This guest post is by Onibalusi Bamidele of YoungPrePro.com.
Like you, I really love to get traffic to my blog, and I’ll do anything just to make sure my traffic increases. Recently, I made several changes to my blog that doubled my traffic almost overnight. The tips I’m about to give you won’t cost you thousands of dollars—in fact, implementing these tips won’t cost you a cent. And they can easily be implemented by any blogger in any niche.
1. Capitalizing on my bio
One thing many bloggers don’t know is that irrespective of who you are, you’re a very unique individual with at least one or two factors that will greatly interest your readers. By making use of these factors, you can easily boost your traffic.
So many people believe there isn’t any importance in making themselves known clearly—we’ve all seen blogs that have no About page. But it is evident that the most successful bloggers are those who make themselves known to their readers. A great testament to this point is Pat Flynn from SmartPassiveIncome.com.
I’m not talking only about having an About page: I’m talking about showcasing your bio, linked to your About page, on every page of your blog. By doing this, I’ve made my About page the most viewed page on my blog, and my blog traffic has increased tremendously.
What I did differently was showcase my About page on every single page of my blog while indicating clearly why readers should read my blog. The area “above the fold” on every blog is the section of your page that your readers see when they first arrive, without scrolling down. What I did was make my author bio the number one thing readers will see when they visit my blog. I highlighted my success and unique factors (which is making $5000 online monthly and being only 17), then linked to my About page so that readers could learn more about me.
My reason for making this change was just to make myself more known to my readers, yet my traffic skyrocketed overnight. I started seeing more traffic to my blog, more links to my blog, and more emails from readers.
2. Changing my homepage’s title
Maybe you have also seen the advice that having an optimized homepage title is the best thing to do for your blog. But which is better: having an optimized homepage title, or a more solid personal brand? I’ll choose a more solid personal brand. Visitors who reach my blog by typing its name into a search engine spend the highest amount of time on my blog and, because of a single change I made, my blog name is now the most-searched term that brings people to my blog from the search engines.
What I simply did was put the name of my blog first, before the keywords in my homepage title. By doing this my traffic increased in leap and bounds without my search engine traffic being affected (despite what most people will tell you).
My former homepage title was something along the lines of Young Entrepreneur Blog|Young Blogger| Achieving Online Success. I simply changed it to ìYoungPrePro — Young Entrepreneur Blog| Helping You Achieve Online Success. You’d be amazed to see the traffic increase I got from search engines through searches on my blog name—as well as through direct visits to my blog. Prioritizing your readers and brand ahead of the search engines can go a long way to increase traffic to your blog.
3. Displaying my income and traffic report
This worked like charm. My income and traffic reports are the most popular articles on my blog. My blog posts average about 300 views in one month (except for the really exceptional ones), but all my income reports have exceeded thousands of views. In fact, my first income report has been viewed almost 3000 times, generating more daily traffic and subscribers.
I know there is a limit to what every blogger is comfortable sharing, and some people detest the act of sharing things like their income on their blog. My point is to try to be more personal by using personal case studies on your blog. I blog about making money online and marketing your business, so there’s no case study as realistic and relevant as showing people how much money I make and how much traffic I get—as well as how I do it.
Try to look for a way to show your readers that you truly know what you’re saying while being more personal. My income and traffic in my reports aren’t just bragging—I also teach people extensively how I achieved those results. Readers really don’t care about what you do; they only care about how you do it.
These tactics aren’t something I just guessed—they weren’t my original ideas. I learned the first and third tips from Pat Flynn of Smart Passive Income. They work well for him, and the fact that it works for me is another great reason why you need to give it a try. No amount of reading and no amount of new tips will help you if you never implement what you read, so take your time, and start implementing right away. Of course, if you have other traffic tweaks you can share with us, we’d love to hear them! Onibalusi Bamidele is a 17 year old entrepreneur making over $5000 online monthly. Download his free ebook on How He Makes Over $3000 Online Monthly and visit his blog at YoungPrePro.com to learn more of what he does.
The ‘About’ page is really the most important page of your blog. Even my Google Analytics suggest that a large part of my daily traffic flows to the ‘About’ page. Thanks for this post, as it captures the importance of this page very well.
I found another way to increase traffic on my website – by offering visitors a chance to get their ‘About Us’ page redone by me, free of cost :-)
I guess that says it all!
Anyways, thanks again for this post!
With respect,
Vishal
I think Darren has reported that the article “How to write your About page” is the most viewed post on Problogger. task. I’m happy to know that, since I wrote that guest post! It seems that many people are searching for help
with writing their bio.
you have a large amount of traffic flowing to your about page? thats great! i wish I had more traffic! heheheheh
– tork
Tork’s bog
I’m a big fan of Pat’s as well, and I think you’re wise to emulate his approach given the focus of your niche. People are naturally voyeuristic, especially online, so I’m sure the transparency of your income reports has been a huge factor in your growth.
Well done!
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#1. Capitalizing on my bio – I think this works well because it really draws the users attention (if done right!) and makes them want to know more about you.
