Reaching Readers
I’m a huge e-sports fan, and lately I’ve been channeling my passion for pro gaming into a project I’m really enjoying. It’s a blog about e-sports, and it features news, opinion pieces (by me, of course!), and tips for newcomers who are just getting into the scene. It’s not The New York Times or anything, just something I work on when I’m not studying, but I’m having a blast writing it. There’s just one problem: nobody reads it! Do you have any tips for getting more visits on a website?
Your question is a good one – and one that an awful lot of experts wrestle with every day. After all, there is quite a bit of money to be made by getting more people to visit a website! Turning your blog into a more popular site will require you to get your site noticed, of course. It will also require you to keep people interested. We will talk about both below.
First things first: how do the experts generate interest in a website? One way, of course, is traditional marketing. But let us talk about two that are unique to the world of the web: social media marketing and search engine optimization.
A social media presence is an absolute must for any type of business or website these days, and it is not hard to see why. There are literally billions of people on large social networks like Facebook, and many of those are potential readers, customers, or partners. Facebook has a total membership of more than 2 billion active accounts. For Twitter, the figure is 328 million. No wonder, then that companies spend more every year on social media: spending shot up 65% from 2015 to 2016.
Social networking sites are not, of course, the only commonly visited sites that could conceivably send readers your way. Search engines are also great ways to generate traffic. To do that, though, you will need to get your site to rise high on the search engine results page (SERP). This is where search engine optimization (SEO) comes into play. Entire companies exist to fill this need, as 88% of all search engine traffic goes to organic (non-paid) search results – a strong argument for smart SEO made by Australia’s Bambrick Media.
Clicks alone are not everything, of course. One thing SEO concerns itself with is what the experts call a “bounce rate.” Simply put, a bounce rate measures how many people look at your website and then leave quickly. This brings us to the second part of generating traffic for your site: keeping visitors and encouraging repeat visitors. A high bounce rate can mean that your site is simply not what these searchers are looking for – or it could mean you have a problem with loading speed or your site’s design. Be sure to seek out site design resources and helpful blogs to assist with your improvements, as they can make a huge difference to your overall success.
Experts know not to underestimate design’s importance. Design changes can drastically affect a website’s traffic numbers: for instance, studies show that 39% of people will leave a website if the images don’t load quickly. Smart web design means creating a user-friendly site that is easy to read and offers something of value in a way that is perfectly clear. Fortunately for casual bloggers like you, there are plenty of ways to get design on a budget. WordPress, a free blogging platform, supports 74.6 million sites.
With a smart social media presence, content that generates search engine traffic, and a design that keeps people coming back, your site will likely see an increase in visitors and repeat visitors. Who knows: when you graduate, your hobby may just become a career.
Provided in cooperation with Scholarship Media