Grab FREE Ebook on Getting the First 1K Visits To Your Website
I am assuming you have started your blog, published a few posts on topics that interest you, and believe everything is perfect.
One month down, and no one’s viewing your posts.Ā
Are your posts crappy? Do people just hate you?
Probably not. They barely know you, nor have they stumbled across your posts.
You have tried implementing many tricks and methods, but none seems to work, from sharing links on social media with friends and groups. Commenting links to your blog on other websites, still nothing seems to work.
This is because these are spammy methods of getting traffic which will only get your site URL banned.
You are frustrated and think maybe blogging is not your thing. Well, if you quit, you won’t find out.
In simple terms, YOU ARE NOT GETTING TRAFFIC.
Whether you are an absolute beginner or have not figured out how to crack the first 1000 visits to your blog, I made this guide just for YOU.Ā It does not matter whether you are running a WordPress or blogger (Blogpost) blog, it does not matter.Ā
In fact, the first time I made the firework with the tips in this guide was with my first blog on Blogger.com, which some belief is hard to get traffic to since the platform is free.Ā
Since I had seen considerable growth on my blogger blog, I decided to scale and make things professional. I then moved to WordPress.
After reading (and taking action) on the tips in this guide, you will be in a position to attract the first thousand visitors to your blog in your first months of blogging (just like the way I did)
When writing this post in 2022, my website had just clocked 2000 users with 2.9K views and I was very excited.
Fast forward a year later, I kept being consistent with the major tips that matter, as you started out mentioned in this post, and now my numbers keep skyrocketing.
Update: As of January 2023, my website receives a whooping 10K users and 15K monthly views.
I will give you the exact blueprint I followed (and still largely follow) to build Workaguide to whooping monthly traffic of 11K views from Google as of 2023.
The traffic is largely organic, meaning it is not paid for. People keep visiting my blog day and night worldwide, with the primary dominant traffic from the USA.
Now here’s the thing.
I started in a similar position to you. I barely got traffic in my first days of blogging, felt depressed, and almost felt like quitting. I did everything I could, but nothing worked out. I even thought of running ads on Google for people to visit my blog, but I hardly had any penny in my pocket. Luckily, I gave it my last shot and kept on keeping on.
You notice that I did not promise you 10,000 or 50,000 visits because I know we all start from somewhere.
This guide is beginner centered. I know, as a beginner, the first 50, 100, or 300 visits matter the most.Ā
I know everyone starts somewhere, and that is exactly what you will get in this post to help you get the first 1000 visits. So do not be distracted by the big numbers other sites are driving, and focus on reaching the first measurable goal of traffic with your blog first.Ā
Briefly, I will be taking you through the Top 7 Strategies to Help You Get the first 1K visits to Your Website;
- Growing traffic using Search Engine Optimization
- Conducting Keyword Research
- Leveraging the Power of Forums
- Analyzing Ranking Pages
- Checking for Keyword Trends
- Repurposing Content
- Link Building
- Publishing Content
Note: This post might be long; bookmark it to keep referring to it occasionally.
Let me help you get the first 1000 visits to your blog without further ado!
What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?
You have probably heard or come across the term Search Engine Optimization. In short, it is referred to as SEO.
Search Engine Optimization refers to the process of optimizing content to enable it to rank on search engines and reach targeted users.
You need to apply SEO to enable your content to reach your desired audience.
First,
1. Find a Focus of Your Blog
As a beginner, you should circle down your focus area (s) first before you get to widen. You will not write just about any topic that pops into your mind on your blog.
It would be best if you found your zone. Restrict your content to specific categories.
My Golden approach is, ‘Start small and widen later.’
Start out super specific, exhaust a topic, and later explore other categories. This way, you build content clusters. You are building niche authority. In the eyes of Google, it establishes your site as an expert in the niche–and Google loves authority! This increases your chances of ranking.Ā
Being specific restricts your writing to a particular topic, such as ScreenRecorders or Screen Capture Software. The widening will then be; after niching down on a topic, you will explore other categories such as Streaming Software.
If you are keen enough, you must have noticed these categories are closely (semantically) related.
