There are many different kinds of traffic which can be generated to the blog or website such as organic traffic, direct traffic, referral traffic and etc. When it comes to traffic generation to blog or website, bloggers or webmasters don’t really bother what kind of traffic they will generate because all kinds of traffic are useful to the sites. Anyway, organic search engine traffic from Google seems to be most attractive to webmasters because Google search engine has more searchers and it will bring more traffic to the sites if it ranks well in the search engine.
However, search engine war today seems to be different compared to last time, it is getting harder to rank well in the search engine even big guns on the web. Google keeps updating the algorithm all over the time, the latest Google algorithm updates called Google Penguin and the previous Google algorithm updates called Google Panda had killed a lot of micro niche sites as well as some well established sites.
These days, bloggers and webmasters prefer to drive other traffic rather than blindly and eagerly chasing for organic search engine traffic which doesn’t give any guarantee. One day Google change the algorithm and slaps your blog or website to no where, your blog traffic will fall to the ground.
5 Ways How To Drive Direct and Referral Traffic To Your Blog
1. Blog Commenting
Blog commenting is one of the most popular ways that people use to drive traffic to the blog. Searching around for relevant niche blogs which are around your niche, read the blog posts in the blog and leave a genuine and relevant comment to the blog post. It’s not only driving you traffic, it also helps to build up your brand.
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2. Guest Posting
Guest posting has been claimed by many big guns out there to be the best way to drive traffic, build your brand and improve search engine ranking with one-way dofollow backlink. If you used to read others blog in your niche, you can actually see a lot of guest posts in the blog nowadays. This is the way that would bring various advantages to your blog.
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3. Facebook, Twitter, etc.
Social media tends to be the second largest sources where people can drive traffic to the blog. In order to drive more traffic from social networking site to your blog, you need to get more followers or friends with your account, you’ll receive traffic when you share your blog updates in your account. There are many social networking sites which will drive you traffic such as Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon, Digg, Linkedin and etc.
4. Forum Posting
Forum posting is not a popular way that people used to drive traffic, but I could see the potential of forum posting. You will still receive traffic if you do the right way, you’re required to join relevant forum which has similar niche to your blog niche, you also need to do forum posting the right way. For example, you have a blogging related blog, I would suggest you to join WarriorForum which has similar niche, there are many sections which are in internet marketing topic and all are open for discussion, there will be many people asking questions or sharing experiences, it’s your time to search Q&A thread in your niche and answer the questions with your profession. If they like your answer and help, they’ll be more likely to read your blog too. In order to get people to visit your blog, you need to place your blog URL in your signature.
5. Build A Community Around Your Niche
Building a community around your niche takes a long time, but it’s a good way to drive traffic in a long run basis. Nowadays, there are many bloggers are partner up to do something together such as building a blog, leaving blog comment in each other blog, and etc. Building a healthy relationship between bloggers are good because bloggers will help each other if you’re in trouble. Indirectly, it could help to drive traffic to your blog with the help of community.
Wrap Up
Today, it is difficult to rank well in the search engine to drive organic traffic to your blog, even though you rank well for now, your blog may drop in some days after some Google algorithm updates, there is no guarantee. Therefore, bloggers and webmasters are prefer to receive direct and referral traffic because it is much more secure as it doesn’t need to depend on the search engine ranking and Google algorithm.
How do you drive traffic to your blog? Direct, referral or organic traffic?
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About Lee Ka Hoong
Hey Lee,
Thats informative post. I think I have to start Guest Posting and Forum Posting as well.
Commenting is also important as you have discussed also.
Facebook and Twitter didn’t give me such good results as I wish.
@Ashwani Ahlawat,
The combination of guest posting and blog commenting is working pretty well. Today, building a community through Facebook and Twitter is very essential, you have to interact with people in order to get it working. Perhaps you can try these methods and see which one is working for you.
Yeah bro, I am following recommended tips to increase traffic through Social Media Sites and to increase my followers. 🙂
I have also written a post regarding NATURAL TWITTER FOLLOWERS.
