This post is inspired by a comment from Robert over at Integral Web Solutions and the comment he made on my post How To Get 200 Subscribers In 5 Days. Robert basically agreed with my sentiment about traffic, little streams from all directions will add up to an ocean of traffic.
- One Big Score
Don’t get me wrong here we all want a massive single source of traffic, a massive flood that continues to pour in for sometime, search engine key word, front page StumbleUpon etc. And while you can still encourage that by spending some time on your key words and promoting the social media avalanche, you really shouldn’t spend the majority of your time on this, why?
Looking for one big score is like a team of bandits looking to cash out, lots of little scores all add up (although I realise the risk issue for bank robbers etc, but that’s a whole other post). If you are constantly chasing that big hit of traffic from one source you’re limiting your productivity, instead you should be focused on lots of little streams.
- Little Streams
I suppose this applies to revenue income from your site or online ventures too, but lots of little places giving you traffic is really important, for instance guest posts (I have written those guest posts I have promised out just waiting to release them) will trickle feed you traffic, depending on the site it will vary from a few hits to a few hundred.
Then you have the social media streams like StumbleUpon and Digg etc, below is a screen grab from my traffic page which shows how a case study over at Blogger Illustrated and two of my posts which were submitted to StumbleUpon gave this site over 550 unique readers. That’s just 3 little traffic streams, add in things like Twitter, Facebook etc and you are really starting to mount up.
While we are talking about traffic streams the screen grab below shows how important theses little streams can be;
Now from 1832hrs to 1836hrs this site had 18 visits, mostly from StumbleUpon. 18 visits in 4 minutes isn’t bad considering the post being visited only went live yesterday (How To Profile Your Readers) this screen grab should show the importance of little streams all adding up.
The other streams of traffic you will be looking to implement is things like commenting, I live by the 20/7 rule when it comes to commenting (more on this coming soon) but leaving your bread crumbs everywhere you go will give you a little more traffic, a few clicks here a few there and before you know it you’re getting thousands of readers every month. Commenting on sites does bring in traffic, don’t expect thousands of visits from every comment because it doesn’t work that way there is a real strategy to commenting properly, but every little click adds up.
- Ocean
So all the little streams that bring you a click here, a couple of clicks there really do mount up but you have to make sure they continue to flow easily and gradually get stronger, but how? Easy, keep banging up fresh quality content and write it for yourself and your readers not with the search engines or the social networks in mind. Seriously, make sure your content is always written with the mind set ”I would want to read this” or ”I want to talk about this”. The reason I say this, despite this site getting Stumble traffic quite regular now is because I can never guess which post or article is going to do that well on any of the social networks or which one is going to make people feel the need to hit the Re-Tweet button.
You simply can’t second guess it and the moment you try is the moment you will start to lose focus, so just write content you would want to read yourself and everything else will take care of it’s self. The other thing you need to do is stay active everywhere, so if you use Digg or Facebook and want your traffic stream to start flowing from there then start using them. I find the more active I am in each network, the more traffic comes from that source and once it’s flowing you can work on the others, making sure none of the streams have a blockage.
It takes time and hours of work but building up your streams is really vital to actually making sure you have an ocean of traffic.
photo credit: Nicholas_T
So what does everyone think?
Please Re-Tweet, Digg and StumbleUpon
Those are awesome streams, James
I can’t wait for the 20/7 comment rule
It’s also awesome that you get stumbled upon, that’s always a guarantee for massive traffic in short amounts of time. I got stumbled upon last week, and the traffic exploded, but it was rather superficial. I should focus more on it – currently I’m all about Twitter and Facebook.
Here’s to our success,
Mars
.-= Mars Dorian´s last blog ..What’s Your Mission ? =-.
Yeah I’m switching focus onto Stumble, Digg and Sphinn at the moment whilst maintaining the other streams. 20/7 will be coming out soon, no fluff, no frills just honest hard results!
Hi James,
I quite agree that “little streams from all directions will add up to an ocean of traffic.” The problem with Digg and StumbleUpon and the like is that they are sporadic and you can’t count on that traffic. It gives you a nice spike once in a while, but does it translate into loyal subscribers? I’m sure that the bounce rate would be high from those places.
But, it all goes into the same traffic pot. Building up a great site with great content will bring the readers, never fear. You’re obviously doing something right as your site is ranked quite high already.
Definitely go after the Digg and StumbleUpon traffice, but don’t forget that there are so many other ways to get traffic as well.
Karen
.-= Karen´s last blog ..Warning: Following These 5 Tips May Get You Out Of Your Rut =-.
Hi Karen, I’m sort of with you on this point. Stumble Upon does drive massive traffic to my blog, often in spikes. However, I’m getting an average of 3 pages per visit. Trouble is I’m not sure if they are stumble upon visitors or not.
I’m also seeing a sizable increase in the length of time per page.
Again, I’m not sure whether this is stumble upon visitors or not.
.-= Matthew Needham´s last blog ..Wednesday Wisdom =-.
Hi Karen, yeah as I said you need to pay attention to it but not be focused as they do bring in traffic and to be honest Stumble brings in a healthy amount of regular traffic which only adds to the pot as you said.
Ultimately you need to get as many streams of traffic as you can as it all adds up, if one floods every now and again then great!
.-= theinfopreneur´s last blog ..How To Get 200 Subscribers In 5 Days =-.
