Everyone who starts up a WordPress blog goes through the same phase. You spend hours and hours creating your site, getting it to look and act just the way you want. Then, after that, you spend even more time creating high-quality content that you think people want to read. Perhaps you've spent weeks or even months getting your blog to this point, but when you go to look at the traffic counts… no one is visiting. Maybe you get a few clicks here and there when you share a new post to your friends on Facebook, but other than that, the blog remains a ghost town.

If this situation sounds at all familiar, don't worry. Everyone who starts up a blog goes through this phase, and just because your blog isn't getting the amount of visitors you'd like yet, doesn't mean it can't. Growth often comes exponentially, and you just need to do a few things to get the ball rolling. Here are some things you should try:

Learn About Your Audience

First, you need to learn as much as you can about the people you're targeting. What sort of content are they looking for? Do they prefer reading lists with a lot of pictures, or more in depth articles with a lot of references? Do they typically browse the Internet during the day, or more at night? Which social media platform are they most likely to use? There is a lot that you can learn about your audience, and the more you learn, the better.

But how do you find all of this out? There are a few methods you can try. First, look at similar blogs in your niche. From there you can learn about what style of article fits your niche, along with the topics that your audience may have an interest in.

You should also have data tracking set up for your blog, so that when you do get visitors, you can learn more about them. Using a tool like Google Analytics will help you to learn where your visitors are located, what time of day they like to visit, how they found your site, and much more. Once you've gathered plenty of information about your visitors, or about the people you want to become visitors, you can start putting that information to use.

Reach Out to Your Audience

Having all that information doesn't do you any good if you don't use it. The first way you can put it to use is how you reach your audience. This can be done in several different ways.

For starters, you should be active on social media. Create accounts on platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and whatever else you can in order to promote your blog. Even if you're not creating content frequently for your blog, you should still remain active on your social media accounts, putting them to use each day. See which platforms your niche likes to use most, then focus your attention on those to start.

Once you've created accounts on these platforms, start connecting with your audience. Follow similar blogs in your niche, and communicate with thought leaders and influencers. Don't just talk about your blog, but about anything related to your niche. Your goal is to become more of an authority in your niche, which in turn will generate more traffic to your blog.

Another thing you can do is interact on other websites. Chances are there are other blogs within your niche, and these blogs likely have comment sections. Find them, and chat with other people in the comments section, along with the author of the post. Every once in a while, when appropriate, include a link back to your own related blog posts for those people who might be interested.

Focus on Quality Over Quantity

When starting a blog, a lot of people make the mistake of thinking they need to post something new several times a day. This is far from the case. It's much better to take your time and craft something that will be very valuable to your audience. Even if you only post once every other week, if it's a resource that other people will use and share, it will end up generating more traffic than a quick post you rushed through.

Guest Post on Other Blogs

We mentioned commenting on other blogs in order to drive traffic, but you can also try creating your own post on these sites. Many blogs feature guest posters, and you can generate a lot of viewers to your blog by becoming one of them. A guest poster provides free content to the blog in exchange for a link back and some exposure.

Find some influential blogs within your niche and send them an email. Ask if they are looking for guest bloggers, and propose a topic you'd like to write about. Many blogs are happy to get free content for their sites, provided it's of a high quality.

Don't Ignore SEO

When you're producing your content, be sure you are not ignoring SEO. Good SEO practices can make the differences between a blog post that ranks on page 2 of Google and one that is near the top of page 1. This may not sound like a big difference, but it can actually mean a huge change in the amount of traffic you receive. So make sure you are including the keywords you want to target in your posts, links to credible sources, and some SEO optimized images. For more tips on optimizing a blog post for SEO, try this guide.

Be Patient

Finally, no matter how great your content is, or how well you interact with others on social media, your blog likely isn't going to become an instant hit overnight. Building up a steady stream of traffic takes time and effort, so you need to be patient.

Often new bloggers think their entire focus should be on writing good content. But while this is important, it's not the only factor. In fact, you should only be spending about half your time writing good content, and the other half promoting it.

It may seem like you are putting in a lot of effort for no return, but keep at it. Most successful blogs didn't get there in a week, but instead put in the time and effort over the course of many weeks, months, and even years.

Hopefully these few tips are able to get you started on the right track. If you'd like some more advice on how to improve traffic to your new WordPress blog, check out my YouTube channel here.