Hope you liked the work. 🙂
@Ashwani Ahlawat,
That sounds cool! Will be checking the post soon. 🙂
Don’t forget about Feeds !!! They are awesome if you have good number of subscribers 🙂
@Dhruv Bhagat,
It can be one of the way to drive more traffic, it’s related to building a community as you need people to subscribe your feed. It’s good to try too.
This is really an interesting post to read but i have a doubt in the forum postings is that when ever if we provide some link or the details of website in the forum than the forum mod, sup-mod, admin they delete the post and even the user id which we create and if they think that we are spamming in their forum then they even block our ip address and does not let us to enter in their forum any more.
Hope you have a good answer to this.
@Raj,
Some forum might be strict on that, but usually we don’t include link into the post, usually we add our link at the signature, so it appears at the end of the post. Even you would like to share some external link with great resources, you must have some really useful and genuine comment. Forum posting is similar to blog commenting, you have to play it well, you can only leave genuine comment but not one or two liner comment, and the owner will be more likely to approve your comment.
@ Lee Ka Hoong Thanks for the reply. But i had linked one of the site in the forum and they deleted my id and they also blocked my ip address so that i cannot visit their forum. I am trying to say is that if i cant write the whole article in the answer than i link it to another site so i did exactly the same and i think that they thought that i am spamming and increasing the traffic of other sites through their forum via link building.So is it another way that i can follow up ?
@Raj,
Yes Raj, if your comment sounds spammy (especially with an external link), then owner will most likely to treat it as spam comment. IF possible, try not to put any link in the comment (you can put your link at signature only), or if you think the external link would help better, then you should write a little longer and relevant to the topic. There is no way to help, it’s all depending on the owner, you can contact the owner and explain again, that’s the only way Raj. Sorry that I couldn’t help.
@ Lee Ka Hoong Thanks again for the quick reply and thank you soo much for helping me and for the replies you have provided me.
@Raj,
You’re welcome Raj, simply shoot me an email if you need any help from me in coming future, I would be happy to help you out. Keep it up and good luck Raj! 😉
These tips are good but search engine traffic still remain the largest source of traffic for any blogger. It only takes time to get that massive traffic from Google and the way their algorithm changes can be frustrating. These 5 ways will always work no matter what. Thanks for sharing
@Don Caprio,
Yes and No. If you drive traffic through these sources without search engine traffic, then you don’t have to worry about the algorithm changes. Thanks for your comment Don!
Social Networks such as Chime, Stumble Upon, Reddit and Digg can also be used effectively to drive in traffic.
Networks such as N4G also drive plenty of traffic provided your content has potential to get viral !
@Nadeem,
I agree with you Nadeem, we can’t leave any social network, any social networks do have potential to grow and improve. As long as we write quality content and build up community through social network, it’s more than enough.
Thanks Lee for sharing this superb article…
Google could really slap you one day and if you don’t have other sources of traffic you might end up giving up…
I ave good number of views from google but I always strive also to increase my traffic from other sources…
Thanks
@Kelvin,
You’re right, we always look for alternative, never put all eggs in one basket. Good to hear that you have good traffic from Google, so you shall start driving traffic from other sources as well.
Hi lee
nice post
I agree with you guest posting, blog commenting and using social networks and online communities to promote your websites are some of the best ways in which you can get more free visitors online.
these methods will bring you more target visitors to your website.
thanks for sharing these tips
Bryan
@Bryan,
Yes Bryan, we never give up any opportunities which can bring benefit to our blog. 🙂
Hope you like this.
Hi Lee,
I love that you mention blog commenting, this accompanied with build relationships is the winning strategy. It all about people, if we can appeal to people ten we can build traffic from this simple method.
@Simmeon,
Building up relationship and a community around your niche is the most essential process, you’re near to success if you can achieve this two elements.
Connections are the key to online success. The more of it you have, the more traffic you can drive naturally. It is also so sweet to connect with new people as part of biz! Social media, blog commenting and guest posting are wonderful ways to drive traffic to a website.
Forum posting is something I am yet to try! Thanks for these nice tips Lee.
