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Growing Blog Traffic Organically

Like most growing bloggers, I stalk my unique page views like a hawk.  So, imagine my surprise when after months of consistent readership, I saw a huge jump in the statistics.  Like 100 more unique views a day huge.  (Yes, I realize for many bloggers that’s nothing, but for me at around 12 viewers a day, mostly people I knew, that was major!)

My blog views in January 2017 alone exceeded the total blog views for all of 2016.  Yesterday (January 31)’s views exceeded the first two weeks of January.  The source of the traffic also shifted.  In June 2016, 95% of my views were acquired via social media.  In the month of January, 50% of my traffic came from search engines, Pinterest hopped to 25%, and social media dropped to 25% of acquisitions. 

So what changed? 

Makeup. 

Stick with me here.  I became a LipSense distributor in June 2016 because I fell in love with the product and wanted the discount to keep up with my addiction (you can read here about why the discount is so amazing).  I had two weeks of vacation at the end of the year and used that to build up “Glam on the Go” content – all about why LipSense and Senegence products fit perfectly into my active life.  And I built a place where people could shop products and request them on an invoice (Senegence doesn’t allow checkouts on personal websites).  That all went live on January 1.  And the views exploded.

The skeptics would say that traffic is artificial.  If it’s only traffic to the shopping pages, then is it really helping my blog?  In short, yes, it most certainly is!  Clicking through the user behavior captured by Google Analytics, 47% of shoppers also click to my blog homepage, and then 55% of those click through to a detailed post.  I have added hundreds of new IG followers in this time.  About 10 people each day are visiting the links to the brands I’ve partnered with on posts in the last month, and that traffic is growing daily.  And I’m funding all of my blog activities + much more via LipSense.

A few lessons that I’ve taken from this experience, if LipSense isn’t your thing:

Set yourself apart  //

If you google “meal prep recipes” or “fitness events in Dallas”, you’re likely to find thousands of search hits.  A new blogger with lower hit rate is unlikely to appear there.  Find your niche and focus there.  Maybe it’s no sugar sweets, or fitness studios that cater to those new to working out.  You’ll improve your search rankings by offering things others don’t. 

Be authentic  //

Recurring visitors want to get to know you, flaws and all.  If every post is you raving about what you got for free, even if it doesn’t fit your brand, you may get an initial boost in views but it will be harder to sustain. Tell your story.  Talk about what you like and dislike.  Promote products you actually use, even if they’re not free.

Leverage different content types  //

The posts that have grown the most in page views incorporate videos + pictures + texts.  People can choose how they want to consume the content, and seem to return to watch the videos later (especially for how-to’s and recipes).

Develop a series  //

If there’s something you love, post about it regularly and build upon those posts.  One of my favorite bloggers post meal prep ideas every Monday – and I come back every Monday to see what she’s shared and what ideas I can leverage.  Another focuses on her home renovation, taking each room in parts so the kitchen reno, for example, may be focused on weekly for a month.  It’s more realistic than a single post with before and afters that I struggle to follow.  

For me, it’s my bikini competition suit DIY series, which is the target of more than 30% of my search engine referrals (LipSense how to’s are more than 50% of my traffic and sit in a separate section on my site from my fitness & food-focused blog).  

Disclosure:  I am an independent SeneGence distributor, and do make money from the SeneGence products sold via my website.  If you’re interested in learning more about becoming a SeneGence distributor, fill out the form below or read more here.

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