Mom Website Traffic / Mom Blog Traffic
Having killer website content / blog content is just part of having a successful blog or website. You need to "get it out there", too. Although it is presumed that quality content will drive a bunch of website visitors, the reality is that content, alone, will not always drive the website traffic or blog traffic that you need to accomplish goals. This is especially true if you are writing content to post on a Blogger / Blogspot, niche networks and static pages. In this mommy blog and mom-centric world, there are several standard methods for driving traffic. Some of these include Blog Hops & Linkups, Social Networks, and Communities. The problem is that if you are not a consistent blog hopper or networker, you will not get the exposure needed to drive traffic to your blog. This Monday Marketing Tip provides ways that you can get more traffic for your site or blog.
#1 - Blog Hops & Link Ups
Participating in Blog Hops & Link Ups are great when you are first starting out. This web traffic method provides you with the ability of meeting other mom bloggers by interest and activities. Blog hopping / linking up is very easy. All that you need to do is 1) visit a blog that is hosting a Blog Hop or Link Up, 2) follow the instructions, 3) add your blog link, 4) comment on the hosting blog and 5) visit others blogs, follow and comment. Once you have built up, you can host blog hops and link ups on your blog, too. This is an awesome way to guarantee repeat visitors by providing value to your market.
The advantages of blog hops are that you will get exposure (at least from the host) and, ideally, comments to your blog posts. You will also meet other moms / bloggers and gain web traffic if it is an active blog hop.
The disadvantages to blog hopping is that it is time consuming, some do not produce the results that you expect and the search engines could consider this method spam depending on how you are commenting (are each unique, genuine and with relevant content) and how many blog hops you are doing each week.
Social Networks / Social Networking / Social Media Marketing
Social networking is an effective and fun way to market your blog or website. Networks like Google+, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Linkedin, Tumblr, Pinterest, Myspace, etc. provide you with the ability to share all types of information and for free. Some social networks have "pages" features (Facebook, Google+, etc) that let you create a special page for your blog or business, so that you are not networking or spamming information from your personal profile. It is extremely important to have these separate entities (pages) because social networking is a form of social media marketing. In social media, relation marketing is essential to the social marketing process, therefore leading with your social profile / yourself adds more benefit than leading with a business / blog page on these networks. On the other hand, some people only brand market (use business pages, groups, profiles to connect with others) and build well, though this takes a more aggressive approach than purely social networking. Most social sites also permit you to create groups, blog, participate in forums, add images and videos.
The advantages of social networking / social media marketing is that all of these features help you gain exposure and make friends at the networks. This provides you with the tremendous advantage in generating blog / website traffic. Plus, you can build a larger connection than if you were networking offline. Many shrewd mom bloggers and mom-centric business networkers turn their connections into subscribers and customers that they can remarket to on a regular basis, and without having to frequent the network as often.
The disadvantage to social networks is that you are sometimes limited on how you can market and that your content is no longer your own. For example, if you write blogs or refer friends for points, this adds content and growth to their site and not your own. Social networking can become time consuming if you are not using certain social media marketing processes that attract to you.
Niche Networks & Communities
Niche networks and communities are sometimes even more beneficial than using one of the more popular networks like Facebook, Twitter, etc. This is because you connect with others on specific interests opposed to having to find them at the other networks. These are often much smaller networks / communities, therefore you have a more intimate environment to network and marketing within. This helps drive blog / website traffic like crazy. Examples of niche networks and communities include: Google Friend Connect (for Blogger / Blogspot users), Flicker (photo network), SocialMoms, BlogFrog, Klout, etc.
Article Writing / Press Releases
Just as with writing killer website content / blog content is important to your blog or website, it is just as important to networks that permit you to post blogs, articles and press releases. Social networks are a great place to start, though there are specific networks for articles, blog posts and press releases that will drive traffic directly to your mom blog, website, networks, etc. http://www.ezinearticles.com and http://www.articlesbase.com are two popular ones ... Just Google what you want and you will find resources. Offering to write guest posts to struggling or developing blogs, is also an excellent way to position as an authority and gain more blog / website traffic.
The advantage to article / blog / press release marketing is that you can gain more web / blog traffic and create a following of people who are interested in the type of things you write about. You get the word out there more quickly - at the right websites - because these types of sites are authorities in what they do and do their own marketing (it's like having another website working for you); there are search engine ranking benefits, too. People visit those sites to read and share the articles.
The disadvantage is that these are not your own websites / blogs, therefore you are giving them your content (this is hard for people that struggle with writing enough content for their own blogs). Plus, you will not get any exposure / web traffic if you do not write well and / or it is not a popular networks. This method of web traffic generation can become costly.
Banner, Button, Link Exchange
This is not the same as blog hopping. When yo exchange links, buttons or banners, someone is placing a direct link - to your website or blog - on their blog or website. They will often ask you to do the same, but not in all cases. Some will link to you because they value your website or blog. Some people provide linking websites - Picket Fence Blogs is an example - that set up a link network that has voting and giveaway sections. This is extremely helpful and not looked upon poorly by the search engines. On the other hand, other types of link sites are harmful and you should stay away from them. They can hurt your marketing and search engine exposure.
Other blog / web traffic generation ideas ...
There is a world wide web of additional web traffic generation methods and form of online marketing for moms. You just have to delve a bit further and pay attention to what others are doing to marketing their mom blogs and websites. Some moms provide review services; others do giveaways with requirements that drive web traffic and increase network memberships. The sky is the limit when you are marketing on the Internet. The goal is to try new things and keep what does well. This means that you need to learn how to track conversions (web traffic, sales, comments, etc.)
Have a website / blog content tip that I should add to this blog post? Did you learn anything about why you should write the "Quality Unique Website Content"? If so, please take a moment to share your thoughts below in the Comment section of this blog :)
Feel free to CONTACT ME if you ever need website / blog traffic, or with networking and bloging help?
In Motherly Love,
Mother Baby Child
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