Note: Although finding a niche for your blog is important, do not restrict your domain to a niche-specific term like ScreenCaptureSoftware.com
Instead, choose a more general domain name that allows you to expand at any time, like SoftwareReviews.com. Such a site can contain product reviews of various types of software.
Back to business.
Writing Niche based content will help not only help your readers easily find you but also help Google crawlers understand what your blog content is about. Google’s crawlers and spiders will easily identify which content group your website identifies itself with and display it to searchers in need.
You do not want to write about weight loss, have readers visit your blog, and the next day, all they see are posts on choosing the right mortgage loan, which will hurt your readership.Ā
Summing up this section, finding a focus for your blog creates a niche content cluster, builds authority in the eyes of Google, and opens up interlinking opportunities on your blog, boosting your domain authority.
2. Keyword Research
Keyword Research is the process of finding search terms users use to search for content in search engines like Google. Keyword research helps you understand what readers are searching for (search intent), which helps make your content creation easier.Ā
You are simply creating content that people are searching for.
Pay attention
Keyword Research is very vital. Ignoring keyword research will have you writing articles around topics users are not searching for. You won’t get traffic in return.
So how do you go about that?
Before you ever start writing content, you must ask yourself these questions;
- Are people searching for topics around the content I’m writing about?
- If there are people searching topics I’m writing about, how many are they per month?
- How difficult or easy will it be to rank for the search terms I’m writing content around?
Any answers yet?
Whether you answered Yes or No, luckily, Keyword research helps you answer the above questions quickly.
After researching, you will be able to discover search terms users are searching for, the volume of people searching, and how difficult it can be for you to rank for your selected keywords.
There are various ways that you can use to conduct keyword research;
- By using Keyword Research Tools like Google Keyword Planner, SEMRush, Google Trends, UberSuggest, Ahrefs, Google Keyword Planner, and AnswerThePublic.
- Analyzing Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs) manually.
- By using Google & YouTube Auto Complete.
- Using People Also Ask.
- Using Forums to find keywords.
Keyword research is quite dynamic. It takes time to analyze, choose, and use your brain to decide which keywords to target.Ā
As a beginner, you want to select winning keywords that will be easy to rank for and drive traffic to your site.
My definition of winning keywords includes;
- Long Tail Keywords. These are search terms that are more search specific and usually contain a long chain of words i.e., best gaming HP laptops below 300$
- Keywords with low difficulty score, 50 and below.
- With a considerable amount of traffic, above 100 searches per month.
We are targetting low competition but high-volume keywords with low difficulty.
Another strategy that I incorporate is choosing Zero search volume keywords. Zero search volume keywords are keywords that tools do not provide search volume-related data for. You might wonder why I am now recommending you to go for keywords with no search volume, yet all you want is traffic. Sounds contradictory? Not just as yet!
You should first know that Keyword research tools are not 100% accurate. A keyword shown as one with no search volume does not necessarily mean the keyword has no search volume. Such keywords usually have 10-100 monthly searches.
Instead, the tool has no available data on the given keyword as yet.
As you start out your keyword choice journey, you should focus on the previously mentioned kinds of keywords i.e, long tail and high search volume. Now the problem with this is that the internet is getting saturated, and it might be nearly impossible to find such keywords.
The next alternative is to go for untapped zones, where the Zero search volume keywords come in. Do not completely ignore them when you find them; keep them aside. They are sources of content that you will write about before other sites have discovered them.
Using Keyword Research Tools
As mentioned earlier, there are a variety of keyword research tools you can opt for. For a free option, I recommend Google Keyword planner, and for a premium tool, SEMRush does the magic.
SEMRush is a premium tool, but it offers a trial version that allows you to test for features. If you feel satisfied with the outcome, you can continue with the paid subscription.
Check out: 17+ Best Free Keyword Research Tools
After placing your keyword, such as Kitchenware, in the Keyword research tool, it will analyze the seed keyword, show you information about search volume, difficulty, and domain rating of ranking pages, and provide you with related terms (Semantic Keywords).Ā
As a beginner, I strongly advise you to go for keywords below a difficulty of 50. This is because it will be easier for you to rank.
Note: Although keyword research tools will do the magic for you, I urge you not to rely only on them entirely. Go ahead and make further investigations on your own.
