Guest Post by Jarret Morrow
For most of us, there’s no question that starting a blog is a daunting task. If you’re not very technically savvy, WordPress is pretty simple to use, but there’s still plenty of information to digest.
New bloggers make common mistakes such as not setting up their blog with “pretty permalinks” which can hurt their traffic and require changes later on.
Some learn a little bit about search engine optimization and incorrectly assuming that Meta Tags actually do anything while negating the importance of things that do matter such as Title Tags or internal linking. Even meta descriptions which are commonly discussed, do not factor into Google’s algorithm. Instead, they do show up under search results, but they have no actual influence.
One of the first issues for new bloggers is that it doesn’t take long before you start to become somewhat obsessed with traffic. After all, if you’re going to take the time to write carefully crafted and thoughtful posts, you probably want someone to actually read it. I know many bloggers that admit to checking their stats several times per day to the point that it’s a distraction.
Tip: If you have 4 different widgets, or code installed to monitor your blog stats, it’s too many, it’s a sign you’re obsessed. It’s also a potential threat, as it can slow your site down.
Often, it doesn’t take long before you figure out that no one is really even reading your blog. Depressing, huh? It’s hard to say, but even from the ‘hits’ that you’re getting, probably on a small percentage actually read your post itself.
When I first started blogging three years ago, I went through many of these experiences.
What did I do?
At the time, I read all of the then common blogging tips such as adding my blog to directories, RSS submission sites, getting a few free low-quality links, trading blog roll links, and trying in vain to promote articles with social media. To be honest, most of these things are fine to do, but they usually end up being pretty low-yield in terms of promoting your blog.
After all of this trial and error, I can tell you a few things that did actually work.
To start off with, you have to take a step back and gain perspective. What’s the secret of those so-called A-list bloggers that seem to generate so much traffic and readership?
1. Patience – Yes, patience. If you look at many of the A-list bloggers like Darren Rowse, Chris Brogran, or others you will read about how they spent a year just building content for their site. If you can’t figure out why you’re not getting traffic, you have to keep things in perspective. Successful blogs will build up loyal readers as well as generate enormous traffic through social media and search engines. A new blog on a new domain, will not be strong enough to generate very much search engine traffic.
2. More patience - At the risk of sounding pedantic or repetitive, you have to appreciate that a typical blog will not generate steady search engine traffic until you have about 200 original posts. Even if you write a post nearly every day, that could take you a year to get to the point where your blog generates steady traffic. What’s more is that it can take 2-6 months to get through Google’s Sandbox effect where your domain has enough trust to rank for more competitive search phrases.
3. Domain authority – Just take a glance at the domains of Chris Brogan or Darren Rowse for a second. With Chris Brogan, you will see that his home page has a PageRank of 6. He has over half a million backlinks and 16,000 indexed pages by Yahoo Site Explorer while his archives date back to 2004. For Darren Rowse, he has nearly 50,000 indexed pages, over 800,000 backlinks, and a home page PageRank also of six. Darren’s domain also dates back to a 2004 registration.
The truth is that if you want to start a blog in a similar niche, you’re going to need to do something incredibly innovative to overcome the massive disadvantage your blog is at relative to these guys. Obviously, factors such as domain age, PageRank, backlink count, and number of indexed pages play an very significant role in their success at generating search engine traffic.
What this really amounts to is that a reasonable strategy might be to do two things.
First, relax and just spend a year building up content for your site before you start obsessing over your blog’s traffic.
Secondly, you need to build up authoritative backlinks for your domain. No one’s going to do this for and writing guest posts is probably the most effective strategy.
Aside from the nuts-and-bolts reality of starting a blog, networking of course is another characteristic of the A-list bloggers. It’s easy to forget that being successful at blogging is not much different than success outside of the digital world.
The old adage here is also true, ‘it’s not what you know, but who you know.’ Connecting with other successful bloggers can have a host of benefits from learning tips, link building, as well as collaborating on mutually beneficial ventures. At the end of the day, if you’re not using your blogging platform to connect with other like-minded people, you’re really missing out on this most rewarding aspect of this experience.
So, what other secrets might be holding you back from the revered A-List?
Jarret Morrow, M.D., is a graduate from the University of Alberta School of Medicine. Over the past ten years, he’s been a published author and researcher. You can read more posts by Dr. Morrow at his dietary supplement blog, Supplement Updates.
