my old tech site and that was my best sales day in the history of that site.
Hi David.
Awesome info here.
You are for sure a great mentor when it comes to adding value to my blogging approach.
I don’t know if I am unique or. But I learned that with traffic I was looking at the wrong end of the funnel. I was looking at the wide end. It was all about quantity. So if there was some kind of strategy it was to fill that funnel with as much people as possible.
The numbers was nice, but they all was passing bye. And they did not bother returning back. So all I experienced was a lot of people just passing bye. I had at the time on Twitter account that had over 10000 followers and was growing. Had a Facebook Fan Page where numbers was growing.
It looked really good, but absolutely nothing happened!!
And it was not because I wasn’t smart or educated enough. I was just blinded by focusing to much on quantity.
Now quantity is not bad thing at all. It is just the wrong starting point.
Through your training and blog post you told me to do something very simple. It is amazing how those simple change sometime makes a huge difference.
You told me I had to start looking on the narrow end of the funnel first. Focus on the quality, and it will bring you the quantity. Plus in one email you told I needed to brainstorm new approaches.
I closed the Twitter account and Facebook Fan Page. Yes I have a new Twitter account and Facebook Fan Page. Now people are not only stopping by, but they also take time to share my info.
So on top of my Traffic List – 1. Listen to David and apply his principles in ways that fit my blog and niche
Cheers..
Are Morch
Hotel Advisor and Social Media Strategist
This post is really useful to me, David. I’ve been debating where to spend my energy, and I’ve accumulated a great deal of learning on how to do each of these things — but being a newcomer it’s hard to evaluate how they “rank” for me. You gave me enough information to help me understand how these things will play out for me compared to one another – which is a little different from how they have worked out for your business. Thank you!
It’s not so much that I work from the bottom of the list as I have been really hunting for where to put my priorities on traffic generation. Thanks for the insight.
David
I agree with you on most points, but still think it’s structure and consistency no matter which you choose, right. Pick a few and go and do it consistently. Not having launched anything yet, I can only imagine it is by far the most effective way to drive traffic.
Thanks for your perspective. Another confirmation is always helpful
Mark
Dave,
I’ve received a few clicks back from comments on both your site (Thanks) and Pat Flynn’s. Desiring more traffic I’m beginning to experiment with both Google Adwords (using the free $100 credit they offer) and some article marketing. As I’m just starting this we’ll have to see how it works out. I plan in the next few weeks to work in some video as well. It may be a good differentiator if done right.
This post has good, practical info that you don’t see most places. Thanks.
I wouldn’t use Adwords to send traffic to a blog. That’s a great way to waste money.
Agreed but it’s their money and I’m experimenting. As of 3 days we have 13 clicks, 1.23% click through and 0 clicks on the affiliate that I’m advertising for and 0 adsense clicks on the page.
…well I can always work at McDonalds.
Does guest posting really help in traffic? Yes, that is so true! My blog was posted on a popular website and it generated a lot of traffic for my wordpress website. All these points I already knew, but thanks anyway!
Thanks Dave..
How do I submit guest posts for your blog?
There’s a link on my contact page about that.
Thanks
That’s an interesting chart. I think the critical factor is being aware of the results and striking a good balance.
I started basically top down with a faceless blog and had tons of seo based traffic. I could push profit easily enough with ads, but interaction and true fans were non-existent. When I added a personality, social media, and higher quality, the response was almost immediate in interaction.
Ultimately people should strive to cover the spectrum, but too much on either end can lead to burnout. Like you say, writing to yourself is no fun. Neither is writing to appease the Google machine!
Great post.
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Your are right about these methods of traffic and the order they go in but I personally would move the posting often up a few notches. This brings in great traffic, especially if you have RSS feed listed everywhere.
Another good one is yahoo answers and forums.. Actual links leading to problem solving answers.. That is a great one if you are the one with the right answer on the internet.
Also I think that the way to get traffic has always been the same.
People often think that there are secrets, but we all know there isn’t!
This is true.
Yeah, this scale is a relative one, and obviously some may think the ordering should be adjusted. I just created it based on my own experience.
A very interesting graph and shows that what most people are doing, including myself is low down the list as an effective way of increasing traffic. I would place Facebook and video higher and include article syndication.