Any small business with a blog has a few key goals they strive for. And one of those is increasing their blog traffic.
But what if I told you there was a simple trick that could triple your blog traffic? (Without hours of extra promo work…)
You might call me crazy, but I watched it happen with one of my clients.
This client recently launched their blog, so they’re still testing what’s working and what’s not.
But there was one blog post I wrote for them that got 3 times more traffic than almost any of their other articles. Yes, you read that correctly—three times!
And not only that, but when we promoted that blog to their email list, we got a click rate of 11.4%! (If you look at that and think, OK, so what?, then I should mention that the average click rate for this client’s industry is 2-3%.)
My client’s audience was gobbling this content up.
But why?
Well, it started with that one simple trick I promised to tell you. And I won’t make you wait any longer.
Triple Your Blog Traffic by Writing About Your Ideal Client’s Burning Questions
After analyzing the blog and the sharing methods, I realized that what made this blog post get triple the average number of page views was simply … the topic.
Not the topic in general, which was bookkeeping. The blog post itself answered a burning question that my client’s ideal customer had.
This client is a bookkeeping/accounting business that serves other small businesses.
Turns out, many of their readers are confused about how to pay themselves correctly.
Yep. It wasn’t a sexy topic. It was actually pretty boring: “How to Pay Yourself as a Small Business Owner (And What Not to Do).”
But that’s not boring to a small-business owner. That’s a huge question they have! No solopreneur or boutique shop owner wants to find themselves in hot water with the IRS because they’ve been paying themselves incorrectly.
And there you have it … a high-traffic blog post.
How to Discover Your Readers’ Burning Questions
So let’s turn this around and apply it to your blog…
Start by thinking about your current clients.
What questions do they ask you most often?
What concerns do they have regarding your niche?
What fears compel them to seek out the answers to their questions?
That’s what you need to be blogging about.
If you’re not sure how to answer that list of questions (or if you haven’t been in business long enough to get to know your clients), don’t worry. There are still things you can do to dig up the answers.
- Ask around on social media
- Ask your email list
- Ask other entrepreneurs in your space
- Poke around on other blogs in your niche
For that last tip, keep an eye out for their most popular blog posts and note the topics/questions that drive those posts. Don’t copy their topics exactly, of course, but you can use those popular blogs as inspiration for a new topic for your own posts.
Triple Your Blog Traffic With a Solid Headline
A perfect topic is the foundation for a viral blog post. But you still need to write a great headline to get that precious traffic you crave.
I’ve written several blog posts about how to write compelling headlines and quick tips to improve your blog headlines asap.
But the biggest tip I can give you right now is simply this:
Make your promise as clear as possible.
Don’t hide your topic behind fancy schmancy words. And be careful with too much mystery.
If you have a blog post that touches on a topic your audience really cares about, then the best thing you can do is make it as clear as day how your blog post will benefit them.
Recall the headline for the article I wrote for my client: “How to Pay Yourself as a Small Business Owner (And What Not to Do).”
There’s no razzle dazzle to that headline. It’s really not that much to look at. But if you’ve been confused about how to pay yourself correctly as a small business owner, then you know that blog post is for you.
Of course, topics that work for my client won’t necessarily work for you. That’s why you have to get out there and get to know your readers! Then, try out different topics on your blog and see what resonates most. In no time, you’ll be on your way to triple your blog traffic.
So get out there and start writing!
Jenny Rose is a freelance copywriter and content marketer specializing in B2B marketing, real estate, and accounting. She's written for clients like AAA, Edward Jones, Flyhomes, Guild Education, and more. Her writing has also appeared in publications like Business Insider and GOBankingRates.
