"2024 Guide: How to Boost Your Referral Traffic by 77% in Just 90 Days"
To increase website traffic, many people focus solely on search engine optimization (SEO). They then wonder why there isn't a significant improvement in search traffic and rankings.
The truth is, SEO takes time to yield results. Therefore, you must utilize other methods such as social media, word-of-mouth, press releases, and blog posts to continue driving search engine traffic your way.
In terms of social media marketing, the social network LinkedIn has drawn the most active visitors to my blog. In fact, when I increased my LinkedIn engagement by 386%, my social media traffic nearly doubled.
Increasing referral traffic is much more challenging for beginners than for authoritative bloggers, but it's not impossible.
This is why I wrote this in-depth article: to help you build momentum for your website, increase organic traffic without needing to rank high on Google, discover new sources of traffic, and enhance your personal brand.
Time is a finite and valuable resource. Thus, if you aspire to achieve excellent results in your online business, you must stay focused.
Therefore, if you want to increase referral traffic, you should consider following these steps. Websites like fansgurus.com can boost your referral traffic and increase your unique IP views. We'll discuss in detail how to achieve this goal, with specific examples from marketers who have benefited from referral traffic. Their results have been impressive, and by following these same steps, I increased my referral traffic by 77% in 90 days.
Step #1: Guest Blogging on Industry Blogs
One of the most effective ways to gain search engine attention is by publishing valuable content. But how can you publish content outside of your website to attract more website traffic?
I've had great success with guest blogging. Trust me, most people who claim guest blogging doesn't work haven't really done it — or at least not done it correctly. However, if you want it to work, you must guest blog on the right blogs.
You can still build high-quality links through guest blogging by focusing on user intent and only building links that can enhance the user experience. One thing I love about guest blogging is that you will start generating massive search traffic through long-tail keywords.
To find suitable blogs for pitching your guest post ideas, start with Google and conduct a thorough search.
Here's how to do it: Enter your primary keyword (e.g., social media strategy) + “submit a guest post” or one of the following phrases, enclosed in quotes:
- “Submission guidelines”
- “Guest post guidelines”
- “Submit a guest post”
- “Accepting guest posts”
- “Contribute an article”
- “Submit content”
- “Guest post”
- “Write for us”
- “Add a post”
- “Become a contributor”
- “Guest blogging”
- “Submit your post”
Generally, you want to find industry blogs that publish content similar to your topic. However, if you aim to attract clients, focus on blogs that your target audience frequently reads, regardless of whether these blogs are in your industry.
For referral traffic, industry blogs should be your primary target.
Ensure the blogs you choose to write for have a large, active, engaged, and responsive readership. Another effective and simple way to find authoritative blogs for your guest post and increase referral traffic is to search for sites where popular bloggers have contributed in the past. I often use this strategy, and it has been more effective than any other strategy or tool I have ever used.
Remember, guest blogging everywhere will not bring you a significant amount of referral traffic. Instead, you must develop a pitching strategy that gets top-tier and high-traffic blogs to say “yes”.
Additionally, you can build your personal brand, increase reader trust, and drive more search traffic faster by writing well-researched, data-driven guest articles.
Once your guest post is published, actively respond to comments and promote the content to attract more visitors and readers to your website.
Step #2: Leveraging Local Partner Websites
You can draw people to your website by leveraging local partner websites. However, you can also improve results by stepping away from the website and building offline relationships.
As a content marketer, you can collaborate with businesses and marketers in your area in several ways:
- Sponsoring Local Events: Sponsoring a local event with a few hundred dollars won't hurt. If the event is highly targeted, your site will gain qualified visitors. Always stay updated with local events so you can quickly jump in as a sponsor when you find an upcoming event with the right audience.
- Speaking at Local Events: If you don't have a budget for sponsoring, see if you can be one of the speakers at an event. Speaking at over 250 conferences (with more each year) has given me a solid advantage in building my brand.
Connecting one-on-one with people can help you stand out from the hype prevalent in the blogosphere and internet marketing fields.
If you're relatively new to public speaking, you should start with local events. You can offer to speak for free just to get your name out there. Eventually, you will become the go-to expert in your field and start earning money through referral traffic and speaking fees.
Step #3: Strategic Commenting on Blogs
There's no doubt: commenting on blogs is an effective strategy.
In the early days of my consulting work, I commented on hundreds of posts. These comments brought 3,973 visitors and 6 qualified leads to my consulting business. After commenting on blogs, I even managed to secure a corporate speaking gig worth $25,000.
When strategically commenting on blogs: 1. **Choose Relevant Blogs:** Focus on blogs within your industry or those your target audience frequents. This ensures your comments reach the right people. 2. **Add Value:** Your comments should be insightful and add to the conversation. Avoid generic comments like "Great post!" Instead, provide thoughtful insights, ask questions, or share your experiences related to the post. 3. **Be Consistent:** Regularly comment on these blogs. Consistency helps in building recognition and relationships with both the blog owners and their readers. 4. **Include Your Link Wisely:** While some blogs allow you to include your website link in the comment, do it wisely. Only include it when it adds value or context to your comment. 5. **Engage with Other Commenters:** Don't just interact with the blog post. Engage with other commenters to widen your network and increase your visibility. 6. **Track Your Results:** Monitor the traffic and leads you receive from your comments. This will help you understand which blogs are most beneficial for your efforts. By following these steps, you can effectively use blog commenting as a tool to boost your profile, attract visitors to your website, and potentially gain valuable leads and opportunities.
When adopting new strategies to increase referral traffic, the same principles apply. Before diving in, it's crucial to first understand how commenting works.
Certainly, mastering anything takes time, and there's always something new to learn - but stick with it, and you will build a successful online business.
Stay Updated and Comment Early: If you can comment immediately after a post is published, you're more likely to generate referral traffic from top sources.
