Hello lovely readers,
I’ve had a few people emailing me after the two blog traffic posts (Part One and Part Two) that I did a while back asking for advice on certain aspects of the world of blogging. The questions are mainly about:
- SEO (Including things like page rank and getting your site up in Google)
- Getting more blog traffic (networking and comments)
- Twitter/Facebook (or social network promotion)
- Categories/Tags (what are they? How to use them?)
- Marketing your site
Of course I don’t mind answering questions through email, but I thought it might be beneficial to have them all in one post. So, don’t be shy! Please do leave any questions in the comments below and hopefully I’ll be able to help in any way, or if I don’t know the answer I might know someone who does!
If you have a question you would like to ask in private, then you’re more than welcome to email me.
B x
UPDATE
Here are the questions I’ve been asked so far:
1) What is the most effective way to drive more traffic to a blog? by Todd Foley
I would probably say that the most effective way to drive traffic to your blog is by networking.
Of course there are ways to get temporary hits to your blog (and if you really want to do it this way then I can tell you, but I class that as cheating! 
) , but the best way to get the traffic and keep it there, is by building relationships. Go and visit other blogs, engage in discussions, comment on things you find interesting.
Also, very important is writing high quality content. Pick what you want to write about and try to stick to it. Don’t bombard people with irrelevant content that will cause them to not come back again. Double and triple proof read your work, and make sure that it’s all right before you hit that submit button. Write catchy headings and first paragraphs that will draw people in, as most people will click out of there if they’re not interested straight away.
Once your post is up on your site, make sure it’s noticed! Put relevant tags and categories on it and promote it through social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. You could have written the best post in the world, but if no one can find it, what’s the point?
If people comment on your blogs, make sure that you find the time to reply to them, as this will hopefully get them to click that follow button and keep coming back.
2) How do I know which tags to pick for various posts? I always put ‘writing’ or ‘creative writing’ etc on all my posts because I usually blog about writing. Then I add more detailed tags depending on what the content of my post is. For instance, ‘books’ if I’m reviewing a book, or ‘family’ if it’s got something to do with kids, etc.
Is that sufficient, or should I be doing something else? asked by Kate 4amwriter
I think that the categories and tags you’re using are fine, the only thing I would keep an eye on is the amount you’re using. Any more than about 10/11, you could be perceived as spam by the powers that be!
I would also maybe use shorter or more general categories/tags like ‘writing’, ‘writing advice’, ‘books’ etc rather than more specific ones. The tags are what people of WP can use to find your blog, so if you want people to find your posts, it might be a good idea to go for ones that are popular.
For example here is the topics which are trending right now – http://wordpress.com/#!/topics/ to give you an idea of the types of tags being used.
3) I reorganized my site not too long ago, converting most of my tags to categories. I thought that would reduce the size of the tag cloud a bit and make the subjects easier to navigate. But my views have dropped off by like 60% since then. Any idea why? asked by Exiled Star
It could be unrelated, but I would double check which tags and categories you’re using. So, the more relevant ones you use, the more likely it will be that the people of WordPress will find them. Also try to limit them to around 5-10 tag/categories (or a mixture of both) for your posts.
One thing I would say, is NEVER let your post drop into ‘uncategorised’, otherwise your post will just get lost in the cyberweb.
4) I’d like somebody to explain the # and other symbols in Twitter, and a list of common abbreviations. asked by Shannon Howell.
@
The @ sign is just a way of directly messaging someone. So, for example if I tweeted ” I’m just teaching @ShannonHowell all about twitter! ” this would come up in your twitter.
#
So, the # are meant to be used as a way to separate topics, so for example you wrote a tweet about a new book you’ve read.
“OMG, I just finished the #hungergames , they were awesome! #writing #books ” Anyone that searches for #hungergames will be able to see your tweet and any others which have used the same #. The trending topics are a list of the most talked about topics and #, so if the majority of people are listening to Michael Jackson and are tweeting about it, that would be in the trending topics.
However, there is another way that people use the hashtags and these are to emphasise their points. For example, if I tweeted ” I just chucked my drink all over my lap” I might use a hashtag like #whatanidiot or #clutz etc, these are completely up to you and people tend to do this a lot. “I’ve finally cracked hashtags. #huzzah ”
RT
This stands for Retweet. This is basically when you see a tweet that you like (kind of like the like button on FB) and you RT it. It just means that it will come up in your feed for your followers to see. So, if you see a RT before a tweet it means that they have retweeted it. In phone apps as well, it’s possible to ‘quote tweet’ which is where you can RT, but then add your own comment on the end.
#FF
This you will see on Fridays and it’s pretty popular. It stands for Follow Friday. So you basically put up a list of people that you think your followers should follow.
DM – Is a direct message. This is basically just a private message that you can send directly to one person.
R.E – twitter etiquette, I would get into the habit of thanking people if they RT you, and making sure that you reply if they message you.
However, beware, there is a lot of spam fishing around. One which you need to be aware of is the ‘OMG, have you seen this tweet about you?’ and there’s a link. Do not click on this as it’s fake. Also, before following any famous people, double check how many followers they have. If they have very little, then it’s likely it’s a fake account. Also, ones that have been verified have a blue tick.
5) I wrote a post called “Super Nude Donut Girl” months ago (September) and it still gets hits for no apparent reason. (Well no reason other than it is called “Super Nude Donut Girl”!) asked by Dennis
I’ve just had a look at the post and the first thing that jumped out at me was that it’s under ‘uncategorised’. The first thing that I would go in and do is effectively categorise and tag that post. It’s never too late to update them. Uncategorised means that it will have just got lost in the web oblivion and people won’t be able to find it unless they specifically search for it.
I would suggest something like:
Categories: Writing, Poetry, Poems
Tags: super nude donut girl, poems, writing, quick poems, email spam
etc
If you want a bit of a boost, try promoting it again on FB and Twitter and get people to come back to it. Make sure the links are personalised and let people know what it’s about.
Limebird Writers 