Eugene writes a variety of articles on the Maven network of sites, covering topics such as gardening, DIY, photography, and STEM.

Image © Eugbug

Egotism, Narcissism, or Altruism?

Whatever your reason for writing, presumably you wouldn't be doing it unless you intend for someone to read your content! If you make some revenue from affiliate schemes, so much the better. Increasing traffic to a webpage is all about writing well-laid out, original, quality material which is comprehensive, rich in natural keyword content, and provides users with all the information in one place without having to piece it together from various webpages. Marketing is vitally important, so you need to get the word out, make your presence known on other websites, and establish backlinks. This article gives you some tips on how to do this.

Over 20 Ways to Increase Traffic to Your Webpage

Use SEO effectively Pick a good webpage title Use lots of relevant keywords Use ordered lists to have a greater chance of being selected as a Google Snippet Research keywords using Adwords Post on social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram Post on bookmarking sites such as Pinterest, Stumbleupon and Tumblr Use hashtags with your posts on social media Write about evergreen topics Post on forums and Q&A sites, relevant to the page If permitted, add a signature linking to your page or profile, to the bottom of forum posts Add videos and promote your page on YouTube Interlink webpages Try to persuade high ranking sites to allow you to post backlinks Use lots of photos, graphics and illustrations on your page Use Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook and Flipboard widgets to share your profile on social media Comment on articles on other website so users checkout your profile Use Google Analytics to study the nature of traffic to your page Constantly update your page with new, fresh content Use a spell checker. Bad spelling and grammar creates a bad impression Write comprehensive content, so everything a reader needs to know is on your page

SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

When someone uses a search engine such as Yahoo Search, Google, or Bing to look for information on a topic, millions of search results can be generated. SEO is the process whereby a site is made more visible and higher ranking in the results. This can be accomplished by optimizing keywords and site layout, reducing loading time, making the site mobile friendly, and also making it easier for search engines to index the site.

Early search engine ranking algorithms relied heavily on keyword content of pages for ranking purposes. However this meant that webpage designers could cheat the system and resort to "keyword stuffing" to increase rank. Page ranking algorithms are now more sophisticated and rely on many factors such as the quality and relevance of inbound or back links.

Pick a Good Webpage Title

A good title with relevant keywords improves the chances of your page showing up in Google searches. However even if it doesn't, If you pick a catchy page title, a searcher may be curious and more likely to click on the link. Be honest with your readers, so don't use a tempting or sensational title which has nothing to do with the content on the page (known as "clickbait"). Now unfortunately popular titles such as "How to make money fast" or "How to lose weight" are going to face lots of competition. You can use Google Adwords to try out different titles and see which keywords are searched for most frequently but for which there is low competition. Ubersuggest is also a very useful website for checking the frequency of searches for single keywords or multiple keyword phrases. It also shows the competition for the keywords and provides alternative keyword ideas.

Use Lots of Relevant Keywords to Generate Organic Traffic

Write material with rich keyword content, however don't overdo it. Excessive use of keywords, or repeating them and using them out of context to try to improve ranking, known as "keyword stuffing", is frowned upon by Google and can actually harm ranking. Its better to write naturally, while trying to include as many keywords which are relevant to the context of the webpage.

While visitors can reach your page after being referred from another webpage, there's a greater potential of generating traffic from users searching for information on Google, Bing or other search engines. This is known as "organic" traffic. So try and think of as many relevant keywords as possible. Use them in a natural way, and work them into your article. If you are familiar with Google Analytics, you can check which words were used to find your webpage and add any keywords or phrases which were used as part of the search term, but which were missing from the text of your page.

How to Get Featured Snippets for Your Site

You know those short paragraphs or lists you often see at the top of SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) when you do a Google search? They're called Google Featured Snippets. It's a lucrative way of getting traffic to your webpage and there are several approaches you can try to have your page listed in an FS.

