How to Drive Traffic to Your Blog (32 Best Ways to Increase Blog Traffic) in 2020

So you launched a blog.Now it's time to learn how to drive traffic to your blog.

It's easy to go post on your website (or in the first blog post), relax and wonder… Where is everybody?

If you want proven strategies on how to drive traffic to your blog (or business website), you've come to the right place.

Over the past four years, I've gone from tinkering with learning how to start a blog to bringing nearly 3 million readers to this blog so far this year.

How to drive traffic to your blog and increase website traffic in 2020 screenshot of the Ryan Robinson ryrob website

How to drive traffic to your blog and increase website traffic in 2020 screenshot of the Ryan Robinson ryrob website

I say this not to brag, but to show you that I actually know what I'm talking about here.

And to prove that I put my traffic driving strategies to use right here on my blog, with overwhelming success.

Because when it comes to learning how to drive traffic to your website, there are literally millions of articles out there claiming they're the best, many of them written by people claiming to be marketers with a secret formula (which always seems to cost only $99.99 for some reason).

Well, I did the real work.I experienced I tried.I failed.I learned.I'm successful when it comes to learning how to drive traffic to your blog.

Check out my picks for the best (proven) ways to drive traffic to your website in 2020, with hyperlink in this clickable menu so you can jump straight to the strategy of your choice or follow one at a time by scrolling in order.

How to Drive Traffic to Your Blog (32 Best Ways to Increase Blog Traffic) in 2020

  1. Dig deeper and create content worth sharing
  2. Nail your on-page SEO
  3. Optimize for long-tail keywords
  4. Start building an email list (now)
  5. Guest posting (the right way)
  6. Collection of publication quotes
  7. Strategic pre-linking in your content
  8. Natural Link Building
  9. Interview with thought leaders
  10. Content partnerships with bloggers and brands
  11. Get a publish column
  12. Regularly share images on Pinterest
  13. Creative writing on LinkedIn
  14. Be proactive on Facebook
  15. Stand out on Instagram
  16. Use Twitter to build a loyal community
  17. Answer questions on Quora
  18. (Carefully) Engage on Reddit
  19. Sharing to Facebook groups
  20. Be active in niche-oriented online communities
  21. Get interviewed on podcasts
  22. Start a YouTube channel
  23. Host webinars
  24. eBooks, books and audiobooks
  25. Offer free downloadable templates
  26. Host a virtual summit
  27. Teaching online courses
  28. Start a creative side project
  29. Google Discover
  30. Speak at a conference
  31. Get on local television
  32. Use paid search and social advertising

The purpose of this guide is not to be a clear step-by-step instruction manual on how to drive traffic to your blog – rather, it's a list of all the different (real) types of strategies that might work well in driving traffic to your website.

This is not a guaranteed roadmap for success, because it will take a lot of experimentation and creativity to learn, adapt and apply to your unique situation.

Also, you should NOT use all of these methods to drive traffic to your blog at once.You literally don't have enough hours a day.This should be a list you can draw inspiration from, and the tactics that stick out are the ones you should start implementing.

The ultimate goal should be to build a consistent strategy for your website of tactics to drive traffic that is performing when you put in time and effort.

Try to delve into some strategies, not the breadth of a million of them.

Jumping haphazardly from one council to another without giving things time to grow and develop will never work.When a strategy is starting to show positive signs, dig deep and prioritize executing that strategy really well so that it can live to its full potential.Here's how to grow your blog in the long run.

In fact, you should spend a lot of time figuring out the best way to promote your content: I try to abide by the 80/20 rule.I spend 80% of my time distributing my content or figuring out the best way to promote it, and only 20% on actual writing.Obviously, the quality of the writing is important, but it doesn't matter how good it is if you're not spending the time to get it out.

Now, I don't want to get you lost yet, but you might not deserve traffic in the first place either.Ouch!I know.

But you need to make sure you're ready to drive traffic to your website before you actually start testing strategies to increase your blog traffic.

How to drive traffic to your blog (before you actually start)

If you're looking at your website right now and all you have is a simple landing page, some contact information, and some products for sale… Sorry, but you're probably not ready to start spending time driving traffic to your blog yet.

At first, it's nice to think that a engaged and engaged audience will fall on your lap if you reach the right people and follow the right steps, but it's not that easy.You need to make sure your website is set up the right way and is designed to resonate well with your target market.Read more in my guide to starting a blog.

Before you start figuring out how to drive traffic to your website (or make money blogging for that matter), you first need to determine if you're ready for that traffic.So you'll need to make a strategy to find the right ideas for blog posts that will grab your readers' attention when they encounter your content.