Commenting early doesn't guarantee success, but being among the first gives you the opportunity to write a thoughtful comment that impresses both the author and other readers.
Step #4: Create Ego Bait Content
When it comes to ego, there are many entrepreneurs you can reach out to who would be happy for you to feature them. Even mentioning someone's new product can bring you inbound links.
Einstein clearly defined the self to help you pursue the right path, regardless of your industry. His formula points out the fact that people who exhibit excessive ego aren't necessarily knowledgeable in their fields.
This is why most successful bloggers and content marketers won't flaunt their ego too much—though many beginners do.
For our purposes, ego bait can drive web traffic and build solid relationships with others, especially when your targets are authors, writers, and bloggers from the same industry.
Creating ego bait content involves writing about others in a way that serves them and your readers, generating editorial links, and thereby increasing your search traffic and rankings in the process.
Tate Adams, in his book "E-go: Stay Self-Distanced with Mindfulness, Emotional Intelligence, and the Language of Love," shares powerful lessons and in-depth research that help you steer clear of baseless ego that could ruin your life. Indeed, ego can play a good or bad role—depending on how you use it.
In summary, you can leverage people's vanity to build your blog—not in a deceptive way, but by honestly promoting them and rewarding them generously. There's no manipulation or trickery here—this is pure content marketing (providing value and attracting the right people to your business).
Follow these tips, and you'll be on your way to gaining referral traffic, quality inbound links, and website brand exposure through ego bait:
**Find Linkable Ideas and Themes:** Sam Adeyemi, in his book "Ideas Rule the World," elaborates on the necessity of giving room for new ideas in life. If something isn't working for you, you need an idea before you can change—not money or people.
If you can find the right idea, you will eventually get attention, and so will your target audience. Acting on the idea is what matters most—but you have to find that idea first.
Similarly, a powerful idea or an old idea presented in a clever way can reshape a piece of content and make it go viral.
A famous version of ego bait content is the expert roundup. In this type of blog post, you can interview other bloggers, link to their best posts/products, and send an email to let them know about the mention.
When looking for ideas and themes for my expert roundups, my tried-and-true strategy is to look at viral headlines in my industry. Once I have a list, I create several of my own headlines based on these.
Now, let's create some headlines for viable expert roundup articles:
- "30 Expert Bloggers Reveal Their Writing Strategy to Come Up with 50 Topic Ideas in 30 Minutes"
- "25 Authority Bloggers Disclose How They Generate 50 Topic Ideas in 30 Minutes"
- "Top 10 Sources for 50 Topic Ideas Revealed by 30 Content Marketers"
- "9 Social Media Stars on Making Impactful Comments on Twitter"
- "11 SEO Experts on Boosting Direct Traffic"
Each of the above headlines will highlight several authors' work, which you can link to and later notify them about the published post—perhaps they'll link back to your blog's existing posts, sending referral traffic your way.
Powerful quotes never die. You probably still remember quotes from Martin Luther King, Abraham Lincoln, Steve Jobs, and other authoritative figures. Despite these individuals being long gone, their quotes live on.
**Build Relationships with Top Bloggers:** Life is
about connecting with others and helping them. Similarly, blogging and building a successful business are about solving problems for others.
Richard Branson, for instance, founded and grew his billion-dollar Virgin Group by connecting with others and learning along the way.
By building relationships with top bloggers, you not only establish valuable connections but also create opportunities for mutual growth and exposure. When you feature these influencers in your content, they are more likely to share your work with their audience, thereby increasing your visibility and credibility.
**Incorporating Quotes and Lessons:** Just like the enduring quotes of famous personalities, including insightful lessons or quotes from industry leaders in your content can add value and attract attention. This method can be part of your ego bait strategy, where you highlight the wisdom of these individuals, potentially leading to shares and mentions from them or their followers.
**Focus on Value and Authenticity:** When creating ego bait content, the key is to focus on genuinely providing value. Your goal should be to create content that's so compelling and useful that the featured experts are proud to be associated with it and are motivated to share it with their audience.
**Promotion and Outreach:** Once your content is published, actively promote it. Reach out to the individuals featured in your article, let them know about their inclusion, and encourage them to share the post. This not only increases the reach of your content but also strengthens your relationship with these influencers.
Through these methods, ego bait content can be a powerful tool in your digital marketing strategy, enhancing your blog's traffic, establishing your authority, and building a network with key influencers in your industry.
Step #5: Actively Engage on Social Media Networks In this modern era, your presence on social networks is absolutely vital for your success. Why? For one, it can help you establish authority.
According to SITS Girls, becoming an authority is a choice, not an appointment. This applies to everything you do, whether it's blogging or social media. Timing is crucial in both. Statistics indicate that 70% of users read blogs in the morning, while more men read blogs in the evening than women.
Increasing your blog's referral traffic doesn't have a 'best' time, but content marketing is one of the best strategies to ensure your efforts aren't wasted. From guest blogging to increasing your influence on social networks, there are multiple ways to increase website traffic. Persistence is key; knowledge is essential.
I occasionally write an in-depth article to show you a step-by-step guide to achieve specific marketing goals - in turn, this will bring more traffic to your site, even if you're not actively building links.
All the traffic hacks I've discussed here won't yield results overnight. It might happen, but it's not guaranteed and certainly requires time and effort.
Whether you're a part-time content marketer or working full-time, you must keep at it. As you consistently create high-quality content, you will generate more leads.
You want referral traffic, but your target audience wants useful content that gives them hope and comfort. Take the time to craft each blog post you publish to ensure it achieves these goals. Putting users first is one of the most satisfying ways to increase website traffic. When the traffic comes your way, keep your readers engaged.
What are the best strategies you have used over a specific period to increase website referral traffic?