#3, Displaying my income and traffic report…
you probably need to have a affiliate marketing, blogging sort of niche to pull this off. I write a relationship blog and if I start writing about the money I make from the blog, I might lose credibility and even more readers/sales!
Having a solid Bio/Author page is very important. It shows to the people that there is actually a real person behind the website they are reading and creates a special connection.
Displaying your stats will always engage your readers.
Yeah I think. I never gave a try to use My Bio or even a picture of me. But after reading this one. I feel it smart if I show About Page too.
Great tips. These 3 simple tips may increase my traffic at least 10%- i hope. I only have an about us page- not any thing more than that from what you said. I know realize that displaying your own info can boost your traffic.
Thanks
Chris
It’s very important .. my bio page gets the most views of any page for a given day so make sure it’s good! I also blog about my stats from time to time to give them an idea where I’m at.
After reading the first point, I did think of smart passive income. Pat did a good job in showing the visitors who he is. And the last point is so Pat Flynn too. Pat is famous for income and expense reports.
Yeah friend. I like to see your income reports and traffic reports. I like to see how much people get success in online money making. I’m very happy when looking stats of others. Anyway you posted 3 free tips for increasing traffic. That’s Nice :-)
I agree on having a page on About, allowing readers to know and connect with the writer. In fact, I love to read other bloggers bio. I am curious over who is the great writer behind this blog!
I like your statement on “Readers really don’t care about what you do; they only care about how you do it”. That’s true! Result matters.
Is there an app for that? Ha! Specifically in point one, is that a plugin that puts your bio on each page?
Thanks,
Ron Edmondson
RonEdmondson.com
Love your stuff
I think “Displaying my income and traffic report” is a great route to take. It shows transparency and proof that what you are saying is working.
But with this, you show also that it isn’t a quick get rich scam, and that you have taken the time to develop quality content and great routes in directions.
Keep up the great work.
Yes, About Page is absolutely the must-have page in your blog. If your readers don’t know who you are, how can they believe in you.
Oni – thanks so much for mentioning my blog a couple of time here in your guest post. I really appreciate it!
Now, I must reiterate what showcasing my income and traffic reports have done for my blog. Like you, they are the most read items on my site. They inspire, they teach (don’t just show the numbers – show HOW you got those numbers. The more detail the better!), and most importantly they show proof that you don’t just talk the talk, but you walk the walk too.
Of course, you should always be honest in your reports, because trust with your readers is the most important asset you can have.
Thanks again Oni, and I wish you and everyone else here all the best with their blogs!
Love this post. I’m new to blogging so don’t really understand the search engine stuff. I keep reading things and trying new things though. I’m definately going to work on my About Me page. I actually just set it up last night and haven’t gotten it filled out yet.
I don’t understand #2.
Bio is important, particularly if you’re a solo act as most bloggers are, but an area of weakness I see with most sites is a lack of a unique selling point.
It’s like a restaurant, what is your restaurant about? What makes it different? Why should people eat there? You need to have your own unique reasons, otherwise you’re just copying and followers do not get the benefits of leaders.
Thanks for the awesome tips oni!
and congrats to you for your achievement! Indeed having a about me page would give a good insight on the owner of the blog.
I had the third tip, that you mentioned, in my mind which would really boost traffic! thats only when i start earning :P
Excellent post Oni and totally agree on point 1. When people know you, they have a good chance to understand a lot better what they are going to get from your blog.
If you have a moment, please go to my blog and check on my About Me page – it’s all in Spanish but you can use the translator on the right hand side section of the blog:
http://tucumanoinlondon.blogspot.com/p/primera-vez-en-el-blog.html
Your feedback will be much appreciated.
Keep posting and all the best !
Pablo
Hey Oni,
Checked out your site and it looks great. Your income reports are pretty cool too. In your latest ones, your highest income was from writing. Can you elaborate on that a little more and maybe guide some us to those paying sources? If you’re uncomfortable to share that info, that’s cool too. Any help that could make my blog go from $0 to $1 would be a great start. Thanks!
I don’t have much of a bio page. I’m a man of mystery. That works too.
I have always had a very large about page with my photo because if people know me they will stick around or make a return visit.
Wow, I never thought sharing stats and numbers could help with my blog traffic but after seeing your blog and how you share your stats, I think I may try that in a few months (not now, my blog is not even one month old yet). That’s a great idea and it also show you can be trusted whenever you give some advices!
I entirely agree with the young blogger that nothing succeeds like displaying your income stats to your audience though it seems to be in bad taste. But every one loves to see how much one is earning and how he is doing it.Nothing surprising about it.
Oni,
Thanks so much for sharing.
I acutally need to do a better job with my Tweets and this post could not have come at a better time.
Thanks again!
Krizia
Thanks for the great post. Those are all very valid ways to increase bog traffic. I’m glad you were able to share your tips. And your right Pat Flynn does have an excellent site, and yours is pretty impressive as well. Keep up the good work!
I just made a few tweaks myself last night and when I checked my stats in the morning I was astounded by how much better they were. All I did was change a few of the page titles that show up on the top of my site, re-write my about page, change the layout of my homepage without changing the content at all, change the names of my categories, and put more useful posts on the bottom of my page. Compared to what has been happening for the past two months, my bounce ret fell dramatically and the time spent on site skyrocketed!
