Tips for increasing blog traffic for small businesses: a quick overview

While completing my usual weekly review of articles, blogs and postings on the topics most important to small business marketing, I came across a comprehensive list of tips for increasing blog traffic. It was so rich with information that I couldn’t pass up sharing an overview of the tips I thought were most relevant to you – our blog followers.

Content should be SEO-friendly

• Just like your website copy, blog copy should be high-quality and informative
• Use keywords where possible but especially in your title and headline
• Useful information is more likely to be shared by your readers

Connect your blog to your profiles

• Add a link to your blog in your social media profiles (Facebook, Linkedin, etc.), in your online videos and in your email signature

Design can impact traffic and sharing

• Keep it simple but attractive and relevant to your business
• You don’t need to be a designer to have a visual appealing blog that readers will want to spend time reading and sharing

Offer an RSS Feed or email subscription

• Entice followers to come back and read new posts and information

Link to other posts

• If your subject touches upon a topic you’ve covered in another blog post include a link to it
• Link to other bloggers’ posts if they are relevant to yours. For example, this post is summarizing 21 Tactics to Increase Blog Traffic (Updated 2012). Read the full version at www.seomoz.org/blog/21-tactics-to-increase-blog-traffic-2012.

Share your posts via Social Networking

• Need an instant status update for your Facebook page? Link to your latest blog post
• Tweet your blog topic and a link

Add Google Analytics and use the results

• We encourage all our website clients to add Google analytics to their sites and a blog is essentially another website
• It’s free and offers a wealth of information about visits, keywords and more
• Check out our recent post about Taking advantage of Google Analytics here.
  

One of the best tips, listed: Don’t Give Up

• As with a website, it takes time and a little legwork to make it success
• Be patient and keep on trying

We’re always available to help you complete many of these recommendations for your blog or website. We can even help you design and maintain a blog.  Check out our website www.WebSwagger.com to find out more.