So, what does it take to be ready to drive traffic to your blog?

My top four strategies for driving traffic to your website are very fundamental.Implementing these best practices are what reality position experience a strong return from the rest of these ways to traffic to your website that we are covering today.If you have already graduated from the basics to understand what a blog is … to choose the right website builder and create your website, then let's move on.

How to Drive Traffic to Your Blog (32 Best Ways to Increase Blog Traffic) in 2020

These are the steps you need to take to ensure that you are prepared (and deserving) of all the traffic you want to drive to your blog.

Implement core content best practices to drive traffic to your blog

Now let's get in!

1. Dig deeper and create content worthy of sharing.

The Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic) Go Deep

The Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic) Go Deep

Have you ever heard the phrase "it's easier to sell gold than to sell shit"?Well, I have some news for you.No website starts like gold minted right away, so make sure you don't try peddling, well… You know that.At first, many websites try to create useful content on their blog for their audience, but they end up churning out all the same 500-1,000-word articles that offer the 10 quick steps to achieve this or that.Not only is there already no shortage of content on the internet, but recent blog statistics show that it's the last thing that will make you stand out from the crowd and create a lasting impression on your readers.

If you go deep into your content, rather than breadth, promotion will become much easier.See what everyone in your arena is offering and if you can show up at the 500-word counseling party with a 5,000-word step-by-step guide that really helps people… Then your readers will notice.Not only will you have a better chance of selling people on the quality of your content, it will be more likely to go viral, Google will rank it higher in organic search because it will be longer and more in-depth.

This is by far the best advice I can give you when it comes to learning how to drive traffic to your blog: create amazing content that helps your readers in a more meaningful way than others currently.If you can do that, you will be rewarded for it.

2. Nail your on-page SEO.

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic) SEO

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic) SEO

Learn the right blog SEO strategies and best practices for using target keywords should be your priority.You should learn how to do keyword research and use those main target keywords in the title, throughout the article, and image file names, there are many other best practices to familiarize yourself with, such as making your URL SEO-friendly and using keyword synonyms.There is a lot to learn.

If you want a little help — because wow that can seem overwhelming at first — consider installing a plugin like Yoast SEO if you're using WordPress.Yoast is a blogging tool that walks you through the stages of optimizing your page with a wizard that tests your page and asks you questions about your keyword.

3. Optimize your content for long-tail keywords.

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic) Optimize Content

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic) Optimize Content

If your site already has an elevated domain authority (DA), you don't have to worry about this step.If you don't know what I'm talking about, domain authority is a search engine ranking score that ranges from 1 to 100 and predicts the site's position on results pages, based on age, popularity, and size.Your brand new blog will have a ranking around 1 (sorry), while Facebook has a ranking of 99. As you get bigger and better, your DA score will increase.

Since your site probably scores very low, you'll want to do keyword research to start targeting the most relevant terms and phrases, but don't look for larger ones like "business ideas" because you'll have a tough ranking for those high-level keywords at first.Instead, aim for long-tail keyword phrases, like "monthly web hosting plans" and you'll have a better chance of ranking, which is fun: this is a true example of a long-tail keyword I use for my blog.

4. Start building an email list.Like yesterday.

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic) Email

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic) Email

You won't get very far if you don't know who your readers are and you're not making an effort to communicate with them on a more personal level.

The first step to nailing your email marketing blog is to create a subscription widget in your posts and on your site for a newsletter, which is one of the most powerful ways to keep your readers excited about the work you're doing.Consider using a tool to manage your lists by evaluating ConvertKit vs AWeber vs Mailchimp to see which one best suits your needs.

Are you still reading along with my guide on how to drive traffic to your blog?Big!

Now that you've prepared yourself, it's time to go beyond the basics to do and dive into more of my best strategies for driving traffic to your website.I'll cover things like content outreach methods, social media strategies, partnerships, and other creative ways to drive traffic to your blog.

However, as we said at the beginning, this isn't a complete list of everything you should do to drive traffic to your blog today.You should test strategies that you think will work well in your blog's niche, and if one works, put a lot of energy into getting as much traffic out of the channel as possible (until it no longer works).

Now, let's keep moving on my list of creative ways to drive traffic to your blog.

Using Content Outreach to drive traffic to your website

Get ready to put your pen on paper, metaphorically speaking.

5. Guest posting (in the right way).

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic) Guest Posting

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic) Guest Posting

There are many different avenues you can do on the guest blog, and I've tried different methods.The first is to find related bloggers in your field and try to figure out if they will accept your guest post. You'll have to do a lot of trial and error with this, because you're going to get a lot of rejections, but reaching that new audience can really pay off.

