I did a presentation about growing your blog's traffic. These slides were aimed at university academics, but most of the points are applicable elsewhere.

1. Tools for Blogging Success
Lessons learned from
eclecticdreams.com

2. Q: “Why isn’t my site number one
on Google?”

3. A: Because a web page is not a
web presence.

4. Why blogging works
• Web native platform
• Has an authentic voice
• Interactive
• Takes advantage of the network

5. Tool 1 : Find & Engage Your Tribe
• Decide what you’re passionate about
For me web design, web development, accessibility
• blogsearch.google.com
Look for your favourite subject, blog, area or even your name

6. The link economy
People find pages via other pages
• Links mean Traffic
• Links mean Pagerank
• Which means more traffic

7. Linkbait
• Something useful
Whitepapers, how to articles
• Something remarkable
The first article on, top ten lists
• Something people must share
definitive references, reviews

8. Tool 2 : Talk About Other People
• Write a review
I wrote about a web accessibility book
• Write about an event
I wrote about conferences I attended
• Write some commentary
I wrote about problems businesses have understanding accessibility’s benefits

9. Other Ways of GeLng Links
• Bookmark services and directories
delicious.com, top ten X posts, stumbleupon
• Talk to other blogs
post comments on other blogs, link to them
• Use networks
linkedin, facebook, forums, mailing lists, local networks and twitter

10. DO NOT SPAM

11. RSS/Feeds
• Allow you to follow blogs without visiting
Or other sites, or references to your site
• Included in modern web browsers
Internet Explorer 7, Firefox, Safari
• Use an aggregator
netvibes.com, google.com/reader

12. Comments
• Are often more useful than the article itself
• Help you build & improve your content
• Need moderation

13. Tool 3 : Feedback Loops
• On the internet somebody is always
interested
• Conversations
• Growth by contribution

14. Measuring Impact & Engagement
• Stats and Analytics
Where did visitors come from? What did they view?
What did they search for?
• Tools to track impact
Postrank.com , blogsearch.google.com

15. Example
• Pick two concepts popular in your niche
Jquery and Twitter
• Write a post that combines them
Project Twitter
• Seed the link
delicious.com > Ajaxline > Jquery on Twitter
• Watch as traffic spikes
200+ viewers in 24hrs

16. Blogs to Read
• Copyblogger.com
Writing for the web
• problogger.net
Blogging tips and tricks
• createdinbirmingham.com
A local hub

17. Q: How do I get to number one on
Google?

18. A: About 6 months worth of:
• Posting on‐topic articles
• Building links and connections
Not stopping…