Sunday, June 7, 2009

Tips for Newbies on How to Drive Traffic to their Sites

Hmmm… I was really excited about making a new blog again, a technology blog. There are a lot of things running on my mind, like if I will still use my former blog name which is still in wordpress.com and un-updated for almost two months. Going to buy a domain but still have second thoughts on my desired domain name, which theme will I use, what would be my first post… hahaha… Anyways, I was checking at Godaddy when suddenly our internet connection got lost. Tried to reconnect for how many times but to no avail… 

So, I decided to take a rest for a while and get some sleep, but then I couldn’t, I just lay down on my bed and kept on thinking… Thinking of making a blog post about our little blogger meet-up with Avel and the other Davao Bloggers at Kangaroo just a while ago. Then suddenly an idea popped into my head and that idea is this… hehehe… I think you’re wondering why I’m talking about making a tech blog when my title says otherwise. Well, I just wanted to share with you how did I come up with this post, hehehe… Well, enough of my so-called introduction, let’s proceed with the tips now.

Tip No. 1: Build a Sitemap

What is a Sitemap? Why would I add one? Here are the benefits of having a Sitemap. Having a Sitemap is important if you’re site is still new, it helps your site to be visible to search engines. So, How and Where can I submit a Sitemap? Go to Google’s Webmaster Tools and follow the steps on the link I’ve provided. :D


Tip No. 2: Register or Add your blogs to Directories with high PageRank

There are lots of free directories around where you can start adding your blog to. So, why would I add my blog site to those directories? If you want your site to be indexed by search engines in less than 24 hours you have to have your site linked to websites with a PR of 6 or higher. If one PR 5 site linked to you, your site will be indexed in less than 3 days. If a site with a high PR links to your site your chance of having a PR too is at high rate (correct me if I’m wrong, hehe). So, if you haven’t added your blogs to directories yet, start adding your blogsites to those free directories with high PageRank.


Tip No.3: Add your posts to Social Bookmarking Sites

There are lots of Social Bookmarking Sites to choose from, famous ones are DiggDiggStumbleuponDelicous, and etc. Why add my site to Social Bookmarking sites? Well, Social Bookmarking sites is one way of getting backlinks to your site, and the more posts you add, the better your chances of getting visible to search engines. It’s FREE and one can easily register an account there. Start adding your posts to those Social Bookmarking Sites now.


Tip No. 4: Socialize

Again there are a lot of Social Networking sites online, Facebook and Friendster are just among the famous ones, you can invite your friends there to visit your blog or any of your blog posts. No one would realize your blog exists if you don’t let the world know about it.  You can also try to join microblogging sites like Twitter and Plurk.  Try to join communities and forums and interact with fellow bloggers in the same niche as your blog. 

When I was still new to blogging I joined Bisdakplanet.net, an online community for Bisaya (a language mostly used by people from Visayas and Mindanao) all around the world. I’ve met a lot of friends there who later on became my regular visitors. There’s also one thing that I liked about them, whenever there are new registered members, they always make a post, greeting and welcoming everyone in the community, and of course, there’s a link back to your site too. ;) 

If people would visit your blog and make a comment, be kind enough to drop by their site too. That way, you’re making a connection with them, and who knows, one day they will feature you on their site or be one of your avid visitors. Join Blogging meet-ups or whatever blogging events or parties there are in your area. You will not just gain friends, you can also learn from each other’s ideas and blogging experiences.


Tip No. 5: Drop or Advertise your Site on Entrecard

When I was new to blogging, Dropping Entrecards helped me drive traffic to my lonely blog. If you drop on other blog sites that have an Entrecard, they will also visit your blog and drop back. Well, Entrecard did not just help me drive traffic to my site, I was able to gain a few online friends who became my regular visitors too. I also get to learn some tips from them which I, later on, applied on my blog. 

Advertising in EC through your Entrecredits (credits you earned by dropping EC on other blogs) works well for me but just for a while, later on, people don’t mind clicking on your banner, they were just after the ‘Drop’ button. Hence, you can still try though, maybe what didn’t work for me might work well with you. By the way, you can sign-up for Entrcard’s CashOut program where you can exchange your Entrecredits for Cash, 1,000 entrecredits is equals to $1.00. I have been saving my credits while waiting for my account to be approved on the CashOut program and I am so happy that my account was approved! So, if you have EC’s, save your credits too. I already have 10k credits waiting to be cashed out. :D It’s fun, you’re not just driving traffic to your sites, you can also earn from dropping EC’s:D


Tip No. 6: Write a Good and Quality Content

If people like your post/s, some of them would add and share your post to social bookmarking sites, re-tweet or re-Plurk your post, and some would re-post or feature it to their blogs with a link back to your site. Then, traffic would follow…Isn’t that great?

Well, I hope you learn something from a newbie blogger too. ;) I still consider myself a newbie here, I still have a LOT to learn and hopefully share with others what I have experienced…

Hmmm… All of the above tips I’ve mentioned requires HARD WORK! Well, as the saying goes, “You REAP what you SOW.” :)

Have fun blogging everyone! Feel free to leave a comment if you think I have said something in my post which is not correct or if you have tips to share…  I appreciate you leaving your comments about it…




"Live life to the fullest"

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