Break text on the page down into short paragraph capsules and use subtitle H2 formatting for headings phrased in a question style manner, beginning with one of the interrogatives "how", "what", "where", "when", "why", "who"

e.g. "When is the Best Time to Sow Seeds?"

e.g. "When is the Best Time to Sow Seeds?" Use bulleted or numbered lists and tables rather than large blocks of plain text when explaining something

We don't know how Google decides which paragraphs to extract information from on a page in order to create a featured snippet, or whether it looks for certain keywords, but you can experiment with using words such as "step 1", "step 2" at the beginning of subtitles or maybe numbering subtitles

A featured snippet Image © Eugbug

Keyword Research Using the Google Keywords Tool

Keyword research is vitally important to ascertain what search terms people are actually typing into their search engines. The Google Adwords Keywords Tool is useful for coming up with suggestions for keywords to add to your page. This tool allows you to submit your webpage, from which it generates a table of keyword ideas along with the search frequency for the keyword and competition from advertisers. See here for the tool.

Keyword ideas suggested by the Google Adwords Keyword Tool Image © Eugbug

Use Hashtags to Categorize Your Content

Add hashtags (eg, #health, #fitness #DIY ) in the description field whenever you pin, tweet, post to Facebook or bookmark your content on any similar sites. If you don't use hashtags, only your followers will see your tweets. By using hashtags, you potentially increase your audience. If a user clicks on a hashtag in a post or search for a hashtag, they are presented with a list of posts by other users which include this tag. If you used this hashtag, with a bit of luck your pin may appear in the list.

What to Write About? - Seasonal and Evergreen Topics

Seasonal topics are obviously only going to receive a peak in traffic at the relevant time. Not many people are going to be searching for information on how to make Christmas decorations in the middle of summer, or how to garden in the winter! Also if you write about current topics, interest may dwindle over time. An evergreen topic will generate interest throughout the year and long into the future. So for example an article about a disease or disorder or technology will always be popular.

Tell Google About Your Webpage

Usually this is automatic and webpages are eventually crawled and indexed by Google. In any case, you can submit your webpage URL to Google

Social Media - Networking and Bookmarking Sites

Post your Page on Social Media Let everyone know about your page on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Redgage and Google+.

Let everyone know about your page on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Redgage and Google+. Join Communities You can join "communities" on Google+ or "groups" on Facebook and post tips or links back to your Google+ profile / webpage. Alternatively create your own community, invite contacts and build ties

You can join "communities" on Google+ or "groups" on Facebook and post tips or links back to your Google+ profile / webpage. Alternatively create your own community, invite contacts and build ties Pin Images on Pinterest If your page includes an image, you can "pin" it to a board on the Pinterest.com website and this will link back to your page. Flipboard is a bookmarking site similar to Pinterest and has the potential to generate a spike, albeit temporary, in traffic, if a user with lots of followers "flips" your page

Tweet About Your Page Use hashtags with your tweets to categorise them. Now the problem with tweeting is that if your followers follow lots of other people, your tweet can get lost in their feed, unless they specifically check your account and your tweets. However if lots of people re-tweet, your twitter post can potentially go viral giving you lots of exposure

Remember there is a fine line between promotion and spamming. Overpromoting your website can annoy website owners and visitors. You can even be "shadow banned" without even knowing it. This means that even though you can see your own content, it won't be visible to visitors to the site. If you bookmark, try to balance links or photos you add with content from other sites also.

Social bookmarking may drive direct traffic to your page. However Google has become wise to self-promotion on these type of sites so backlinks have become devalued and no longer have the same affect on page ranking as they used to.

Question/Answer Sites and Forums

You can join forums which are relevant to the content which you write about. Create your profile and add a link back to your webpage. Some forums allow you to append a signature to the bottom of every post. This could be a link to your page or profile on social media. Answer lots of questions and answers to improve your presence on the site. Be sure to post links at the end of your answers or in your profile.

Promoting Webpages on YouTube

You can make Youtube videos and add backlinks to webpages which have additional information relevant to the content of the video. If you have a website, you could make a slideshow of pages/articles on the site. Remember readers have a short attention span so the video needs to be short, snappy and enticing to encourage them to follow the link back to your site.

Interlink Webpages

At the bottom of your webpage you can add links to related content on other pages of your site. You can also add links to other sites with additional information.

Use Images - Photographs, Diagrams, Illustrations or Abstract Graphics

As they say, "A picture tells a thousand words". There's nothing worse then a Twitter feed with just plain text - It's plain boring!. So liven up your tweets, or postings on other social media with a photo, diagram, illustration or some form of graphic. If you can't create your own, you can use public domain or Creative Commons images from free photo sites.