About Kiesha Easley
Great article Jarret and nice title. ;-) Patience and more patience? You got that right! One hit wonders are the exception, not the rule.
But the great thins is if you play the game, put in the work and as you said network with your peers, you will see progress and then maybe someday people will be writing about you. ;-)
Thanks for sharing…enjoyed the post!
Michele Welch recently posted..That’s A Wrap- January 14- 2011
Patience goes a very long way not just in blogging and business but in every aspect of life. Patience in blogging is just the application where we test it. Great post and I will be waiting patiently until I become an A-list too. :)
Conversational Agent recently posted..Inteliwise FAQ Agent
Patience is definitely a huge requirement. I made the mistake of focusing on traffic and stats too early. The best way to start out is to get involved in your blog community and meet those who are already high up in your field. Keep writing content – it can be disheartening when traffic is slow to get going, but you’ll need to have a backlog when that traffic does start building.
Dave recently posted..Search Domain Hacks On iPhone With Domainr
Dave, that’s an excellent point for sure. It’s harder to do in some niches. I read and follow blogs about SEO, WordPress, Blogging, etc, in addition to my own niche of health and fitness. Outside of my niche, I have a pretty good idea about who’s who in those areas.
For the health and fitness niche, it’s harder to get a sense of who the a-list bloggers are. For the most part, this niche is dominated by newspapers–New York Times, Magazines–Men’s Health, commercial sites from MSN/Yahoo, etc… These type of sites don’t seem particularly interactive or useful from a networking perspective. Outside of this, there are some very commercial blogs like MedPageToday’s Kevin MD and others which run more like MSM sites than typical blogs.
Jarret recently posted..At Darwin’s Table joins Hive Health Media
I am really learning patience! Have had so many bumps in the road in the past 2 months while I am establishing my blog but as it is my dream; I’m holding tight and moving on with it.It sure helps being part of a blogging community that encourages me and comes visit my blog and comment.
It’s hard not to check stats although it can be discouraging like you say when stats aren’t as hoped. Weekly….I would find that sooooo hard.
Thanks for the great post; you make some really good points and as you speak from experience, even better.
Patricia Perth Australia
Patricia recently posted..Lavender Growing-Pots on the patio or containers on balconies
That was refreshing to read and yes you need to be patience and in the process educated yourselve each and every day if you want to become a successful blogger. Thanks for the perspective.
Arlene recently posted..Five Ways You Can Win At Life Struggles
I certainly need to start thinking about guest-posting, a door that is wide open for me given that I’m personally acquainted with a lot of the bloggers (if not all of the bloggers!) in my niche, which is writing about London and London life. Perhaps I should start asking when people are planning on taking their European holidays and plan accordingly! :)
Pete Stean recently posted..Kopparberg Klash Final
Great job.Thanks for your post.It’s very useful for me. Thanks a lot.
Getting ranked is not easy, with all the bloggers and material out there, people shouldn’t think that it is. The important subtext is that if you keep at it and have good quality, it CAN be done. Nothing is easy, of course, but you can succeed if you work at it.
Steve recently posted..11 Online Business Lessons from Jungfrau Mountain
“I do an exact title tag match for the right search phrase, I can rank pretty well and generate organic traffic”. Sorry Jarret, you lost me here. Do you mind expounding on this, I feel I have lost a golden nugget?
SenseiMattKlein recently posted..Kids Karate Grading- How to Pass
SMK, with most SEO plugins for WordPress you can edit the title tag for your blog posts. Normally, it’s automatically generated from your blog’s post title itself. I personally like to use the free plugin, SEO Ultimate to do this.
Title tags are still very important elements for ranking organically for a search phrase. You can find common search phrases by using keyword tools such as the Free Google Adwords tool or others.
As a recent example, I wanted a post at my dietary supplement blog to rank well for the search phrase, “dietary supplements for weight loss,” so I did an exact title tag match for that phrase.
In contrast, if I had used a title tag of “Lose weight with these 8 supplements” or something different, I wouldn’t rank as well organically when people search for the previous search phrase.