Another option you can try is to post to a site with a different type of established audience, such as Medium or Quora.I used Quora a bit to look for someone who really asked a question in my blogging niche and who provided a long, detailed, and super helpful answer.Final quick tip: If you're in a more corporate niche, try LinkedIn!

6. Publication of quotation collections.

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic)

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic)

When I'm researching for a piece I'm going to write, I'll send emails to influencers who are authorities in the area I'm writing about.I'll ask them for a quote to include in the blog post and ask just one question: here's how I do it, if you're interested.I don't worry too much about non-responses or rejections, because as long as some respond, I have a solid contribution to my post. Since they are authority figures, not only does it lend credibility to the article, but if I happen to share the post, I will also get exposure to their audience.

7. Strategic pre-linking in your content.

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic) Pre-Linking

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic) Pre-Linking

Mentioning brands, items, and their influencers within a piece is always a great opportunity to distribute content.When I publish a post, I aim to have between 10 and 20 outbound links in the piece, from pull quotes to mentions.When I post the article, boom, I have 10 to 20 people by email to let them know that I have submitted them.I will ask them to share the piece with their followers on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Bonuses: These content promotion reports don't have to end there.I often go back and ask if they want to collaborate further with me, through partnerships such as taking a guest blog post or finding other beneficial ways to get our content out to each other's audiences on a regular basis to help us both drive traffic to our blogs.

8. Natural Link Building.

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic) Link Building

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic) Link Building

Creating natural links, in simple words, is getting high-quality links from other sites to direct to your blog.This will increase your DA (domain authority), as we mentioned earlier, and drive traffic to your blog as a natural side effect of a growing domain authority.To be clear, there are just a few ways to do this safely, naturally, and following SEO blogging best practices:

  • Post guest swaps. This is a win-win content partnership, where you write a guest post for their blog with a link or two back to yours, and they do the same.You also usually agree to promote the guest post (they'll do the same), to help drive traffic to your blog and get more readers from a targeted source to your website.
  • Dead links. There are many blogging tools that can help you find articles with broken links in them — if the link was supposed to go to an article in the same field as yours, why not contact that website's editor and ask them to refresh the page and link to your more relevant (live) article instead?
  • Creating an amazing resource. If you've invested heavily in creating truly unique and amazing content worthy of trustworthy websites that link to a great resource, such as my exhaustive collection of the best web hosting plans for bloggers or my statistics on industry-leading blogs, then it's worth taking some time to reach out to publications and other bloggers who cover these topics to see if they'd be interested in write about your resource.If it's something that will really benefit their readers, then you can take a very convincing step as to why they should cover your content.Here's how to drive traffic to your blog and attract high-quality backlinks the right way.

When building a link, be careful not to engage in behaviors that search engines disapprove of, such as exchanging links or paying to acquire backlinks—both of which are traffic driving strategies to avoid as they will cause more damage in the long run.

9. Interview with thought leaders.

The Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic) Interview Leader

The Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic) Interview Leader

This is one of my favorite ways to connect with other entrepreneurs like me, chat with them, and usually learn quite a bit – I see them on my podcast, The Side Hustle Project.I started the podcast as a way to introduce thought leaders in my industry and learn about what it took to succeed in their side hustle – and it's the perfect opportunity for content to spread out as well.When the podcast airs, most of them will share it with their audience, which is why this earns its place as the best way I learned to drive traffic to your blog.

10. Content partnerships with other bloggers and brands.

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic)

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic)

This is harder to accomplish if you're still brand new to blogging – you must first have a significant amount of traffic, if you want to get sizable brands or bloggers in your space to promote your content to their audience (and then drive traffic to your website).That said, you should always be on the lookout for other bloggers or brands that are only slightly ahead of you, who you want to partner with and brainstorm on how to add value to their business first.

Here's a tip: During the process of writing a draft blog post for your next article, take a moment to spot any opportunities for bloggers or bigger brands in your space that you can talk about and start building a relationship.With this approach of providing value for others in your space first, you can begin to build a community of influential people that grows in value over time and will soon be helping traffic to your blog.

11. Land a publication column.

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic) Publication Column

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic) Publication Column

For this strategy on how to drive traffic to your website, the most important thing is to find a publication with an established readerbase.It doesn't have to be a big name like Forbes or Entrepreneur, which will still be impossible to get to the beginning.What you should focus on is finding something that fits your style and niche, but is still a bit accessible in size.This will help you build your brand, gain greater recognition for your blog name, connect with interested readers, and look good for networking possibilities.And if you play your cards right, you'll unlock a new channel to drive traffic to your blog in the process.