Everyone who starts up a WordPress blog goes through the same phase. You spend hours and hours creating your site, getting it to look and act just the way you want. Then, after that, you spend even more time creating high-quality content that you think people want to read. Perhaps you've spent weeks or even months getting your blog to this point, but when you go to look at the traffic counts… no one is visiting. Maybe you get a few clicks here and there when you share a new post to your friends on Facebook, but other than that, the blog remains a ghost town.

If this situation sounds at all familiar, don't worry. Everyone who starts up a blog goes through this phase, and just because your blog isn't getting the amount of visitors you'd like yet, doesn't mean it can't. Growth often comes exponentially, and you just need to do a few things to get the ball rolling. Here are some things you should try:

Learn About Your Audience

First, you need to learn as much as you can about the people you're targeting. What sort of content are they looking for? Do they prefer reading lists with a lot of pictures, or more in depth articles with a lot of references? Do they typically browse the Internet during the day, or more at night? Which social media platform are they most likely to use? There is a lot that you can learn about your audience, and the more you learn, the better.

But how do you find all of this out? There are a few methods you can try. First, look at similar blogs in your niche. From there you can learn about what style of article fits your niche, along with the topics that your audience may have an interest in.

You should also have data tracking set up for your blog, so that when you do get visitors, you can learn more about them. Using a tool like Google Analytics will help you to learn where your visitors are located, what time of day they like to visit, how they found your site, and much more. Once you've gathered plenty of information about your visitors, or about the people you want to become visitors, you can start putting that information to use.

Reach Out to Your Audience

Having all that information doesn't do you any good if you don't use it. The first way you can put it to use is how you reach your audience. This can be done in several different ways.

For starters, you should be active on social media. Create accounts on platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and whatever else you can in order to promote your blog. Even if you're not creating content frequently for your blog, you should still remain active on your social media accounts, putting them to use each day. See which platforms your niche likes to use most, then focus your attention on those to start.

Once you've created accounts on these platforms, start connecting with your audience. Follow similar blogs in your niche, and communicate with thought leaders and influencers. Don't just talk about your blog, but about anything related to your niche. Your goal is to become more of an authority in your niche, which in turn will generate more traffic to your blog.

Another thing you can do is interact on other websites. Chances are there are other blogs within your niche, and these blogs likely have comment sections. Find them, and chat with other people in the comments section, along with the author of the post. Every once in a while, when appropriate, include a link back to your own related blog posts for those people who might be interested.

Focus on Quality Over Quantity

When starting a blog, a lot of people make the mistake of thinking they need to post something new several times a day. This is far from the case. It's much better to take your time and craft something that will be very valuable to your audience. Even if you only post once every other week, if it's a resource that other people will use and share, it will end up generating more traffic than a quick post you rushed through.

Guest Post on Other Blogs

We mentioned commenting on other blogs in order to drive traffic, but you can also try creating your own post on these sites. Many blogs feature guest posters, and you can generate a lot of viewers to your blog by becoming one of them. A guest poster provides free content to the blog in exchange for a link back and some exposure.

Find some influential blogs within your niche and send them an email. Ask if they are looking for guest bloggers, and propose a topic you'd like to write about. Many blogs are happy to get free content for their sites, provided it's of a high quality.

Don't Ignore SEO

When you're producing your content, be sure you are not ignoring SEO. Good SEO practices can make the differences between a blog post that ranks on page 2 of Google and one that is near the top of page 1. This may not sound like a big difference, but it can actually mean a huge change in the amount of traffic you receive. So make sure you are including the keywords you want to target in your posts, links to credible sources, and some SEO optimized images. For more tips on optimizing a blog post for SEO, try this guide.

Be Patient

Finally, no matter how great your content is, or how well you interact with others on social media, your blog likely isn't going to become an instant hit overnight. Building up a steady stream of traffic takes time and effort, so you need to be patient.

Often new bloggers think their entire focus should be on writing good content. But while this is important, it's not the only factor. In fact, you should only be spending about half your time writing good content, and the other half promoting it.

It may seem like you are putting in a lot of effort for no return, but keep at it. Most successful blogs didn't get there in a week, but instead put in the time and effort over the course of many weeks, months, and even years.

Hopefully these few tips are able to get you started on the right track. If you'd like some more advice on how to improve traffic to your new WordPress blog, check out my YouTube channel here.