Skellie wrote this post. For more advanced blogging tips and strategies, visit her blog, Skelliewag.
When selling advertising spots on your blog the metric that advertisers value most is page views, or ‘impressions’. More page views equals higher value advertising spots on your blog. While the obvious solution to increase the value of your ad spots is to increase the amount of traffic your blog receives, you can also do a number of quick and easy things to yield more page views from your existing traffic.
1. Develop the habit of self-linking
I was recently referred by a friend to read a post at Steve Pavlina’s blog. I enjoyed the post immensely, and because it linked out to other relevant posts on the blog, I found myself spending several hours swinging like a monkey from post to post, devouring new ideas voraciously. During that time Steve probably squeezed about 10 – 20 page views out of my single visit.
Most bloggers don’t self-link anywhere near as much as they could. This is a particularly beneficial habit if page views directly correlate with your income. When a reader is deep into your post it means the topic you’re writing on is of keen interest to them and so, related content is also likely to be of keep interest. If you don’t make readers aware of this as you write, it’s a lost opportunity: not only for more page views, but also for a greater level of reader engagement in your blog.
2. End with related posts
Bloggers are increasingly using a WordPress plug-in to link to related posts at the footer of each post. This is a clever move because it gives readers options to continue at the point when they are most likely to be looking for them (when they have just finished reading one of your great posts). You can handle this automatically through the plugin and give up some control over what appears or hand-pick posts to link to, which will of course take more time but gives you maximum control over the links that are chosen.
Photo by nate steiner
3. Use your sidebar to build page-views
Think about the three best blog posts you’ve ever written. Are they on the main page of your blog right now? Chances are that at least one of them isn’t, unless you’ve hit a real purple patch at the moment!
Just because this wonderful post is not on the main page doesn’t mean nobody but the odd wandering search visitor should find it. Highlighting your best posts in your blog sidebar (usually under a ‘Popular Posts’ list) is an excellent way to drive page views while also keeping your best posts evergreen.
4. Create multi-page posts
Have you ever started reading a fun top 100 list at a website only to discover that they’d given each item its own page, forcing you to click 100 times? Most people will find this excessive, but it is a clever tactic if the content is actually worth it. Blog posts also make good candidates to spread long posts over several pages, and there is a WordPress plug-in designed to do this. Of course, it’s important to always be mindful of stopping before the point where it becomes frustrating for your audience.
Here I’ve presented just a few ways to yield a greater number of page views from your existing audience. I’m sure I missed a few good ones, so add your ideas in the comments!
Great tips, thank you especially for the plugins, I couldn’t find any that actually worked as it supposed to work :)
Great ways! I don’t think it has more ways. Has it? Anyways, thanks for the wonderful tips.
These are all really great ideas. I will use these on my entrepreneurs blog. I think linking to relevant posts within the article is the best idea because as people read along then they know they can find out more about a subject you are already talking about. Often I will read multiple pages because of this technique and now that my site has a good load of articles I am starting to do this more
Great tips. I’m going to have to try them; especially the self-linking and ending with links to related posts. Thanks.
Self linking is something I need to work on for sure. I get lazy I admit.
I see number 3 all the time but have never implemented it on my own blog. I think I’ll make it this week’s goal to do so. Thanks for the great tips!
Why would we want to increase page views? Is it just because this number is important to some advertisers? The cons (user frustration, server load, bandwidth, maintenance) seem obvious but im not sure about the pros?!
I use the related post plugin and when I think of it, link to my own post. That is on my action plan – linking to myself and others! I like the sidebar popular post idea. I’m going to do that! Thank you.
Utilizing the sidebar has been my latest trick so to speak. I now use PHP hooks to display the most recent posts in my top categories on the sidebar in addition to the featured and most popular posts. Amazingly, it worked wonders to my traffic and pageviews.
Inward linking is always one of the strongest points a blog can have. Heck, that’s the best way to funnel your backlink traffic into where you want them to – correct external anchors or not.
Great post! Multi-page is a great point to consider!
I’m always forgetting to link back to my own articles! Thanks for the reminder. Great, solid ideas too!
@Winston – There’s a certain kind of ad unit called CPM (cost per thousand impressions) that pays you a fraction of a cent everytime their ad is displayed on your webstie. For bloggers who are showing these kinds of ads, the more page views, the more income. Also, the longer you keep someone on your blog, the better a chance they have of clicking on one of your ads or, better yet, becoming a subscriber.