Read on to find out.
3. Analyze the Ranking Pages in Real-Time
Place your keyword Kitchenware in a search engine like Google and analyze the first top 10 ranking pages.
Open each post and look for title formatting, keyword placement throughout the post, word count, and use of images. You are now analyzing for on-page SEO.
Out of curiosity, I usually check for at least two posts ranking on the second page of Google for further analysis.
To check for word count, copy all the content in the post and head to Workaguide Wordcounter. This is a free tool for anyone to easily check the number of words and characters in text.
Paste the content there, and the tool will automatically show you the number of words and characters used in the content.
Long-form content tends to rank higher in SERPs compared to short-form content.
Although this is valid, it does not apply to all types of content. Do not stuff up your post to make the word count high.
The rule of thumb is ‘Write for humans first and Search Engines second.’
The point of making such an analysis is to find ways to the best content Google has ever come across. This is the way you will be able to outrank the existing posts.Ā
4. Check for Keyword Trends
A keyword research tool can show you a keyword with a high volume and low difficulty score. Still, when you ignore the trend chart, the keyword might no longer be relevant.
The essence is to help you determine whether searchers are still searching for that selected keyword.
For this, you can use the SEMRush trend chart or Google Trends.
I recommend using Google Trends because it is free and accurate.
Google Trends shows you trending topics around the world. It helps you find the interest level of a specific keyword in your chosen region worldwide.
Interest is measured on a scale of 0-100.
This is another factor that helps you determine whether a keyword is worth targeting. You want to target keywords people have been searching for recently.
To this extent, you are now aware of how to find winning and related search terms and determine trends for a keyword.
But that’s not all!
5. Leveraging the Power of Forums
A forum is a medium where ideas and views on a particular issue can be exchanged. Some notable forms include; Quora, Reddit, Stack Overflow, and XDA.
Forums are a two-way street in that you can find low-competition, high-volume keywords and simultaneously use them to drive traffic to your blog.
Let me show you how;
Keyword Research using Forums.
Place the forum domain, i.e., Quora.com, in the keyword research tool for analysis.
The tool will show you all the terms for which the domain is ranking.
Next off, you have to filter to the difficulty of not more than 50 and a monthly search volume of at least 100 searches.
This way, you will find plenty of hanging winning keywords.
Pro Tip: Whenever you search for a keyword and find content from a forum, that indicates that the keyword is easy to rank for.Ā
You can easily outrank a forum and start driving traffic to your site by overtaking the former position of the forum.
To further customize your search with a keyword tool using forums, add another filter to restrict the results to keywords for which the forum ranks in the top 10 positions.
Go for those search terms first.
Why? They have less competition. The forum is ranking on page 1. It’s your time to take over!
Driving traffic using Forums
After publishing content on your blog, there is no harm in reproducing it on other platforms.
Check out the Workaguide Forum on Quora.
Get the published articles on your site and re-post them on forums like Quora, Reddit, and Medium, among others.
Make sure to link back to your original posts on your blog. Forums are Question-Answer based platforms. Ensure that your content answers people’s queries most straightforwardly and helpfully.
You will help users solve their issues and as well help them discover your blog through linking.
6. Repurposing Your Content
Repurposing content is reproducing the content for publishing on platforms other than your blog.
After publishing posts on your website, optimize the same content for other platforms like social media, i.e., Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, among others. Forums like Quora, Reddit, and Tumblr, among others.
Note: Content will not be the same as you repurpose it on various platforms.
For example, on social media, since people on these platforms always have less attention span, you will need to break down your blog into bullets and points. The same can be true for E-mail Newsletters. You might need to create video content for users on sites like YouTube or Tiktok.
For forums, since people are looking for answers, repurposing can differ. You might need to post the content without summarizing but fully elaborating on how to answer the user’s query.
Content repurposing is helpful since it creates good ranking signals for Google. It helps Google pick up your content quickly and allows your followers to locate solutions easily.
It diversifies your brand and, in the long run, drives sustainable traffic to your website.
7. Link Building (Domain Authority)
Domain Authority is the metric that measures a website’s link profile depending on the strength of sites linking to it. Links from other sites linking to your site are called backlinks, and these are links that determine your domain rating.