I expected that kind of effect and that is why I made all of the changes, but I didn’t expect it to happen so quickly and dramatically. And I agree that showing your brand is important- I made myself a logo and it is kind of hard to tell what effect it has, but I think it makes it easier for people to remember my blog and I get a lot of direct traffic.
Kudos to your success and its great that you share your income with your readers! I do the same- here are my monthly updates:
http://www.escapenormal.com/category/monthly-traffic-income-reports/
I’ll be sure to check yours out, hopefully I’ll be able to get my blog to $5,000 monthly someday!
I’m curious about the third point. While you, being a SME on making money online, it is valid that you add your own statistics and successes. What would someone, say, a parenting or writing blogger, use to accomplish the same goals?
Onibalusi,
First, congratulations on your success. You are doing awesome for such a young age. I was contemplating talking about income on my blog because many are interested in this topic.
Pat has a great blog and he is someone that I can relate to as well.
Great post and comments all around. I’ve been assigned to revamp our agency’s blog, a task that I am pretty stocked about. These tips are really useful. Another great resource that has given me useful advice was reading “The New Rules of Marketing and PR” by David Meerman Scott. Very useful blogging information here too. Give me a few weeks to get the new blog (www.jccrane.com/blog) going and I would love to get some feedback. Until then happy blogging.
Thank you for reiterating the importance of the About page. It was the first thing I wrote on my site. Unfortunately, everything I wrote was just filler so my site would have an About page. Looks like it’s time to rewrite and reorganize! I’m afraid this is the type of mistake a lot of newer bloggers make.
I feel so naughty going through your income reports! Thank you for posting them, though. It’s great to see where the money comes from. I also like that you’d posted your expenses. I always wonder how much other bloggers spend on everything (hosting, design, advertising, research tools, etc).
After reading this, I had to go make sure I at least had something written in my bio and I also put a picture up! Very solid advice. Wow…17? Really? Amazing.
I put a lot of time into my bio and think it’s pretty darn interesting, but I never gave any thought to showcasing it as you’ve described. Simple, effective idea I plan to implement as soon as possible. Thanks!
The name of the homepage is something we many times make mistakes and then. Change my homepages title, is a difficult task. Brainstorming ….
I have an About Me page AND an About This Blog page. Both come in second/third on views, next to the home page of course. I have 4 other tabs, but the “Abouts” always exceed the other page’s views. And they are both very informative. One of the sections in my “About This Blog” page (http://insideetsy.blogspot.com/p/about-this-blog.html) is called “Why I Feel Qualified to Administer This Blog”. I’ve added 113 followers in under two months WITHOUT any kind of fishing for them. They follow the blog because they want to, not just to get an ebook. But I am working on that :)
Recently i am working on my website and these three points help me in getting easy and good traffic. And i really like the Bio and Changing Title point. I will try to make it as you tell us.
Thank You
The “About” page is always my starting point when visiting someone’s blog. I rarely get interested in reading anonymous blogs.
Food for though, have home page title optimised now
thanks for the tips i also included about page in my site and now im going to edit my title
Hmm, so there’s still a lot of tweaking for my site to get my blog double its traffic.. Hope to follow your 3 tweak tips asap. Thanks.
I agree with the Bio, I even took it a step further and put my name under the tagline of my site. There’s nothing more annoying than going to a blog and not knowing who runs it. Like is it a male, female, duck, or a robot? When most people think of Apple the first person to come to mind is Steve Jobs, well I want people to think of me when they think of Geek Revolt.
That bio of Pat’s immediately strikes me as being written by a very friendly person who is keen to share his knowledge with others. So I can understand why he has a legion of fans.
social bookmarking and blog commenting is a good way to increase referral traffic. and I got some more great ideas from this post. Really useful post.
Thanks for sharing Onibalusi Sir………
Thanks for the tips. I went to you site and right up front I saw you mini-bio. I’m on it. I also started reading your other posts and I like your ideas. Thanks again.
Karen
Great post. Always liked the posts at ProBlogger. These are based on reality and people trust the facts stated here.
Uh, yeah, optimizing my “About Me” on all my pages right now. Thanks for this information. You are officially my hero for today. And nice site by the way!
Thank you!The 3rd tips really help me.. i never seldom share my income and traffic before.I will follow your advise.
Okay, you have convinced me. I am off to write an About page. :-)
Good tips. I’ll certainly consider adopting tips 1 and 2.
I love the themes on smartpassiveincome… could you please tell us what theme that is? It’s beautiful… and thanks for the tips on this post…
Congratulations you are doing quite well. Hope your hard work pays off in 2011.
This is very interesting Onibalusias I have started doing the same thing in my own blog network and it does eventually get your more followers in the niche you are writing about,socializing with your readers is a must let them know who you are and eventually they will relate you to a certain niche Darren on here is a prime example of this, thank you for sharing
Very cool stuff!… Making yourself memorable will increase the return traffic and refferals over time.
All the best,
David Edwards