"A picture tells a thousand words" Image © Eugbug

Use a Twitter Widget

Copy a snippet of code (which Twitter will generate for you) onto your website for displaying your twitter feed. You never know, you may gain some followers!

Reciprocal Links

Although you can't do it here, some sites allow you to submit a link if you add a reciprocal link to them on your own website. To do this you need to be able to add a snippet of HTML or javascript code to your webpage.

Comment on Articles on Websites

Leave constructive comments on websites which allow this. Someone may just look at your profile and follow the link to your page.

Popular or Obscure Topics?

Its debatable whether its better to write about popular or obscure topics. A popular or general topic will be searched for more frequently but you face competition from lots of other authors. A more specialized topic will be searched for less. however less people are likely to have written about it and competition is lower.

Online Showcasing Communities

If you have an interest in photography, you can submit photos to online showcasing sites such as Deviantart.com . If you become popular on the site, viewers may look at your profile and follow the link back to your webpage/website, or to your Twitter or Facebook account.

No Spamdexing!

Big brother Google is watching you so don't try to game the system by resorting to spamdexing, otherwise your page rank may suffer! As the portmanteau suggests, this is a combination of spamming and indexing and an attempt to beat the system. Keyword stuffing, and using isolated lists of keywords, duplicating webpages, using hidden or small text to attract searches, creating scraper sites to direct searches to your page, paying for lots of backlinks and spamming the comment sections of non related blogs are all examples of this activity.

Use Google Analytics to Monitor Traffic to Webpages

The Google Analytics tool is useful for determining the nature of traffic reaching a webpage. It provides information about visitors to your site: their country and region, search terms, referral source and lots more.

If you haven't set up Google Analytics, now is a good time to do so. It is an invaluable resource, giving lots of information or statistics about the visitors to your site.

This is the type of information you can find out about your audience:

The numbers of visitors to your account. You can select the timescale of interest, either choose a day, or a range of days specifying the start and end date. This information can be further filtered to display the numbers of visitors per hour, day, week or month within this timescale

A breakdown of the country and region where visitors are from (over the timescale)

The nature of the traffic, i.e whether it is organic, direct (pasting a URL into a browser is a type of direct traffic), or comes from social sources, e.g. Twitter, HubPages, Facebook, Stumbleupon etc

The technology used - Device (e,g, desktop,mobile,tablet), browser, operating system

Audience size can be viewed numerically and also graphically over the timescale of interest. Specific to Hubpages, you can also select individual hubs and view statistics as described above

The Real Time feature can be accessed from the side bar on the left.

What Exactly is Google Analytics Real Time?

This is a feature of Google Analytics. It is "real time" because it provides instant traffic data about visitors to your site: their country and region, search terms, network, referral source and the content they are reading. When a visitor comes on line, an orange circle appears on a map close to the region in the country from which they are viewing your content. A sliding time line shows the users on site and other information is displayed also including the referral source, the number of visitors from social networks and search keywords if the source is organic, i.e someone has searched for a topic in a browser.

This feature was added several years ago and is very entertaining, and according to one user's description, "I feel like someone watching their pets!". There is an element of truth in this and I suppose it is sort of voyeuristic watching visitors, coming on line and seeing what they get up to, the keywords they use to search the site, and how they navigate to other pages. Several years ago, I wrote an article about lawnmower troubleshooting which gets a moderate amount of traffic. On Saturdays and Sundays in early summer, those little orange circles light up all across America as poor unfortunates try to cut their grass and their lawnmower won't start! Then about 12 hours later, the same happens across Europe. Checking the search terms that land users on a webpage can be insightful and aid in e.g. coming up with a list of FAQs to add to a page.

Google Analytics Real Time shows instant, real time info about visitors to your site. Select "real time" and then one of the sub menu items. "Overview" gives general information Image © Eugbug

Real time info about current visitors on site and those in the last half hour

Improve, Improve, Improve !!!