This strategy is more effective if you’re blogging on a stronger domain. If you have a 5 year old domain with a PageRank of 6, you can probably hit page 1 of Google without a single backlink to the post itself depending on how competitive the search phrase ends up being. If you’re blog is new and has less backlinks / PR, you will probably have to build some keyword rich links for the post to accomplish this.
Jarret recently posted..At Darwin’s Table joins Hive Health Media
Thanks Jerret, it makes more sense to me now. Not sure if it is a Thesis thing or not, but it seems I am stuck with my blog name at the end of the title tag for each post. Not sure how to get rid of it and put in my own. Do you or any of your subscribers know how to do it? Thanks heaps.
SenseiMattKlein recently posted..Teaching Children Martial Arts- Exercise as Punishment
At the beginning was pretty easy to get traffic and become a known blogger, because there weren’t so many bloggers out there. Now even the quality content has small chances to be read, because there’s a large variety. So, as I see it marketing promotion and social marketing counts more than content.
Hi Mia,
I first started blogging in 2007. Unfortunately, I made the then common biggest mistake in blogging: I started on WordPress.com. Back then, I knew virtually nothing about SEO and other blogging strategies, but it was far less competitive as a blogger–so I definitely agree with you. I do wish I had started my dietary supplement blog back then on its own domain.
Jarret recently posted..At Darwin’s Table joins Hive Health Media
Thx for info advice!
We know quality links don’t happen over night so be patient!
allinfo recently posted..More About Android Smartphones
What is the famous saying:
Patience is a virtue.
Well it appears its pretty darn important if you want to be a successful blogger. We have been warped to believe that we will make money overnight thru blogging and when we find out that it is harder than we thought most of us quit.
So, yes ill buy that: patience is key to a great blogger
Chris recently posted..Gold Miners Investors Change Their Mindset
I think you might have scared some people when you told them that they were going to need to create at least 200 posts before they get any love from Google. I would say that it all depends on your primary blog topic. If you are blogging about something that is very common online, then it will take a lot of posts. If you are blogging about something really rare, you can probably get a lot of love from Google with a lot fewer post. Those posts should be targeted specifically at phrases that people search for on Google. Plus you will need to do substantial promotional work so that each of those posts gets at least one quality backlink.
Hi Kathy, 200 posts is just from my own experience in starting a number of various blogs.
What I meant by that is after around 200 posts, most blogs are able to generate steady search traffic–by steady traffic, I mean that you can go a week or two without posting and not see your traffic drop substantially.
You’re right though, if the blogger is either really effective at generating natural backlinks and skilled at targeting keyword phrases or just builds links aggressively, that number would probably be far less.
Jarret recently posted..Eat more fiber to combat the metabolic syndrome
Hi Dr. Jarret,
It truly takes patience and more patience to build a steady stream of traffic. I’m slowly getting away from watching my stats. If I keep watching my stats I will not be motivated..more like disappointed. I’m challenging myself to only check once a week.
Great post and helped look at things in a different way!
Take care,
Evelyn
Evelyn recently posted..Sluggish Food Results in a Sluggish Body
Hi Evelyn, many of us are susceptible to the positive/negative feedback of traffic stats with myself included. It took me a little while after I first started blogging to limit it to once a week as well. Thanks for your feedback on the post.
Jarret recently posted..Eat more fiber to combat the metabolic syndrome
Hey Jarret,
If we had to compare those numbers with Darren and Chris. Heck yeah…we must do something innovative!
The good news, you can focus on finding your target market and still be successful without having those kind of numbers.
Chat with you later…
Josh
Josh Garcia recently posted..How Learning Copywriting Made Me Connect With My Audience
Great advice! Patience is the key to success. Quality links don’t happen over night and neither does authority. You are spot on with your recommendations!
Trevor B. Reed recently posted..Thesis 18 Review
Wow, this is really a “big picture” post. I am still in the google sandbox, with a blog only a few months old, and it’s already easy to see how one can get trapped in the obsession with day-to-day numbers. Your post really shows the importance of writing good content, promoting it, then just being patient. Every new blogger should read this.
SenseiMatt,
It’s easy to forget how hard it is to start up a new blog. I started a blog called Hive Health Media just over 2 months ago myself. Even with a ton of new content including from guest post submissions, it’s still mostly getting traffic from social media instead of search.
