Here’s the deal:
My ability to travel the world is only possible because I know how to generate targeted traffic.
So today want to share a few tips that have helped me grow Backlinko to more than 100k unique monthly visitors.
Without further ado, let’s jump right in:
#1: Forget social media. Make THIS your #1, #2 and #3 priority
Derek Halpern said it best:
“If you’re not building an email list, you’re an idiot.”
#truth
It’s funny:
Every now and again someone will pull me aside at a conference and say:
“Brian, I’m working my butt off on content. But I still don’t get as much traffic as I should”.
I usually reply with:
“Well, how big is your email list?”
That’s when their face starts to turn red.
After all, everyone KNOWS that they should build their email list…
…but I find that very, very few marketers make list building a priority.
And it KILLS their ability to generate traffic.
Here’s an example to illustrate my point:
About 2-weeks ago I published a new case study on the Backlinko blog:
And I sent out an email and a tweet to spread the word.
Now:
The email generated nearly 7k clicks.
The tweet?
69!
The email brought in literally 100x more visitors.
(To be fair, my email list is 3x bigger than my Twitter following. But it’s still a massive difference)
Bottom Line: If you want more traffic, SEO is (clearly) your best bet. But an email list is #2.
#2: Find untapped keywords with this hugely popular site
When it comes to keyword research, you have two options:
Option 1: Target competitive keywords and go toe-to-toe with big brands.
Option 2: Find untapped keywords that your competition doesn’t know about.
Guess which is better 😀
Unfortunately, most people start the keyword research process off by firing up the Google Keyword Planner.
Big mistake.
Yes, the GKP has its place.
But it has one fatal flaw:
It shows the same keywords to everybody (including your competition).
So instead of the GKP, head over to this little known site called Reddit (HA!).
For example, let’s say that you run an ecommerce site that sells headphones.
You’d go to Reddit, and enter a keyword like “headphones”.
Then skim the threads that come up in the search results.
#3: Use this proven approach to get more traffic from SEO
Most people will tell you that, “the higher you rank, the more clicks you’ll get”.
And that’s true…most of the time.
But there’s A LOT more to it than pure SERP positioning.
After all, a Google searcher considers all this stuff when they’re deciding what result to click on:
* Eye-catching title
* Eye-catching description
* Brand recognition (a searcher is more likely to click on a site they know and trust)
* How well the result fits what they want
* The promise the result offers (the more concrete, the better)
* How unique the result it compared to the rest of the page
* Lots more
So don’t ignore the way your result appears in Google.
After a lot of experimenting, I’ve found that a higher organic CTR brings in more traffic…
…and actually boosts your ranking for that keyword.
Bottom Line: Yes: The higher you rank, the more clicks you get. But don’t let a #7 ranking get you down. Instead, work hard to make your title and description tag more compelling and click-worthy.
I hope these tips help give your traffic stats a shot in the arm.