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Health & Fitness

First in a Series: #1 Tip to Increase Traffic to Your Blog or Website

Here’s the thing: In teaching traffic strategies it’s important to play along and listen to instructions. Here’s what I asked for in last weeks blog, Traffic Strategies That Work:

I asked: “What are your biggest business frustrations, and specifically your biggest ONLINE obstacles?  Lack of traffic? A list that goes out to your mother and brother?  Period? Don’t show up on a Google search? Can’t get any Facebook fans?”

And then I instructed: “Share them with me down below, if you’d be so kind, as I’m planning a series now that will target different online obstacles each week with a video series I’m putting together and I want to make sure I’m targeting your issues specifically.”

Here’s what happened:

  • I received: 6 emails with folks telling me their website issues,
  • 1 email from a concerned client correcting my lousy math skills when I noted my traffic growth claim that it has jumped 100%....In fact it jumped 2000%.   (‘My bad, and thanks again, Tom)
  •  and 3 phone calls asking for help.
 You all know who you are. And I love you, and am most definately open to your emails and phone calls as a matter of course.  But people, I ask you: how am I supposed to help you help yourselves if you will not follow instructions? 

Here is the Good News:
100% of the requests that I've received so far have been focussed on building traffic to your website or blog and list building. I was hoping for this. So great.  But here is why  when I ask you to 'comment below', I mean 'comment below'.  

Because This is traffic strategy #1: Comment on others blogs, especially blogs where your target market might be visiting, and especially blogs that get high traffic.  It’s easy to check to see what kind of traffic their blog commands by checking their Alexa rating at Alexa.com-with Alexa, the lower the rating, the higher the traffic. Generally, if a site does not show up at all on Alexa, then most likely are not yet getting any significant traffic, so your comments in this case will not necessarily garner you a big following, although I definitely advocate commenting anyway if you have valuable feedback. This is how we all grow and paying it forward will come back to you. Folks generally welcome this and you are now becoming an expert on someone else’s site, in front of their audience. Reciprocate. Ask if they’d like to guest blog on your site. You’re now adding value with another expert voice. Always make sure you’re including a link to your blog/website so that you get the backlink, as Google looks highly and ranks well sites with numerous backlinks. The other great reason to comment on “like” blogs is that you are now in front of a whole new audience who you can speak to. The hope is that if  your content is interesting enough, you will get some followers of your own from their followers. This is a major reason why my traffic has grown, and it can be for you as well.

Here’s a big warning however:
Make sure that you are not commenting anything spammy or not relevant to the blog itself. This is an obvious link building technique that Google is all over and in its’ new Penguin algorithms is checking for and will punish you for. In other words, the comments and the blogs must be relevant to your topic and your niche. If you own a tire center and you are commenting on tire specials on a hair salons blog about hair styles and trends, that is a big no-no. Expect consequences.

On the Receiving End
You have reason for suspicion if a comment floats across your blog that reads anything like:  

“I absolutely adore your most excellent words that flow to my heart in big leaps and binds. Please accept this as a monumental gesture of live and devotion. I honor your intention….and your calves. Buy Firestone snow tires.”

…or something like that. These spammer wannabee’s need to be smacked down with a great little plug-in that all Wordpress bloggers should have installed called Askimet,.(com) which will filter out the majority of the spam trying to eek its’ way into your blog. Receiving it is not (I repeat, is NOT) a coup, it’s just another site trying to get backlinks, which again, if not relevant to your topic will be given Google detention.

So going forward,
do yourselves a favor, a traffic favor, and when reading a blog that speaks to you and you are asked for comments or suggestions, make it a priority to do that in the comment section of the blog itself. It’s a great way of building your authority, credibility and traffic to your own website or blog.

So please COMMENT BELOW and let me know your issues with building traffic, and questions about commenting
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