WordPress powers almost 33 percent of the internet, and dozens of new WordPress blogs appear daily. It has never been more challenging to compete, whether utilizing a sluggish shared hosting plan or a lightning-fast managed WordPress server.
We advise using a managed server to get the most out of your WordPress installation with the least effort. For hosting our sibling sites, we highly suggest WP Engine. But it’s simple to launch a blog. The true difficulty is in keeping it running and making it popular.
The difficulty is that it takes more than just good material to make a blog successful. Building a blog and hoping readers would appear is like betting the farm on a lottery. But don’t worry; we’re here to assist you.
1. Be Specific
Blogs sometimes begin with the lofty intention of chronicling the author’s thoughts on everything and everything; many bloggers never get past the first post. Truth is told, while a few readers may like reading a few of your postings, the wide variety of topics won’t keep them come back for more.
However, blogging may be more suitable if you insist on discussing anything and anything. Focusing on only one or two themes and covering those in great depth can help your blog get traction and become successful. If you’re not confident in your ability to write extensively on a particular subject, you may consider expanding your focus as your readership expands.
Suppose raising strawberry plants is your true love, but you can’t imagine writing about them on your blog for more than a couple of weeks. In that case, you could always switch gears and offer tips on cultivating other fruit trees, then expand into general gardening. Blogging has been an important motivator for my development on several occasions.
2. Be An Expert And Trustworthy
Which organization, Marie Curie Cancer Care or Joe Blog’s Healing Crystals, would you be more likely to believe when it comes to information on treatments for cancer? The solution is self-evident, and Google is well aware of it; this is why it’s likely that Joe Blog’s Healing Crystals didn’t appear in any relevant search results.
Both Google’s automatic ranking algorithm and human quality inspectors consider a site’s reliability when determining its ranking. This is especially true when discussing health or financial matters. However, it is relevant to all articles to some extent.
Your chances of being well-known will greatly increase if you write about something you know a lot about, even if your blog is narrowly focused.
Therefore, how do you demonstrate your mastery? We don’t know the exact algorithm, but we may guess that it significantly weighs inbound links from reputable websites. Link building is a broad issue, and you shouldn’t force it.
3. Use Search Console
The Google Search Console (formerly known as Webmaster’s Tools) is a free tool provided by Google that acts as a direct line of communication with the company. How well is your site doing in the various search engines?
- Technical difficulties prevent Google from properly indexing a website, such as broken sitemaps or unavailable pages.
- There are server issues, such as 404.
- This includes support for mobile devices.
This is not Google Analytics, which also provides data on site traffic and user activity. It’s free and simple to start up.
4. Make Your WordPress Blog Mobile-Friendly
Currently, mobile devices account for close to half of all internet traffic. If your site is not mobile-friendly, doesn’t scale effectively, or takes too long to load on a slow 3G connection, you’re losing out on prospective customers. As much as it pains me to keep harping on Google, the search engine is where most of your visitors will come from before you have a dedicated following.
With mobile-first indexing, users will see fewer sites that haven’t been optimized for mobile devices. In such a case, how can you ensure that your site is compatible with mobile devices? Choosing a layout that can expand as needed is crucial. Try browsing for themes with the word “responsive” in their description.
You can use the Chrome desktop browser to simulate a mobile device. However, many theme shops already include a preview function that lets you switch between desktop and mobile emulation.
5. Advertise on Social Media
Without initially needing to amass a massive following, Reddit is the greatest place to attract social media users to your site. You may promote yourself on Reddit, even though it helps the site function better if other users share your material. Nonetheless, a reasonable ratio should be maintained.
Your Reddit account shouldn’t be used for nothing but self-promotion. Join in the conversation by posting and commenting on other people’s work. You should also anticipate receiving unfiltered criticism. When users of Reddit discover that you’ve been abusing the system, they don’t hesitate to let you know.
Twitter has generated the least interest for my blogs among the social media platforms I’ve tried. However, I still recommend keeping an account there for other purposes aside from promoting your content.
Facebook is no longer as useful for attracting visitors (unless you pay), but it is excellent for fostering communities of interest. Pinterest may be a good traffic driver if your material is visual, but like other social media platforms, it works best if someone other than you shares your content.
6. Keep Blog Visitors
The more material you have linked to what your visitors are looking for, the more likely they are to stick around. Although several plugins are available, Related Posts for WordPress is the most user-friendly option. If you’re looking for a replacement, keep in mind that a few of them are too resource-heavy for your host. Any related posts plugin can further slow down your site if it is already running slowly or has hundreds of posts.
7. Encourage Readers’ Comments
Someone who takes the time to leave a comment on your post feels the need to express their thoughts. Your readers will appreciate the interaction and will be more likely to return to your site and share your content with their friends if you respond to their comments and questions.
However, the default WordPress commenting system isn’t very good; adding Jetpack would greatly improve this aspect of your site. WordPress’s designers built Jetpack with a plethora of extras in mind.
8. Don’t Give Up!
Building a huge readership by blogging takes time, so you shouldn’t expect results overnight. Keep publishing new, high-quality articles authored by professionals, and people will start sharing them. Building an audience, gaining credibility, and gaining a following are all processes that require time.
Conclusion
Does each of these methods function well on its own? Definitely, but consider this: Search engine traffic comes from having a high Google ranking for one’s goal keywords. More readers will visit your site in the future if you can convince them to join your email list. Plus, if some of those readers decide to link to your content, it might help boost your Google page rank even more quickly.