@ Jane: I think you are doing exactly what you said about building connections with the new readers. That’s really a smart strategy, we want new nexus to build a better blog!
@ Lee: I should try to build a network around my blog and I know social media is a great way to start. You’ve shared quite interesting points, what I feel is: we shouldn’t totally depend on Google, these are the smart ways to drive traffic.
@Jane,
We just can’t leave any opportunities which can drive traffic to our blog. Building a community around our niche is the best method ever. Keep going Jane!
@Rahul,
We have to keep communicating with people around us and build up a community, get more people to know about you. Relationship is way toward success. Work hard together Rahul!
@Rahul,
Addition, we don’t put all eggs in a basket, we don’t know when Google will penalize our blog in the next update, who knows right? So we shall drive traffic from various sources to be secure. 😉
Hi Lee,
It seems some times Google goes mad and penalize the genuine websites these days by it so called algorithms and moreover it is tough or need more and more hard work to get place one on Google or any search engines since everyone targeting for No1 position, even if we get place 1, there is no guarantee for long and all depends on google’s Dance.
More over due to technology development there were a lot of people starting their own website in minutes and trying to be No 1, so we need to find some alternate ways of traffic sources like your article and thanking you for the article.
@Naveen,
Strongly agree with you Naveen, it’s complicated to rank #1 in Google search engine and even harder to maintain the ranking. Anyway, we can still work hard to rank well in search engine, but try not to put all eggs in one basket. No matter how we shall build up a community around our niche.
Out of all these commenting, interacting is the best. Guest posting as you mentioned is also a great arsenal in the hands of the bloggers. Set out to identify blogs in your niche and approach them for guest posting, not all of them will respond but many would.
In addition to the methods mentioned by you, remember there are other search engines that are still powerful, try to optimise for them as well.
@Shalu,
Yes search engine might powerful, we can do but don’t depend on it. We should always look for alternative traffic sources.
These are nice tips but Organic traffic is needed in any condition.
@Atish,
Yes agree. 🙂
You can also submit your blog to worldwide directories. So that users can find your blog more effectively.
@Pavan Somu,
I find that blog directories are not effective when it comes to driving traffic and building community. It’s difficult to build up community if you don’t communicate with people. Blog directories may be good in getting backlinks, but somehow I don’t find these links are natural and useful.
What say you Pavan?
Aloha Lee, very nice post and you’re certainly right changes do occur and make it more challenging for online marketers and businesses. Good pointers and stick to the basics and keep doing our best I guess. I’m glad I came by and thanks for sharing! Mahalo, Lani 🙂
@Lani Kee,
I hope you like it Lani! 😉
Very interesting post and yes people like referral traffic now more than organic because we don’t need to rely on Google only.
thanks for sharing Lee
@JamesW,
Organic traffic is important, but in certain field referral traffic is much more important. Anyhow, we have to build up a community around our niche in order to success!
Hope you like this James!
hello Lee Ka Hoong
thnx for these nice tips this is going to help me a lot to generate a good organic traffic
@Vishvast,
I hope it works for you bro. 🙂
Social websites like stumbleupon and digg can also drive traffic but guest posting and commenting are the two ultimate ways of getting traffic plus a backlink.
Thanks for sharing these powerful ways for driving traffic.
@Ashish,
Guest posting and commenting work pretty well as it can drives traffic, getting backlinks, and also building up a community with conversation, getting more people to know about you is the best thing ever.
Keep going Ashish!
Most of my traffic comes from Google ofcourse, but a great part of it comes from Social Marketing sites like Reddit and stumble upon.. There are some tricks ot be followed in order to get a nice traffic from stumble upon.. And once if someone manages to get that, it is surely an asset.. I do not prefer blog commenting for getting traffic , because everytime you might not end up in getting alot of traffic because of increased spammars.. In that case, referral traffic from social bookmarking sites is best..
