Now we have our blog started and a few posts, we want to get traffic to our site as soon as possible. To get any traffic to your site you have to tell people that you have a site.

Here are a few suggestions that may help get you that precious traffic. These are in no particular order. I am not even saying you have to do every one but I have included them here to help you.

1. Register your domain with Google – http://google.com/addurl . You can also add your site to my.yahoo.com and Bing. Or you may want to install a site map. Install the plugin Google XML sitemap – there are two that I like but I prefer the multi site support. It is very easy to install.

2. Read and comment on other people’s blogs in your niche. Ensure that you do read them and you leave an applicable comment. This sets up links and Google loves links.

3. Use social media sites (like Twitter and Facebook) and some Social Bookmarking sites to get noticed. I have listed some social booking marking sites for you. You should be able to click on the link for it to open.

Del.icio.us
Tagza
 Newsvine
Blinklist
Mister-Wong

Or you may wish to use a free service like Social Marker and submit a lot at once.

4. I would ensure you use a pinging service. Some people use more that one but it is your choice. Do this every time you post.

Pingomatic
Pingoat
Feedshark
PinGates
PingIn

5. Submit articles to various sites. I would suggest that you use unique content for each site. When you write these articles make sure you include a link to your site. The terms and conditions of these article directories can be different so it is advisable that you read them carefully.

Ezine Articles
Go Articles
Article Dashboard
Article Biz
Article Alley

6. Ensure when you are sending emails or any other correspondence that you add your site into your signature block.

7. Visit forums in your niche and when you can add your URL to your signature block. Some forums want you be on their forum for a certain amount of time, while others want you to have a minimum amount of posts or threads before you can add your signature block.

8. If you are having new business cards printed, make sure you include your website.

9. Ensure you add RSS( Really Simple Syndication) to your blog. By using RSS, you blogs can be read using RSS aggregators or news feeds.

10. It is essential that you get into the habit of posting on your blog. It would be good if you could do at least two posts each week.

11. You have to be able to measure how many visitors are coming to your site. If you have created an optin form on your blog you can monitor your traffic there. I personally prefer Google Analytics but people argue for and against it. I like it. Remember if you cannot measure your traffic, you won’t know how you are going.

So I hope some of these suggestions may help you. Let me know what works best for you.

To YOUR success

Sue McDonald