My motto is "If a job is being done it should be done right" (not that I always practice what I preach!). So edit and improve your articles constantly. If a surfer lands on your page, the least you can do is to to provide the information they require in a comprehensive, easy to follow manner, or entertain them if you "specialize" in creative writing. While it mightn't necessarily increase traffic, this gives a good impression and they may bookmark your page and return in the future. Hopefully they will "like" the article, pin it to Pinterest or Tweet it.

Make sure your content is grammatically correct and without spelling errors. Re-adjust the layout so that your article so that it is easy to navigate. Use bullet points and numbered steps if necessary (rather than long extended paragraphs) to illustrate points. Add extra content as you think of it and compliment the text with lots of photos or diagrams. If you can take your own photos, so much the better. Photos should be properly attributed with links back to the source.

© 2013 Eugene Brennan

Abby Slutsky from LAFAYETTE HL on July 08, 2020:

Thanks for the suggestions.

Philip Agutu from Mombasa Island on May 22, 2020:

I am on my 6th article and still working hard to increase traffic to my articles. Thanks for this article. It really boosted my knowledge on how to drive traffic to my content. Thumbs up!

Eugene Brennan (author) from Ireland on May 22, 2020:

Thanks Sowrabha! Although I can't guarantee they all work! The most important thing is to have a well written and structured article before you promote it. So break it up into well defined sections with good titles and use bullet points and numbered lists a lot. Readers have a short attention span and they don't want to read large chunks of text.

sowspeaks from Bengaluru on May 22, 2020:

Hi! glad that i bumped into this article. Seems extremely well put and super useful. Recent entrant into this space so i could do with all the information and help that i can muster. Thanks for helping me to take a leap with this one hub.

Billy Jay Burton from Earth on May 03, 2020:

Great idea I'll follow your advice.

Helena Lakwatsera from Philippines on February 20, 2020:

This is definitely helpful to firs timers like me. Thank you Mr. Brennan.

Yuliss on February 01, 2020:

Thanks for this informative post! It has given me the motivation to work harder “behind the scenes” to promote my site. Trends in social media change so rapidly, it’s hard to keep up! Having a website is so different now than it was 10years ago, even though the SEO “theory” is generally the same.

Eugene Brennan (author) from Ireland on December 19, 2019:

Hi Doug,

Someone once described is as "watching you pets online", and in a sense it gives you a sense of omnipotence looking down at the map of the world looking at all the orange circles lighting up. LOL! It is very addictive.

Doug West from Missouri on December 19, 2019:

I learned something new. Didn't know about Google Analytics Real Time and can't wait to try it!

Ammara from Pakistan on November 17, 2019:

What if a blog post does not get much traffic after adopting these tactics?

Khal Rasdam from Penang but occasionally traveling. on November 26, 2018:

Very useful information, comprehensive, and easy to understand in one page. Great article and thanks for the tips.

Jonathan Tivoli on September 26, 2018:

Influencer marketing is also a great option to drive traffic. You only need to watch out for fake influencers though. You can use something like the influencer auditor to be safe.

Diana Majors from Arkansas, USA on May 03, 2017:

Thanks for all the information! It is appreciated!

Gilbert Arevalo from Hacienda Heights, California on March 28, 2017:

Very good informative article, Eugene. Thanks for the tips.

Allisyn Nichols from Texas on November 17, 2016:

Thank you so much. I'm new to this and you've given me quite a bit to think about and try. I'm trying out the hash tag advice right now on facebook and twitter to see how it works. I do want to know if it is a good idea to share my hubs on social media before they get featured or wait until they actually are featured. I did it with my first two and my social media followers were able to see my hub but i'm not sure what it did to my rating.

kmackey32 from Pittsburgh PA on March 04, 2016:

Webanswers no longer works

indimingo on December 10, 2015:

Very impressive collection of useful information! All very true and well written! If someone reads this and does not benefit from it, it's because they didn't read it and follow your recommendations!

Mahalo!

Eugene Brennan (author) from Ireland on December 03, 2015:

Thanks, mrslagibb! Glad you liked it!

Mrs L A Gibb on December 03, 2015:

Very inspirational and informative for me thanks. This helps me in what I am trying to do in setting up my own business in writing and self publishing and wanting to help people with there dreams.

Eugene Brennan (author) from Ireland on December 01, 2015:

Thanks Kelsey! I always add a "non displayed" text capsule to my hubs. Any time I think of extra stuff which could be added, text or photos, I make a note in this capsule.