@Prithvi,
No doubt, traffic is important. Nevertheless, I don’t agree with you that you’re not preferable with blog commenting, in fact we have to build up community to stay strong in our niche, who knows one day Google hits your blog? 😉 Blog commenting is mostly used to interact with other people, so that more people would know about you and build up a community.
If your intention is to drive traffic only but not building up a community or you don’t tend to communicate with anyone else, then I would probably agree with your statement. 🙂 From your statement, I guess your goal is to make money from your blog only?
Anyway, we shall try to drive traffic from various sources, as well as building backlinks, the concept is same.
Hi,
Actually I get almost all my traffic from Search engine.About the methods discussed here, I have a question in mind.This traffic wouldn’t be the targeted traffic right? This traffic mostly would just increase the no. of views, it wouldn’t be the traffic that could be monetized as the SE traffic.
What are your views regarding this? I may be wrong.
@Tanmay Sawant,
Most of the traffic from these sources would be Referral Traffic and it can be turned to Direct Traffic (Regular readers). I believe that most of the search engine traffic would be one time visit, it’s not like Referral and Direct Traffic which will be returning all the while.
The answer is up to your view, if you’re looking for money, then search engine traffic is good for you in short term, if you’re planning to build up a community and money comes in slowly, then referral and direct traffic is much more better for you. Who knows Google hits your blog after another algorithm change? Of course, that would be a plus if you can dominate both traffic.
Anyway, I prefer building up a community and keep interaction with readers. 🙂
Great tips Lee. Other than search engines, Facebook and Twitter are two of my other top traffic sources.
@Priyangshu,
You’ve done a great job bro! Thanks for reading and I hope you like it!
@Priyangshu,
I found that you’ve sold your tech blog GeekyTricks? Sad to see that you sold it as I see your blog drove huge traffic and making some good money from BuySellAds.com. Anyway, you must be having some personal reason to make this decision. Don’t quit, keep going! Good luck bro!
Hi Lee, Great article. I would still prefer organic traffic then would go for referral traffic, and then direct traffic. Why would I prefer organic traffic? As its free and less work, where as commenting takes patience and heck lot of time. I support Google and changes in the algorithm, we need to adapt to the changing methodologies.
@Suraj,
Yes organic traffic maybe better, but it’s not secure as nobody knows when Google penalizes your blog one day. If you build up a community around your niche, no matter how bad is your search engine ranking, your traffic wouldn’t fall too serious. Anyway, it’s good to drive traffic from various sources. Thanks for reading Suraj!
I also agree and believe on talking to other bloggers within your niche and exchange cool ideas.
@Arsie,
Yes communication and open for discussion is the best way to build up a community which would lead to success in short period. Keep doing these and success isn’t far away. 🙂
Open discussion always proved to be helpful when there is need of getting traffic. Social Media is also the best way.
Don’t forget about Feeds !!! They are awesome if you have good number of subscribers
On some occasions, I end up getting good amount of traffic on my blog from my social media and guest blogging activities. But still I have to see a real impact on traffic of my blog from other activities that you shared.
Cool post, quite a few interesting things there that I haven’t tried yet that I probably will!
I think it can be quite difficult and deflating when you spend so much time and effort on getting your content out there, only to have low traffic and no comments. Though I am new to the blog game, there are certain things that I know would be effective in getting traffic..
First off, write good content on forums; this is what I use daily. Just by contributing great value in the forums, you gain traffic, and not just cold traffic but warmed up traffic that are always likely to return because you provide good value.
Just my two cents.
When I started blogging, my first ever guest post at Quick Online Tips gave me the traffic which I never expected. In all the methods you suggested, the best one according to me is guest posting. Blog commenting does not gain direct attraction from all the readers but guest posting sure does. But anyways commenting too brings good traffic. Forum posting also brings good traffic.
Hey Lee,
I have just one thing to say about this post of yours…: Old Content in New Packet! 😀
Just Kidding… It was really Helpful . . . 🙂
Hey Lee,
I agree on your first three. It is true there are sense with commenting, guest posting, and sharing your articles to other known and popular social networking websites to add more traffic to one’s blog site. Especially if your blog contains unique and informative articles for the readers.