Blog

Comments are one of the many metrics used to measure the success of a blog. If your blog isn’t getting any comments, you’re probably not doing too well.

Here are 5 reasons nobody is commenting on your blog.

You’re playing it safe – If you never take a side on an issue or stir up any sort of debate, people won’t have a reason to leave a comment. You need to appeal to your readers’ emotions so they’ll get fired up and want to share their thoughts on the topic at hand.

You’re not asking for comments — It’s simple, but effective. Ask your readers to leave a comment. Treat it like a call to action. When you ask someone to do something, they’re likelier to do it.

You do a poor job moderating comments – Why would anyone leave a comment if you take forever to approve comments or if your comment section is riddled with spam? You have to be an active moderator if you want to give people a good reason to interact in the replies.

You make it too hard to comment — The harder it is to leave a comment, the fewer comments you’ll get. If you require the reader to register for an account before he can comment, you’re going to miss out on a lot of potential comments. Also, if you require the reader to complete a CAPTCHA before their comment can be approved, you could lose more comments because sometimes those images are just too hard to understand.

You’re not getting any traffic — We conclude with what’s probably the most obvious reason you’re not getting any blog comments, because you’re also not getting any traffic! Just because you have a blog and post great content doesn’t mean that readers will automatically come. You have to take the time to promote your posts effectively. Spread them to your audience using Facebook, Twitter, blog carnivals, emails, and other tactics.

What are some of the other reasons blogs don’t get comments? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment below.

Blog posts are a great way to increase search engine traffic. There are many who think driving huge amounts of traffic to their blogs is quite difficult. However, this need not necessarily be the case as it actually depends upon certain factors like:

• The niche you have chosen
• Marketing and SEO techniques

It also depends on how dedicated a blogger you are. Every day, there are millions of searches on major search engines and if you want to dominate your niche, you will have to take advantage of this huge traffic. One way of doing this is to optimize your blog so that it not only attracts more traffic to your site but also helps you rank higher on the search engines. Given below are a few techniques that can help you in optimizing blog posts.

1. Choosing the right niche and domain
Once you have chosen a particular niche for your blog, make sure that the domain name is short and includes a couple of related keywords so it’s easy for visitors to remember when they leave your site.

2. Using Google Webmaster Tools
The Google Webmaster tools help you submit the map of your blogs to search engine crawlers. This will help you in getting your blogs indexed quickly and in a comprehensive manner. These tools actually provide information about the performance of your site so you can take steps to increase visibility.

3. Loading Speed
Google has begun using loading times as a factor to rank a site’s authority on search engines. Websites that perform better are accorded a higher ranking as they provide the visitor with a better experience. Using tested techniques such as using a dependable host, reducing your image sizes and caching plugins can aid in reducing the loading time for your blogs.

4. W3C Compliant
Poorly coded sites can prevent search engine crawlers from indexing your site effectively. This is precisely why your blog’s code should be W3C compliant. You can in fact use the W3C mark up validation to check for any errors. A few minor errors may be acceptable but if there are many, you may have to hire a developer to make the necessary corrections.

5. Increasing Backlinks via Guest Blog posts
Guest Blog Posting that are well written are one of the best ways of getting quality backlinks to your site especially with the recent updates to Google search algorithm (Panda). Guest Blogging helps your blog gain exposure and increase search engine traffic and gain backlinks.

Apart from the above discussed techniques, you can also use the following to optimize your blog posts.

• Avoid Black Hat SEO Techniques
• Web Directory Submissions
• Creating Original / Informative Content
• Update your Blogs Frequently
• Writing New Product Reviews
• Social Media Marketing

These techniques will help in optimizing your posts and will also help your blogs gain popularity and rank higher on the search engines.

You’ve heard the saying, “If a tree falls in the woods and nobody hears it, did it really happen?” Well, if a blog doesn’t have any readers, does it really exist? Without readers, a blog is lifeless and without purpose.

So, what can you do to attract more readers to your blog? Here are 7 tips to help you get started.

1. Guest post on other blogs—It might seem counterintuitive at first, but one of the best ways to bring readers to your blog is to post on other blogs in your niche. Guest posting exposes you to a whole new audience of readers who are interested in what you have to say. Include a link back to your blog in your guest post, so that readers can follow you back to your website to become loyal subscribers. Just always make sure your guest post is the highest quality of content you’re capable of producing as it’s your one chance to impress a new audience.

2. Allow others to guest post—In addition to writing on other blogs, you should also allow other popular bloggers to guest post on your blog. This will bring the guest blogger’s readers over to your blog, increasing your exposure and earning you new readers.

3. SEO your posts—The search engines love blogs because they provide fresh, up to date content, allowing the search engines to provide the most relevant results possible. To further enhance your blog’s search engine presence, optimize your posts for relevant keywords. Spend time before writing your posts performing a little keyword research so you can target phrases that will bring you the most traffic.

4. Get blogroll links—Most blogs have a blogroll on their sidebar which includes links to other quality blogs in their niche. Once you build relationships with other bloggers, kindly ask them to include a link to your blog in their blogroll. It might not drive a ton of traffic to your site, but it will bring highly targeted clickers.