@ Winston: Don’t spread your posts over several pages and instead focus on tips 1, 2, 3: providing users with more convenient pathways into your best content :) Then it’s all pro and no con!
I’ll try to implement your ideas. Give me a month and I’ll come back to you with my report card :)
@Winston Like you said. Page views are very vital to advertising. It is also a measure of traffic. Also, page views indicates the activity of a certain post. So they are very important.
Thanks for the very practical tips! I might add that I am one of those people that gets a bit weary of an article that is divided into too many pages. It’s a blog, not a book. :-)
I hate seeing the last one to be honest, no matter how long the post is. Love the related posts plugin though, although I’m struggling to get it to work.
I’m in the midst of working up a redesign for my blog (who am I kidding? My husband will be doing the redesign!), and I’m excited to incorporate the plug-ins you’ve mentioned.
Thanks for the great tips!
I think 1-3 are great ideas, but #4 is a no-goer for me.
Too many blogs & sites are pulling this stunt, and I absolutely refuse to click on page after page of single-screen content.
I’m sure it’s great for increasing pageviews, but do we really want to disenfranchise our readers this way? After all, if you make it egregious enough, they will leave for someone else’s site, and then where will your pageviews go?
That being said, #2 and #3 are absolute “must-do’s”. It makes perfect sense for both the blog owner and the reader.
I know what you mean, Skellie – when I first encountered Mr. Pavlina’s blog I spent half a day reading articles there. Man surely know how to link ;).
This entry forced me to think – tomorrow I shall add related entries to my post footer.
I wont support multi-page posts. I don’t like to read them. I will read something else, instead of spending time increasing pageviews for the website owner.
Thanks for the idea on related posts. I just installed the Wordpres plug-in and it is working like a charm.
I have other blogs hosted at blogger.com. Is there a related posts gadget or widget for those blogs?
Great information. I guess I should start self-linking more often. It’s a hassle, but probably worth it in the long run.
Great post, Skellie. However, I disagree with #4. Please don’t split your posts into multiple pages. Maybe if each page is 1000 words long, but other than that it’s kind of annoying.
Oh, and for anyone who wants to set-up a Featured Posts thing in their sidebar like described in the post, be sure to check out this tutorial: http://www.webmaster-source.com/2008/01/25/how-to-feature-your-best-posts-in-your-sidebar/
Great tips Skellie, Thank you. All helpful for the setup of my new blog…eventually!
Ya! great tips…do you know any add ons for blogger?specially for the 4th point you have mentioned…..
Thanks for the good tips. I’ve had a lot of success with the related posts plugin, although it took me a while to get it working.
I enjoyed reading this post. As a new blogger, I will try a few of these tips in my next post. I will also try the WordPress plug-ins you mentioned.
Oh, and I have to add that although Steve definitely uses properly this interlinking stuff, he’s writing posts in quality that very few of us can even get near to.
Sorry but I’m an SP maniac, that man rocks!
Thank you for the link to the WordPress Related Posts plug-in. I’ve been searching for a good plug-in so we can add that functionality to our blog without doing it manually.
Your idea for self-linking is good. Often, bloggers think to link to others, but not necessarily our own related posts.
Darren shared your point about putting your top 10 or top 20 posts in your sidebar a couple of years ago. I started doing that on my exploringadoptionblog.com and it works like a charm. Highly recommended for increasing page views!
Laura Christianson
co-founder, HeBlogsSheBlogs.com
As you rightly pointed out internal building is very key to have less bounce rate and hence show your authority.
No need to say quality content matters here seriously.
Thank you.
Dead on, as usual. Except for 4. ;-p I dislike the idea of forcing my readers to jump through hurdles, even if it jumps up my pageviews. I suppose there might be a place for the tactic on websites that, as you said, directly make money from pageviews. My income is primarily from residual sources rather than advertising slots.
Self linking – who would have thought? I definitely need to work on this!
Thanks Skellie for the tips. We read so many of these and just put them to the side. I’l get back to that later. Then we get even busier and forget about the great tips we just learned.
Like now, so I dont forget we have sticky notes. What a great frame it makes aroung the moniter. Of course on my phone they get to be a problem.
Gary McElwain
These are great ideas…especially the one about self-linking. I don’t do that as much as I probably should.
I like point #1, but how? The only way I see this happening is if I have a great memory of hundreds of posts I’ve created and can remember when a particular post would relate to the current post.