On my other blog that has more domain authority, if I do an exact title tag match for the right search phrase, I can rank pretty well and generate organic traffic. But on the new domain, even with this strategy, it’s too hard to rank for moderately competitive search phrases without an incredible amount of link building.
The good news is that this gets easier over time.
Jarret recently posted..Eat more fiber to combat the metabolic syndrome
Even in his first book “Problogger Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income”, a great book for newbies btw. Darren Rowse shared how it took him 3 years to build up the traffic to one of his first blogs. The man held down 3 part time jobs while finishing up his technology degree in his quest to become a full time blogger.
I say it starts with patience but takes even more perseverance to become a successful blogger. We are all striving to be in both Darren and Chris’s shoes one day but we will never get there if we don’t stay the course.
Great stuff Jarret and Kiesha
JB
JB Brathwaite recently posted..Why Is Google Not Afraid To Fail
JB, great point! Persistence is key as many of us give up after finding out how difficult it is to create a successful blog or from the initial disappointment with lack of immediate success.
Jarret recently posted..Eat more fiber to combat the metabolic syndrome
I feel as though this is a post that should appear in front of my face everyday. I know patience is king right now, and I totally agree that if bloggers put in the time and pay their dues by putting out great content for a long time, it will come back to them. The problem is waiting patiently. Thanks for the reminder and fora great post.
Hi Rebecca, I agree that it helps to remind people to be patient, but being patient is easier said than done too. I’ve read Problogger for years and even Darren’s be open about how little traffic he managed to generate during his first year of blogging. Look where he’s at now though.
Jarret recently posted..Eat more fiber to combat the metabolic syndrome
All excellent points in a well written article! I am not distracted by checking stats. I check them about once a week. I’d rather spend my time networking on LinkedIn and commenting on blogs. I’m also a believer in CommentLuv and keeping my blog “do follow”. I know that the majority of my traffic comes from those two sources. Someday (soon I hope) I’ll find the time to guest post too.
Sherryl Perry recently posted..Need More Eyes on Your Website Comment on Blogs
Thanks for your kind feedback, Sherryl. I haven’t tried networking much on LinkedIn yet, but I have joined a few different groups.
I’m a big fan of Commentluv too, but I find its usefulness depends on your blog niche. For my dietary supplement blog, virtually non of the people who comment are bloggers, so it wouldn’t help much for that site. I do use it on another site that has more readers who’re bloggers though.
Jarret recently posted..Eat more fiber to combat the metabolic syndrome
I figured out early on that compulsive stat checking was not going to take me any place I wanted to go. For me, being clear on why I’m blogging helps a lot. Plus, I focus on the things I can control, like writing posts and connecting with others vs. obsessing over things I can’t control.
Jean Sarauer recently posted..Does Your Blog Have an Individual Voice
I will admit, I am one of the people who check their blogs stats obsessively. I log in throughout the day and evening to check the numbers and lose sleep over low numbers on a new post. I don’t have more than one statistics widget though so I guess I haven’t gone completly round the bend yet.
My blog is about seven months old and, according to my stats, has been climbing each month – I feel pretty good about that and really have no reason to stress like I do. I’m going to take your advice and be patient – I’ll even take a stats sabbatical for month…ok, a week – maybe.
T. recently posted..Book Review- The Haunting of Hill House
Ha-ha. More patience you say :). You are so right. But patience is so hard to achieve. You can’t just read that you should be patient and just like that, become patient :). It is hard, and you need to focus and work on it.
And who would have more than one statistics widgets :D. What is the point? Just do not use awstats, because it is showing bots and the numbers are pretty big there. And never look at your stats more than once a day.
I know lots of bloggers that use 1. WordPress Stats 2. Quantcast tags 3. Google Analytics 4. SiteMeter–all on the same blog site. You’re right though, there isn’t much point.
Jarret recently posted..Eat more fiber to combat the metabolic syndrome
The thing I think is worth mentioning is that most of these ‘A’ list bloggers did not start from scratch, they normally have large following to begin with.
Dean Saliba recently posted..Link From Blog- The Ugly Duckling Of Review Networks
Dean, even the ‘A list’ bloggers had to start from scratch at some point, but for many it was several years ago. I didn’t mention this in the original post, but if you look back at the archives of many of these bloggers, the quality of the first year’s content is not so impressive.
Jarret recently posted..Eat more fiber to combat the metabolic syndrome