You can measure your site Domain Rating using the Ahrefs Website Authority checker. The score depends on the number of backlinks and the strength your domain gets from other sites.
If your Domain rating is low, do not freak out. It is expected because you are just starting.
A study by Backlinko showed that domains with higher domain authority ranked higher in SERPs than those with low Domain Authority.
This is the very reason why you should mind building the authority of your blog.
Domain Authority is built by backlinks. The more backlinks from sites with high DA, the more link juice is transferred to your domain, improving your overall Domain Authority.
Low DR sites can drive traffic, but it is always harder for you to rank for difficult competitive keywords. It is true that high authority sites (i.e., Ahrefs Domain Rating) get more traffic and rank higher in SERPs.
So you need to build some authority for your site.
Below are the various ways you can get backlinks from other sites.
Great content automatically attracts backlinks.
Website owners will not hesitate to link back to your posts if they feel they are relevant to their posts. This points us to the fact that we need to produce lots of content to capture backlinks.
Well, although this process is effective, it can take time. As a beginner, your content will hardly attract links automatically. So you need to get out of your comfort zone and hunt for them.
To step things up, you need to adopt other methods as mentioned below;
Link outreach
Cold E-mail website owners inform them of linking opportunities in their existing content. Ask them if they are willing to link back to your posts.
Note: Ensure you find websites related to your Niche to avoid spam penalties from Google.
Guest Posting
Guest posting is a process by which an author of one blog writes and publishes content on an external blog.
As a guest poster, you publish content on sites other than yours. This way, you can gain backlinks to your site, and Backlinks = Domain Authority.
Navigate the website you wish to write for and search whether the opportunity is available. You can also perform a google search by simply using the terms below;
- “Niche” + Guest post
- Write for a “Niche” website
- Write for us “niche.”
Replace the words Niche with the actual name of your Niche, like Tech. That way, you will find guest posting opportunities. Make sure to read the rules and regulations before you proceed to E-mail the site owners.
Checkout: Do you have a burning idea, a lucrative topic that our readers might love? We accept Guest Posting Authors writing about various topics like Technology, SEO, and Blogging on Workaguide. Write for us at Workaguide!
Do’s for Guest Blogging
- I advise you to target websites and blogs in your Niche and those with a relatively moderate domain authority for easier acceptance. There are fewer chances that high authority sites will accept your guest posting proposal.Ā
- Another added advantage of guest posting is getting referral traffic from the host blogs where you publish your guest post.
- Ensure you write guest blogs to the best of your efforts and perfection. Write as if you were writing for your blog. Ensure that the readers who stumble across your content on the other sites will be urged to check out your content. This is one of the simplest ways to get some loyal readers by tapping into the readership audience of the blog for which you have guest posted.
Domain Authority V URL Rating
Domain authority is the authority of your whole site and the backlinks pointing to it. At the same time, URL Rating is the authority of a single post link.
It is measured by how many links, backlinks, and internal links are pointing to that specific post.
Although both metrics are essential, for SERPs, URL rating carries better authority. Posts with higher URL ratings will usually rank higher than those with low ratings.
So after growing your site authority, make sure to grow specific post URL ratings by internally linking and drawing backlinks to them.
8. Create and Publish Content
Finally, this goes without saying. Create and Create.
The next thing is to create content that people are searching for. Place the keywords and related terms strategically throughout your posts.
Optimize your content for SEO. Place keywords throughout your H1 and H2 title tags in your posts’ Meta descriptions and URLs. This will enable search engines to pick up your content easily.
Publish as much content as you can. Do not limit yourself. Publish lots and lots of content. There is a direct correlation between traffic growth and content publishing increase.
Conclusion
Some bloggers will tell you to rely on only one strategy as you start. Most of them will tell you to publish as much content as possible and not worry about other things, which is wrong.
Publishing content is as helpful as growing authority for your site as it is with keyword research.
The thing is with taking the pointers in this guide and maximizing them. This is all you need to focus on to get the first 1000 visits to your blog. Not the site design or logo.Ā
Use the tips in your content strategy and you will see results!