Personally, I don’t really go after SU or Digg very much, I prefer to use my time working on my SERP’s because those will be the readers that count down the road. I don’t think that one SU or Digg referral ever turned into a sale or a click for me. It is nice to have the consistant traffic from them if you plan to sell ads, but I don’t really see any use past that….
.-= Keith´s last blog ..Make It Easier in 31 Days =-.
HI Kieth, yeah I’m not actively seeking out traffic from SU or Digg, I’m just saying little bits of traffic from different places all add up really. Of course search engine traffic is where it’s at in terms of long standing traffic, but I think these little streams are good to boost the site and actually take minutes to do everyday, to be honest I don’t submit my own stuff it’s all done by others but it does add up which is cool really
Hey James
Excellent stats! It’s great to have many streams of traffic or business. If you are reliant on one way only what happens if that dries up? Disaster!
Roland
.-= Roland Millward´s last blog ..Beware of The Paradox =-.
Exactly Roland, keep the streams coming becuase they are easier to build when the flow is there, once it drys up it’s very difficult to start again
Hi James,
Great job on generating traffic from so many sources. I’ve been wondering lately what it all means though. I have mixed feelings about what traffic will mean in the long run. When it comes to monetization, a bazillion visitors to a site is only meaningful if a decent percentage of them buy something. On the other hand, no one will know you have something for sale if they don’t know you exist.
I’m new to blogging. I come from an internet marketing background, selling product via web pages. One thing I learned from IM is the LIST is far more important (for monetization) than the daily traffic.
.-= Tim Zager´s last blog ..Everything You Know Is Wrong =-.
Yeah you’re absolutely right that the mailing list is king, that said traffic is the way to build that list initially. Ultimately search engine traffic is where it’s at, but that said little streams of traffic from a variety of sources is a really good thing to happen
Hey James,
traffic from all areas is good. But i think the most important is traffic from search engines. I for one i mostly focus on good content and SEO.
My main aim is in building a list of targeted visitors and subscribers. Stumble Upon and Digg are good, but work slowly for me.
.-= harvestwages´s last blog ..5 traps that seduces great minds =-.
You’re right to say search engine is the most important thing, because it really is very important. everything is great and happens along the way but SE traffic is key
Top post, James.
I agree, the little streams all flowing to one location are a great way to keep the traffic flowing. An occasional flood is always welcome too.
But I think the streams from many places are more realistic.
Good job, man.
.-= Jimi Jones´s last blog ..The Importance of the Personal Brand – Part 2 =-.
Yeah Jimi we all like the floods of traffic but can’t count on them, they just arrive when they do good point man
Traffic? What’s that? lol All traffic is good. No matter how much, no matter where it comes from. It gets you out there, gets you noticed. I also agree with harvestwage that search engine traffic is vital. I’m living proof of that. Over 90% of my traffic is from searches, both organic and images. But then again, I’m in a powerful niche with strong keywords. It all works!
Yeah search engine stuff is great and you’re right no matter where it comes from, traffic is traffic!
.-= theinfopreneur´s last blog ..Happy Easter =-.
I was surprised one day when I got home and checked my analytics.
Apparently one of my posts went really well on StumbleUpon and I had nearly 600 visits in a single day. It wasn’t even a post I expected to take off.
It gave me a big smile but I’m not going to let it go to my head, I’m going to keep writing about DJing and Electronic Music regardless of wither or not I get traffic.
I love writing and I love those subjects, I’d do it even if I didn’t have an audience. The traffic is just a bonus.
.-= The Beginner DJ´s last blog ..5 More Tips For Ultra Music Festival =-.
Yep exactly traffic is just a bonus, it’s just about the message great attitude!
Makes you feel good though!
.-= Matthew Needham´s last blog ..Wednesday Wisdom =-.
Putting in a little bit or piece of who you are in different places and being consistent about it can really add up. This post seriously reminds me of the saying: Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Definitely have that vision of where you WANT to be but make sure you’re just a little everywhere and keep working towards where that want is.
Especially with social media nowadays, making sure you’re here and there and then focusing a bit more when you discover where the majority of people come from and helping out counts. Just making sure you’re not in one place hoping for the big turn is crucial.
What do you think?
.-= Eric´s last blog ..Have You Done It Yet And If So, Have You Learned? =-.
yeah be everywhere man that’s what I’m going for man
From time to time, you can also use cards containing your name and the URL of your site. In addition to guest posting, social networks, and good content, these things can also bring in a small yet steady amount of traffic.
.-= Julius´s last blog ..Web Accessibility Fears and Ways to Conquer Them =-.
DO you actually physical business cards?
I’ve checked my refering sites and I was surprised to see that Netvibes gernerates a fair bit of traffic to my site, bizarely I’d never heard of it.
Also don’t underestimate the power of comments. I get a good amount of traffic from just commenting on other blogs.
.-= Matthew Needham´s last blog ..Wednesday Wisdom =-.
Great post James.
Its been a month since I have started seriously blogging and the little streams really do add up over time and I’m proving this for myself. Guest posting works particularly well along with twitter in achieving unique traffic but stumble upon tends to increase my blog’s bounce rate since visitors from this source don’t normally stay to read.
Keep up the great work James.
.-= Robyn from Sam’s Web Guide´s last blog ..The Art of Community Optimization – Maximize Your Blog’s Potential =-.