What method do you use for this? Sure, I could keep all posts in one word file and do a find for particular words, but that’s cumbersone. I guess point #2 takes the need away from #1 though right?
I agree, that self-linking and using related posts plugins are the best way to generate more pageviews. Once the reader finished a post, it gives them some more options to find material instead of hopping over to a new website.
I have had a lot of success using the popular posts in the sidebar, along with recent photos from my Flickr photosteam.
I agree with most of the tips 1-3 are awesome and I have been doing them for about 6 months with great results…but I have to disagree with #4… I think of lists of sites like cracked.com and they do that a lot…to the point were I don’t want to eve view their list anymore. Sure you will get more page views that way, if the content is great…but at what cost in the longrun?
That first point is so true. What better way to get advertising than from your own posts. They are already there, just give them that extra nudge!
Once I get more content on my site I am definitely going to add the related posts plugin and add a popular posts widget into my sidebar. So many blogs have great content, but it is buried months back in the archives.
Great post Skellie, thanks!
– Jack Rugile
Simple Sapien
Very useful tips for someone who manages to get zero visits after all the effort of blogging. I’m not complaining, I’m learning – I hope there is a perceived difference. :-)
JamesP
Great tips, I must be doing something right, use all of them regularly.
I do agree with you about using related posts as a good way to generate more pageviews but the advice that I have been given by some pro bloggers is to add at the bottom of your post ‘Popular posts’ or ‘Best Picks’ instead of the related posts section. Does anyone know a good plugin for this?
I’ve also heard that self-linking helps with the search engines, too.
Interlinking your posts is one of the best things you can do for many reasons, but more page views is one of them. The more page views you get, the longer someone stays on your blog, the more likely conversion will occur. This is something advertisers know, and that’s why they’re concerned about pageviews.
Large sites do this to tremendous effect, by linking to their own internal information pages on a subject instead of an external site. TechCrunch and the New York Times sites do this. But anybody can do this. Size isn’t a prerequisite, it’s just multiplier.
Great advice. 1 and 3 is something that I try and do although it is a little easier for me as its not that large of a blog yet.
I use blogger so 2 is not possible. Although I will add that doing it manually gives total control over the links and makes them more relevent.
And yeah, like most others I dont like 4. I personally do not like it so will not put my readers through it.
Good post! Thanks.
I started ending my posts with a Related Posts section at the bottom at the beginning of the month. My average page views per visit went from about 1.1 to 2.0. It’s dropped a bit down to 1.6, but the results are much better than they were.
See for yourself:
http://www.sitemeter.com/?a=stats&s=s33gametipcenter&r=12
I like your precision and experience.
I think I’m doing the first 3, but something surprised me. Either I misread my stats, or nobody’s ever clicked my popular posts and I’ve had them up for two weeks. Maybe location?
Normally, it would take a blogger lot of time and trial to figure out these ways on their own. Great tips!
All four of them do work.
Self-linking, or what I’ve often seen referred to as “deep linking” is an excellent way to encourage & help your readers to explore your older posts. I think that readers typically just hit the main page and don’t think to dig deeper into your archives, so anything you can do to guide them is a good thing.
And I think deep linking is a great way to shine a little new light on an older post that never quite seemed to get its due share of exposure. Y’know sometimes the blog entries that you poured your heart into most or that you’re most proud of are the ones that can seem to go by unnoticed… (And yet that silly fluff piece about what you had for lunch somehow gets more traffic overnight than you’d seen in 2 weeks prior! Sheesh!)
And I also like to edit older posts to provide a link forward from it to a newer, related entry. Now, I’m not talking about doing a major overhaul of an old post a la George Lucas, just a minor tweak. I haven’t done this often, but on most of the posts where I’ve done this, I’ve indicated it with a little red “Update” notation, so it’s more apparent. (You can take a look at my FiveFingers For Your Ten Toes article for an example. Oooh, see that? I just “deep linked!”)
Thanks for the post. Yesterday I created the “Most popular posts” in one of my blogs and today I read Your post and understood what have I done :)
Users must have easy possibility to navigate, internal site linking helps them navigate and helps site traffic grow.
Thanks for nice explanation!
“nobody’s ever clicked my popular posts and I’ve had them up for two weeks. Maybe location?”
I’d say you might have to start looking at the titles of your posts then. Nobody will click on them if they don’t seem interesting.