| Just because you have a blog doesn’t mean readers are going to come flooding to read what you’ve posted. A significant number of blogs end up stagnating due to lack of traffic and this usually because of how people try to bring traffic to the site. There are several ways that you can bring more readers to your blog: |
| · Sharing posts on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ etc. |
| · Sending new posts to emails on your list |
| · Advertising through Google or Facebook |
| · SEO (search engine optimisation) |
| While each of these has its advantages, if you can only use one then let it be search engine optimization.
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1. Install a good SEO plugin
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| A good SEO plugin is never a replacement for an expert SEO agency but it makes the process of optimising your site for Google much easier by helping you to do technical SEO, page analysis, RSS optimization etc. A good example of one such tool is Yoast SEO for WordPress sites. However, you should remember that simply having the tool isn’t enough. You also need to know how to use the tool to get more from your site. This means knowing how to choose the right keywords among other things to set up a successful WordPress site. |
2. Researching your keywords
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| If you think you already know which the best keywords are, you’re already failing. Take time to research more about keywords to find out which ones actually bring in more traffic. There are many tools that you can use such as the Google keyword popularity tool. Using localised keywords for your SEO efforts can yield better results and this particularly works when you’re a local business. You will rank well for the keyword in question and the readers you’ll be getting will be those who have an actual interest in buying the product or service you’re selling. |
| A good way of finding new keywords is to open a free Adwords account. When you search for a particular keyword, Google will give you a list of similar keywords that people have actually been searching. You can also get great ideas for posts depending on what people have been searching for recently. To be able to refer to these keywords later, you can export them to Excel and rank them according to popularity. |
3. Pick a keyword for the title, permalink and first sentence
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| You can have a great deal of success with SEO if you have one keyword that appears in the title, permalink and the first sentence of your post. If you’re using WordPress, ensure the post name is set as the page URL and this will automatically place the keyword in the URL. Ensure that your keyword is also used in the body a few times and it should also be relevant. |
| Ensure that your readers have more than one way of subscribing to your content. While SEO may bring a particular reader to your site the first time, there is no guarantee that it will bring them to your next post. You want your readers to be able to see your new posts through email, RSS feeds or through social media.
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