Pro Blogger Tips for Enhancing Your Blog Traffic

WAIT...Don't hit that publish button just yet!

So often we write an amazing article, we truly feel proud of it, we feel this one will be the one that gets us the traffic and engagement that we want. However, very often we end up feeling discouraged because we do not get the traffic that we want, that the engagement for that post is little to none. 

We wonder what we did wrong. To be perfectly honest we shouldn't have hit that publish button so quickly. I know, I know we get excited about a post and want to get it out quick but we really have to look at our post and see if it's actually optimized for success!

How to Optimize Every Blog Post for More Traffic and Engagement!

Ask These 3 Questions before you even start writing!

1. Does this blog post help someone else? People like post that are catered to them, point blank! If your post does not give useful tips that are clear and helpful then 9 times out of 10 your post will not get the engagement it deserves!
2. Will this blog post help me? What are your goals with your blog post? Do you want to get subscribers, are you trying to sale something, or are you trying to get more engagement from your readers?
3. Ask yourself "Why" this blog post will be successful? What makes you think this will be a successful post? If you were reading this from an outsider's point of view would you share it, tweet it, comment on it!

Ok so you ask yourself the 3 big questions, GREAT! Ok so you wrote out your blog, Awesome! Ready to hit that publish button....STOP RIGHT THERE!

12 Things You Need to Do Before You Hit Publish!

1. Have a Catchy yet Relevant Headline You clicked on this article because you seen something that caught your eye. You don't need it to be clickbait to get people's attention that does not work here in the blog world. However, you need to make sure it's relevant to your article and catch someone's attention straight away. 

2. Make sure your blog post is SEO Approved Here's what you need to have in your blog posts. 

• Use keywords that you would normally be found on google (I like to go on google and type in at least 1-2 words to see what pops up in the search engine) This helps to know exactly what people are looking for.
• keywords in headings and subheadings
• keywords in the beginning of your post and at the end
• I recommend 5-7 keywords in your blog post

SEO does not need to be difficult just find the right keywords to get you started!

3. Effective Call to Action at end of post

• Ask a question for engagement, ask them to do something. Whether it's  to subscribe to your email list (make sure its more enticing add an freebie opt-in for example), or answer a question in the comments. Do you want them to go see another blog post, then let them know.  Make sure there is something for them to do at the end of your posts. If not they will exit your blog with a quickness. I don't wont that for you!

4. Links to older post

• You have more blog post for others to see...let them see it! Link to relevant blog posts that match the article they just read. It will keep them wanting more and more of your awesome work!

5. Spelling and Grammar on point!

• Proofread! Look it's ok to miss a couple of words or misspell something.  However, just don't let it look like a 5 year old wrote your blog posts! We do not want anyone's brain to hurt, when we are trying to teach them something!

6. Make sure you have Social Media Sharing Icons at bottom of post.

• Get your blog post shared! I like to use shareaholic for social media buttons. Of course you can go the DIY route like I used to but I found this to be much easier and effective!

7. Pinterest Image Approved

• Add Alt text to your image: Write an awesome keyword filled description so that when people pin your image it will show up in the description box.
• Make sure your image is clean, easy to read, and high quality.
• Make sure your images go with your blog. No click bait titles and make them consistently on brand!
• Rename your images...SEO Ready! Same as Alt Text when you save your image on your desktop you have the option to change the name, so change to the name to make it easier for people to pin your amazing graphic.

8. Headings and Subheadings Included

People like to skim. I'm sure right now you are skimming this posts! It's ok, however by adding breaks between a long blog posts helps make it easier for them to skim but stil learn something! 

9. Have a read more link or page break 

• This helps clean up your home page and quick searching for your readers...Goodbye aggravation! This is also really important for blogspot users. so that people aren't seeing the whole blog posts at one glance. Get them to read more by adding page breaks so that they have to click. I also like to make a smaller blog post graphic to entice them to read. 

10. Have Follow Me social media icons or links at bottom

• Add your social media links to the bottom of your post...hey new follower! Once again Shareaholic will be great for this too!

11. Edit the Url of your post. 

• More SEO friendly! Keywords will be your best friend!

12. Select Categories and tags for your post

• This helps your readers find different post quicker and keeps your blog articles organized. Especially if you have a navigation bar. This is also a great way for them to click to see more about a certain category! 

Ok now that you have all of that....now you can hit publish! Whew it can be  a lot  but once you do it every single day it becomes easier!