Discomforting as it may be, if your blog posts are underperforming, the first question you should ask yourself is, is it me? Are you setting clear goals for your content and structuring every word around those goals? While you should always strive to keep your content compelling, if you want to learn how to increase blog traffic, then each blog you post should also be constructed with the aim of solving a problem your ideal customer is facing.
It is imperative that you understand not only for whom you’re writing a blog post, but also why you’re writing it. What problem are you trying to solve?
If you’re struggling to come up with quality content ideas optimized for increasing blog traffic, then find out what questions people are asking online that pertain to your industry. Question-and-answer websites like Quora are a great place to start. Once you have a clear understanding of the kinds of issues your target customer is likely to run into, you can design your content marketing strategy accordingly.
Developing thought leadership in your industry is key to increasing blog traffic. You should strive to generate a reputation for your blog as a reliable and authoritative source of information relevant to your target audience.
There’s more to quality content than text alone. What good is a compelling treatise on the intricacies of your industry if no one reads it? First impressions matter, and today consumers are especially adept at tuning out the less substantive among the many voices competing for their attention.
You should be constantly working to establish and maintain trust with your reader. Impeccable spelling and grammar, as well as a strong sense of style and syntax, are necessary components to increasing blog traffic and presenting your solutions in such a way that earns your reader’s trust.
Of course, presentation goes deeper than the words on the page. You should consider the reader’s experience at every turn. Are you writing in the appropriate voice to reach your target customer? Is your content too dense? Too thin? Have you structured your post to allow for a little breathing room? Subheaders and bulleted lists provide necessary whitespace to break up thick sections of text.
Images are especially important for maintaining your reader’s interest. Free image sites like Pexels and Unsplash are solid resources for finding relevant images to pair with your text. Other visual elements such as infographics and video, where appropriate, can help you convey your message efficiently with minimal burden on your reader.