For the record, there are more than 400 million WordPress blogs accessible by using search engines such as Google and Bing. This means that the traffic is split among so many online websites, so earning your blog’s fair share of traffic can be a troublesome task.

Driving traffic to your blog is not cheap and easy, but there are many ways you can do (for free) to get the most traffic possible. In this article, we’ll give you all the things we know you should do to succeed in your endeavour.

1. Install Plugins

In this fast-paced world, internet users want to see everything they click in split-seconds. If your site loading time is more than 3 seconds, then chances are search engines are not likely to show your website on top of their listings.

Luckily, there are plugins you can install for free on your WordPress blog to increase the loading speed of your site. Smush Image Compression and Optimization will compress the images on your website to reduce its file sizes, thus reducing loading time. W3 Total Cache also boasts of its powerful abilities in promoting your website’s speed by “caching” all information that has been previously loaded.

Related: 5 WordPress Plugins to Turn Your Website Into an SEO Powerhouse

2. Update Regularly

Successful people regularly update their blogs. The only thing constant in the world of technology is change, and that is what people are looking for. If your website is not updated on a regular basis, people will think that your site has become inactive.

Your content strategy matters. So if you update your website regularly with irrelevant content, not many people will appreciate your blog. Focus on one to three specific topics and expand your archive from there. It is also important to remember that photos, videos, and infographics appeal more to audiences than blog posts alone. Make a point to plan well in advance, present rich content, use high-quality photo and videos to earn their attention and make them coming back for more.

3. Internal Linking

When people read your posts and they find something they don’t know, they will search for it elsewhere. But if your site has internal links, people who view your page are more likely to click that link instead of going elsewhere, thus generating website traffic. This also increases page views of your website, helps your site get indexed by search engines and improves your page ranking.

Installing plugins like Contextual Related Posts is another way of promoting internal linking on your site where the reader gets to view content related to a particular topic.

4. Establish Trust

Establishing a blog that is trustworthy is not easy, and only time will tell when people will learn to trust you. Luckily, there are many ways you can do to help speed-up this process. One of which is by installing plugins like Akismet Anti-Spam plugin that fights spams. Placing an SSL certificate on your blog will give that extra advantage and secure your site further.

When your blog has great content, people will trust you in no time. Establishing trust with your readers will play a big role in your blog’s success. Always remember that a virus-free blog is trusted by users, and these sites are open to monetizing opportunities.

5. Share

Once you have all the right blocks put together, your site looks neat, and you have great content, it’s time to let the whole world know what you have been doing. The wider your audiences are, the better your chances of getting traffic.

A good promotion technique includes coverage in various online websites where your audience may be present. Here are some tips to get you going:

• Share your new and trending posts through all your social media accounts
• Build your network with other blogs and cooperate with their respective writers
• Enable “sharing” your posts on all social media sites
• Allow people to sign-up for newsletters to your blog

Conclusion

Making a website up and ready is easy, but getting people to view your website is not. You need a well-planned strategy to drive traffic to your website. Making your website fast, updating your content regularly, establishing trust and sharing your posts are just some of the ways you can do to help your website get traffic. Do not limit yourself to what you think you can do and to the things listed here. The possibilities of your success are unlimited and your imagination is the limit.

The post Website Traffic 101: The Complete Guide to Your WordPress Blog appeared first on Creativ Digital.