5 Ways to Increase Traffic to Your Site

When I first started my Etsy business years ago, I had no idea what I was doing. I put items in my shop and I just sat and literally watched the screen just waiting for my first customer. I thought about putting my work on the internet was enough to make my first sale. I was SO wrong! As I started networking in forums and meeting people I learned that you have to share your product. This goes the same for a blog. If I just wrote a blog post and waited for people to read it on their own I would still be at 0 readership. The minute I write a post, I share it! I have a plan in action to make sure it gets out there for people to read it.

I wanted to share 5 ways I bring traffic to my sites and hopefully, this gives you some ideas on how to increase traffic to your own.

The first thing I do after writing a blog post is share it on Pinterest. You can create great images on Canva that will help drive traffic to your site. Think vertical instead of horizontal and sharing words on the images will help get more traffic.

This image was easily created through Word Swag. You can choose the dimensions for how it will be used between Pinterest, Instagram, or Facebook.

2. I always share on Instagram when I write a blog post. If you have a business account with 10,000 followers or more you can do the swipe up feature in Stories. You can change the link in profile and tell your audience with text in a post that there is a new blog post. I find that writing a hint that gives details of what the blog post is about rather than “new blog post” gets way more clicks. You can also track your stats to see how many clicks you get to each post to your website.

3. Along with the theme of social media, I love my Facebook readers. I make sure to share with them with a horizontal photo to grab their attention and text with what is in the latest blog post.

4. My weekly newsletter drives a HUGE amount of traffic to my site. There are a few ways to think about it. If and when Instagram dies down with popularity, how will your readers find you? You haven’t captured their email. No matter how many followers you have 1,000 or 1 million, they can all be gone tomorrow. I will be honest, building my weekly newsletter takes hours. I am up late on Monday nights crafting everything into one email. Some people tell me I am crazy for sending out one once a week but it has significantly increased my traffic. If you want to get on the list to see what they are all about, you can sign up here!

I love keeping in touch with my readers through the weekly email and I hear back from readers this way. This is the most rewarding part of the job when readers reply by email and tell me how helpful the blog has been for them. Thank you!!

5. Google search is my biggest traffic driver. I really don’t know much about SEO, just what I have taught myself over the years. Blogging consistently and often is important. When I have a blog post idea, I will usually enter the blog title into google and see if there are similar articles. This gives me an idea if I have competition on the topic or if I will rank high in google search. I always tag my blog posts with search terms that relate back to the post. I really found this article/podcast to be helpful with learning more about SEO.

BONUS: Word of Mouth is a great way to increase traffic to your site. I have been selling my photography at shows in Chicago since 2009. This is a great opportunity to Interact with readers and customers face to face and share my story. When I sell my photographs at Art Shows, we will often talk about Paris trips past of present and I can direct people to the blog for more information.

So there you have it! My tips on ways to increase traffic to your site. I hope this helps as you build your own following. If you have any questions or have suggestions on something that has helped you, please comment below!

P.S. Don’t miss All your Blogging Questions Answered (Why Every Business Should Have a Blog) and 5 Tips for Productivity

Don’t be afraid to repeat content. The way the algorithms work, chances are not everyone saw your blog post the first time around.