7 reasons why Google isn’t the only source of traffic

When it comes to making waves within the online world, many of us focus on organic search, and with good reasons behind.

Not optimising your content means that you’re potentially losing out on a lot of traffic. However, you may be surprised to know that Google isn’t the only platform for obtaining traffic.

As such, those keen to grow their traffic, without relying on Google alone, should look towards the following strategies.

1. Consider guest blogging and contributing

While guest blogging is not recommended for merely obtaining backlinks, this doesn’t mean that guest blogging as a whole should stop. If anything, it should be encouraged, as long as you’re writing guest posts for the right reason.

While you may not get the benefits from an SEO perspective like you once would, completing a guest post for the right platform will ensure that you have an influx of referral traffic, recognition, and maybe even a few new followers in the process.

2. Engage with other bloggers

Collaboration with other bloggers may open new doors in the world of website marketing.

Just because you blog within your niche and have a healthy audience doesn’t mean that your blog is the only one in existence. In fact, you would be surprised to learn that regardless of the popularity of your niche, you will find that other bloggers share the same passion. As such, you should try and engage with them where possible.

This can be done by commenting on their blog, and ensuring you have the right details filled out before submitting. Again, like guest blogging, you shouldn’t just skim over the post and leave a generic response, as it will likely be classed as spam, and removed accordingly.

3. Think outside the box in relation to social media

When you think of social media, what platforms do you think of? Facebook? Twitter? While these are all well and good, and serve a purpose, it doesn’t hurt to look at other platforms that can help generate more traffic.

For example, Google+ is a social network that doesn’t seem to make much of an impact when compared to the likes of Facebook. However, a number of businesses are able to share relevant content among a number of different groups, thus helping build an audience for their content.

What’s more, finding a platform that works well for your niche can help you form networks with other similar bloggers, which can be another avenue for building a long-lasting relationship and steady flow of traffic.

4. Consider sharing content via Reddit

For those unfamiliar with Reddit, it can be best explained as an online bulletin board, but the traction it has gained online has seen it received investments from a number of popular individuals and investors, including Snoop Dogg. There are a number of categories in which you can share content.

However, it should be noted that the Reddit’s community have built an immunity against spammy shares, so you need to ensure that you’re only sharing content that is of top-notch quality and relevant to the subreddit you’re posting in.

You should also look to become an active user, as simply logging in when you have content to share can alienate you from the rest of the community.

5. Build a mailing list

When we first start out blogging, it’s easy to assume that low traffic numbers do not entail a mailing list. However, mighty oaks from tiny acorns grow, so it can be worthwhile building on your foundations as soon as possible.

If you only have one visitor per day, this makes for 365 visitors over a year. If you have a signup page and ensure your content is rich and relevant, there’s very little reason as to why people wouldn’t want to see more, and will often subscribe to do just that.

You can also look to offer other alternatives – such as a free e-book for new subscribers – then you’ll see that you’re able to build up your subscriber list within a relatively short period of time.

6. Engage with others on forums within your niche

Despite the age of forums, they remain a hot property in the online world, and this can be attributed to their basic and straightforward design. People with a specific interest can all meetup and discuss, debate and review. As such, you should look at forums as an additional platform for marketing your content, albeit in the right way.

As with commenting on a blog, you must ensure that when commenting, your response is either useful or relevant, even combining the two where possible. You can refer people to content if you feel it is relevant, but even your web address in the signature box can work wonders when it comes to traffic. With that in mind, don’t spam or abuse the system.

7. Embrace video platforms

Many people look at their content to ensure it’s the best, but some don’t consider the possibility of converting their content for other platforms.

YouTube has around one billion active monthly users, so it makes sense that you would want to repurpose your content where possible. Your videos don’t have to be a cinematic production, as long as they are able to convey information clearly and be visually appealing. You’d be surprised to see how many subscribers you can gain, especially if you ensure your videos are properly optimised.

Although YouTube is effectively an extension of Google, it still offers users a channel of which they can attract traffic. What’s more, if your videos make the right kind of impact on YouTube as well, then you can make some additional income with the Adsense program.

When it comes to promoting our website, it’s never advisable to sidestep Google, as it still remains an important aspect of any website. But organic search can be a time-consuming process.

So if you’re looking for other avenues of traffic, then it can be worthwhile looking at the examples listed and ascertaining which would suit your needs best.