Traffic

On Thursday, February 8, I wrote about Web 2.0, basically saying that I wanted to write more about it.

Early websites were fairly stagnant. Hypertext connected pages. Now, we have things like Flickr, Blogger, and YouTube, that connect not only pages but people. I have visited a bunch of blogs these last two weeks, mostly to post information about the "Battle of the Blogs." But I look around, and I have seen some comments about this little competition connecting people, exposing people to blogs they would not have otherwise have seen. That, to me, was the whole point of this, but you know, I did not think it was going to work.

Several bloggers have said something about increased traffic to their sites. And that is good. Really good. We spend hours working on blogs – some spend more time on design than I do. Well, most spend more on design than I do.

And I am so happy that people have had increased traffic. I don't often look at the traffic to my site. I did peek at it, and I was a bit surprised. I use DSDDD, and you can either view posts by unique visits or by visits and page views.

For those of you who want to increase traffic to your site, you may want to try one of the following suggestions:

1. Leave comments on other sites. And I am not talking about the comment, "great blog," "I agree," or "naked pics of Britney on my blog." The first two examples are so generic that most people will not even care that you took the trouble to post them, and well, everybody's computer is filled to the brim with Britney's various naked pics. I am talking about comments that pertain to the blog entry, are witty or sensitive or whatever you are, and add to the discussion. I don't know how often I have looked at the blogs of someone else just because I thought their comment was funny or clever. Occasionally you will get a stalker, but hey, you can say that about a lot interactions with the Internet.

2. Write consistently. I don't mean every day (I do this, but that is my schedule, every work day). I mean on a schedule. Keep to the schedule and post the schedule so that others can see it (if it is less frequently than daily). You can be a Tuesday-Thursday poster, but keep to the schedule. And if you are less frequently than daily, I will probably visit once per week (I can't keep the day straight in my mind), but I will read all posts that week. Some use the blogrolls that say, "Recently Updated" next to blogs that were, uh, recently updated. But most of us don't.

3. Publicize breaks. If you are talking a blogging vacation, tell your readership. They will appreciate the thoughtfulness and return when you do.

4. Have consistent content. I am crappy at this. I write about stuff from "Web 2.0" to sarcastic crap, from religion to erotic, from sweet to touching. I have no niche. So people don't like it (oh, and I really don't care). But those who blog consistently get readership because they don't disappoint their readers. Can you imagine going to a Taco Bell and getting pizza? Oh, yeah, you can do that (and it took the company years to be successful at it). You don't have the multimillion dollar marketing arm to carry that out, so stick to something you like and do that (or be like me and don't care). But then you won't get readership.

5. Start a contest. That usually drives traffic. In viewing my traffic for the last week or so, I have noticed that most are not really reading my site, but are just using my site to visit other sites. Rarely, someone will read this (like you). But you know, for many contests, you do get the occasional person sticking around. I have seen a couple of fresh faces in my comments already. But I really did not do this to drive traffic. I noticed that many of my blogging buddies were quitting – and I sort of thought it may be that blogging is getting passé, since we have the sexy YouTube and other vlogging outlets. Perhaps it is misconception; I am not sure. But I just wanted to stimulate a bit of blogging activity.

6. Trade links. I will never do this, but you know, if you trade links with other bloggers, you might get more exposure. I just don't like the idea. So for me, instead of trading link, perhaps you should:

7. Update links. For your main page and blogroll, change links that have changed. If you have someone who keeps moving around, from typepad, to blogger, to the next blogger site, change their URLs. And if you link to something else on your sidebar, make sure it is current.

8. Be brief. I keep my blog entries to one page (this one is already two pages; crap). Most people don't have that long of an attention span. If you break this rule, do it deliberately.

I could write more on this, but I am (1) boring people by now, and (2) have to pee desperately. And I did not mention content with traffic. Crap.