5. Use your own unique voice—With hundreds of millions of blogs online covering every topic imaginable, your blog’s success relies on your ability to stand out from the crowd. Do you want to know what the best way to do this is? Be yourself. Give your true opinions on matters instead of simply mimicking what everyone else is saying. Also, write the way you talk. This will create a conversational tone that instantly creates a personality readers can connect with.

6. Submit to blog carnivals— A blog carnival is basically an online magazine that collects the best from blogs in its niche. Blog carnivals exist on every topic you can think of. Find a blog carnival
that covers your industry, and submit your best posts to them. This will put your content in front of a new set of eyes.

7. Leverage social media apps—Between Twitter, Facebook, Digg, ReddIt, Mixx, LinkedIn, and other social media sites, there are more than enough outlets available to promote your blog content on. Build strong networks with interested followers who will click your links and become subscribers to your blog.

What have you done to get more readers to your blog? Leave a comment with your best tips!

Achieving long-term blog growth is a pretty challenging task. At some point, you’re going to plateau and stop attracting new subscribers and visitors. Your traffic levels will flatten out, and in short, your blog will stop getting bigger.

But for most blogs, there are more potential readers out there. Even if you have tens of thousands of devoted subscribers, there are still more people out there who are interested in your subject matter but don’t know your blog exists.
The question is: What can you do when your blog stops getting bigger?

Here are some of my tips. Add your own by leaving a comment at the end of this post.

Start posting on other blogs—Guest blogging is a great way to reach a new audience of interested readers. Find other blogs in your niche that have a loyal reader base. Make a strong pitch to the blogger asking to contribute a post to their blog. Your guest post will have a link or 2 back to your website, helping to drive traffic back to your blog.

Allow guest posts on your blog—Allowing guest posts on your blog has a couple of desirable effects. First, it mixes things up for your readers, providing them with a fresh perspective. And second, the guest blogger will be promoting the post within his or her own network, helping bring new readers to your blog.

Build your Twitter and Facebook networks—Twitter and Facebook are powerful tools for driving new traffic to your blog. But if you’re not focusing on expanding your networks and connecting with key influencers, you’re going to end up Tweeting your content out to the same group of people over and over. Connecting with social media influencers in your niche is the way to get your content spread far and wide.

Don’t try to push every post with all your effort—Look, not every post you publish is worthy of going viral. And if you’re constantly pushing every post and tapping your network to help with promotion, you’re going to start seeing diminishing returns. You have to know when to use your network of promoters to get their best effort and the best results.

Join new online communities in your niche—Always be on the lookout for other forums, social networking groups, and online communities in your niche that you can join to expand your network. Remember, you can’t just go into a new community and start promoting aggressively. You have to put in the time to learn how the community works and to build relationships before you start seeing results.

What are some of your best tips for sustaining blog growth over the long term? Share your tips by leaving a comment.

Knowing how to write a blog involves understanding some basic do’s and don’ts. Below are listed some of the more grievous mistakes to avoid.

1. Boring Headlines

You could write the most useful and informative blog, but if your headline did not attract attention, it would never be read. It is far too easy to spend your time and effort on the content, but when it is all done, you must make the effort to find a headline that will “pop” and bring traffic to the site. Check out the blogs that are successful and model your own headlines after theirs.

2. Unbroken text

There is nothing more discouraging to a reader than to see a paragraph that never seems to end. Getting the reader to the site is most of the battle, and no one can afford to drive off their readership with an intimidating block of text.

Make use of small paragraphs, bullets, lists, and other methods that are appealing to the eye. The idea is to deliver the information quickly. If you cannot identify the purpose for a sentence, remove it. Your readers will appreciate your clarity.

3. Marketing laziness

Successful business blogging requires making use of the available marketing tools. Use social media sites to get your blog out there. The more you get involved in the blogosphere, the more attention your own blog will receive. Link your blog to other blogs. Comment on related blogs, linking your own blog in your helpful post. Friend successful bloggers on social media sites. Give others the opportunity to get involved with your blog with comments or even guest bloggers.

4. Advertisement Overkill

If your reader feels that you are more concerned with the advertisements on your page than the content of your blog, they will quickly be turned off of your site. Knowing how to blog effectively means knowing how to find the balance necessary between providing useful information and advertising (leaning toward the former). The relationship that must develop in order to get faithful readers will not develop if they feel that the blogger’s sole purpose is to make money.

5. Inconsistency

Your blog must posses a consistency. The trust that is built between author and reader is greatly strengthened when all aspects of your website are unified. From pictures uploaded, to content, to layout and design, let your message be clear and theme unified.

6. Missing Contact information

Help anyone who wants to get in touch with you. Create a tab on your website that lists your basic contact information. If a reader ever feels the need to reach out to you, you want them to be able to do so easily. Providing your contact information is also a simple way of vouching for what you write.

If you have come across any other blogging mistakes which I have not mentioned here in your blogging experience, please post it on your comments.