Kelsey Elise Farrell from Orange County, CA on November 30, 2015:

Thanks for the great hub. I have a hard time with constantly improving (and updating) my hubs once they're published. Great advice though!

Jen from Canada on November 09, 2015:

Hashtags for categorizing contents is a new idea for me. I will have to look into doing this.

Eugene Brennan (author) from Ireland on August 06, 2015:

Thanks Scott, I don't think I got much traffic from my YouTube slideshow, but it was just a boring collection of screen grabs and not very entertaining viewing. There is probably the potential for getting traffic from this source though if a slide show can be jazzed up somehow.

Scott S Bateman on August 06, 2015:

I'm glad to see you mention the Google keyword tool because so many people don't know about it, and it provides valuable insights about which keywords people actually use.

Using Hub photos for a YouTube slide show is a great tip! I never thought of that one and will definitely try it. Voted up.

Eugene Brennan (author) from Ireland on July 12, 2015:

Hi Thelma, I don't have a hub about Picasa slideshows, but have a look at this link to Picasa support.

https://support.google.com/picasa/answer/19533?hl=...

Basically all you need to do to create a video is pick a folder, select multiple files, and from the menu select Create - Video - From Selection. Then add images and text frames for your slide show. You can then create the video as a WMV file and upload to your Youtube account. I think you are required to have a Google+ account in order to have a Youtube account

Thelma Alberts from Germany and Philippines on July 12, 2015:

These are loads of informations. I have to do some of what you mentioned here like that of using Picasa for you tube link. Do you have a hub on how to do it? Thank you very much.

thebrownbear on June 24, 2015:

Wow, thanks for all the tips!

Kumari from Valentine on June 13, 2015:

Thanks heaps for the useful article!

Jacobb9205 on April 20, 2015:

Thank you for this, I hope it helps a lot! :)

James Livingood from Seattle, WA on September 16, 2014:

I got to say, I laughed a touch when I read "Egotism, Narcissism or Altruism?" Not sure why though. Maybe one of those is close to home?

Johna840 on September 14, 2014:

I do believe all of the ideas you've offered for your post. They are really convincing and will definitely work. Still, the posts are very quick for newbies. May just you please extend them a little from next time? Thank you for the post. dfedddeddfka

Eugene Brennan (author) from Ireland on April 28, 2014:

Thanks for reading and commenting Anne!

Google+ seems to be a good source for traffic. I setup a page last year but hadn't really concentrated on it. After having joined several Google+ communities and shared links to them recently, traffic has begun to increase and I am beginning to gain followers. There is always a fine balance between spamming and providing useful information. Some communities welcome shares, others are "snobby" and remove content, even if it seems relevant. You could also setup a community relevant to what you write about.

Good luck!

Anne Harrison from Australia on April 28, 2014:

Lots of great practical advice. Sharing is my downfall, but one I need to start working on , thank you

Eugene Brennan (author) from Ireland on March 31, 2014:

Hi Alex, Thanks for reading. Hope its of some help!

Jake Steiner on March 31, 2014:

Great info for beginner in writing hubs. Thank you for the pointers!

Arizona's Restoration Experts, LLC on June 18, 2013:

Great hub, lots of good and useful information. Voted up, useful and interesting.

peachy from Home Sweet Home on June 13, 2013:

Thanks. I will try that.

Eugene Brennan (author) from Ireland on June 13, 2013:

........to create the slides, I set my browser to full screen view on each hub, pressed PRTSC and this dumps an image of the screen into the screen captures folder under "Projects" in Picasa.

Eugene Brennan (author) from Ireland on June 13, 2013:

Hi peachpurple!

I just used the latest version of Picasa for creating a slideshow. Picasa is relatively simple and intuitive to use and you can do all the basic stuff such as set the duration of the slide, the transition effect and add text slides between photos. When you create the video, you can then upload it directly to your YouTube account.

peachy from Home Sweet Home on June 13, 2013:

Lots of tips taken into consideration. I think I left out using Youtube. Which software do you use to make a video with still taken photos? I have lots of hubs on recipes but all are photos. Would like to turn them into video.