#1 Factor In Growing Blog Traffic
Time.
It is really that simple. You know what the #1 factor which correlates highest with the reputation of a college? How long ago it was founded. Older colleges have more prestige.
Can you ever imagine a 20 year old getting elected president (assuming it was legal)? Of course not. Not enough time.
There are a few exceptions, but most big blogs were around for several years before they became big.
More time = more posts = more long tail Google searches.
More time = more reputation and authority
More time = more likelihood of getting lucky with a big post
Too many people want traffic NOW and it just isn’t going to happen.
My blog is about my travels around the world. Saying “I’ve been to 45 countries” has a lot more clout than saying “I plan on going to 45 countries” which is where I was 18 months ago.
Most bloggers just don’t have the patience to stick it out.
8 comments
Lot’s of truth to that. A friend of mine started a blog yesterday while we were hanging out and was joking how he was shocked he still had no rss subscribers or comments 3 hours after it’s inception.
That got me thinking… Anyone who makes something big has been at it for a while. There are those who just walk into a casino and pull a slot and win big but that is luck. Most people who make something of value have been at it for a while.
That brings up another issue which is those who do make a name for themselves truly are passionate about what they do or they would of given up long ago for the long long wait to start seeing ANY results.
Good post; it’s true.
Also remember once you make a name for yourself your second project is that much easier…
Enjoy the rest of your travels Gary!
A lot of people give up when they’re still trying to crack 100 RSS subs, little do they know the 100’s after come easier for all the reasons you state above.
Yeah… that’s a very unfortunate fact but it makes sense. People just have a hard time accepting it because of how they see others getting instant fame on the internet overnight. They hope they will become the next internet phenomenon or success. But very few get that lucky.
This is good advice. I remember when I started my first blog I submitted to all sorts of search engines and link directories sure that the traffic would just come pouring in.
Then I realized: Wait a minute, there’s only a few posts so far. Why would people visit this site or even reach it by search engine?
As time has passed though, I now have nearly 200 posts, a Google PR of 3 and I get about a thousand visits a week.
Time really is the best way to grow your blog, provided that you’re actually doing something during that time.
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Different niches rise through the ranks differently too. A technology related blog might network across the net faster than say a blog about power tools that contractors use.
Good stuff is placed here and that’s why I recall Scorpion’s Still Loving You which stats
Time, it needs time
To win back your love again
I will be there, I will be there
Great post here, Gary. I agree with you totally that it takes time to grow blog traffic. Sometimes, though, you need to take advantage of time. You can’t just wait for everything to come.
Of all the posts I’ve read on increasing blog traffic, this one just sticks out. We recently launched a blog and are already finding that long tail searches do indeed drive traffic. Maybe not a whole lot at the moment, by increasing the number of relevant and quality articles, no doubt a function of time, traffic should continue to grow. Thanks for matter of fact post!
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