Leveraging social media to drive traffic to your website

There's a reason social media has been the name of the game when it comes to learning how to drive traffic to your blog for the better part of the last decade: it's one of the best ways to truly connect with and interact with your future audience on a platform they already love.

Now, let's look at some social-media-focused ways to drive traffic to your blog.

12. Regularly share images on Pinterest.

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic) Share Pinterest

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic) Share Pinterest

I know many bloggers who have had great success using Pinterest to drive traffic to their blogs.I've had a good deal of success on my Pinterest too.You'll want to make sure you have good graphics to match every blog post — infographics like I have here and here are great for this — and the most successful Pinterest bloggers recommend posting at least 10 unique pins (images) for every new blog post you post on your site if you're hoping to drive traffic to your website in a meaningful way.

Most importantly, remember that Pinterest is a community like any other social media, so make sure you're active, connecting with others in your niche, and blocking others' content again.If you're just screaming into the void just sharing your images, you'll have a hard time gaining traction and figuring out how to drive traffic to your blog from the platform.

13. Creative writing on LinkedIn.

Better ways to drive traffic to your website (increase blog traffic). Share on linkedin

Better ways to drive traffic to your website (increase blog traffic). Share on linkedin

If you've been on LinkedIn recently, you'll know that the native video is killing it.However, long-form text posts with a smart hook also work really well.LinkedIn can be a great place to connect with others and engage on content that interests you, while posting interesting ideas on a creative blog that you think your network might be interested in. In my experience, however, if you want to drive traffic to your blog from LinkedIn: you need to make sure your posts are link-free (to hit their algorithm the right way), but you can leave a link to your blog's content in the first comment as a response to your post.

14. Be proactive on Facebook.

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic) Share Facebook

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic) Share Facebook

Again, native video is killing it these days, but Facebook still rewards long-form posts without links as well.If you're going to address the social media giant that is Facebook as a way to drive traffic to your website, you'll want to focus on building and leveraging groups that are jam-filled with your ideal readers (I'll dive deeper into that method on how to drive traffic to your blog later).

15. Stand out on Instagram.

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic) Instagram

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic) Instagram

Home to millennials, but growing rapidly across all segments as a means of driving traffic to your blog.Obviously, high-quality images are crucial on this platform, and not all types of businesses will work well on this platform (food blogs are great for Instagram).Building relationships with other influencers in your space will be one of the keys to success.If you want the inside scoop on how to do Instagram the right way, listen to this podcast episode where I sat down with a couple of travel bloggers who cracked the code and learned how to drive traffic to a blog very consistently from their travels Instagram account.

16. Using Twitter to build a loyal community.

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic) Twitter

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic) Twitter

Twitter is a great platform for having authentic conversations with people in your space, but it's not a perfect solution for all types of bloggers to learn how to drive traffic to their websites.It's best suited if your blog covers topics related to technology in some way.Regardless, Twitter shouldn't be ignored, as it's a great way to start building an audience that will participate in conversations, even if it's more community building and a little less traffic for most bloggers.

If you want to get more money for your buck out of Twitter, check out a tool like Quuu Promote, which has an existing base of followers who have signed up to receive suggestions on what to share that's in their interests.You can choose how many posts to promote each month through their network of users, and an unlimited number of people can click and share, thus helping drive traffic to your blog from your existing user base.

Using online forums, groups, and communities to drive traffic to your website

There's no big secret to learning this method on how to drive traffic to your blog.It's as simple as finding where your community spends time online and bringing them back to your blog!

17. Answer questions on Quora.

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic) Quora

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic) Quora

Quora is like the big sister of Yahoo Answer, much more beautiful.People ask questions like, "I started a blog.How can I increase blog traffic? "And people who provide in-depth, intelligent and witty answers – as I gave here – are heavily rewarded.The answer to my answer there, is what inspired me to update and expand my recommendations in that answer by posting this huge guide on how to drive traffic to your website.

Oh, and anyway, at the time of writing this post, my response there received nearly 29,000 views and got over 341 votes from other readers on Quora.Not too run down for a little experiment, and I've continued to use Quora as a platform to engage my readers, provide answers related to what I write about on my blog, and use those teaser responses as a way to drive traffic to my blog (where I'll cover the topics in more depth).

18. (Carefully) Engage on Reddit.

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic) Reddit

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic) Reddit

Reddit is a bit complicated, because if you are openly self-promotional, readers will immediately consider it and "reduce you to oblivion", as they say.However, that doesn't mean you can't be successful in learning how to drive traffic to your blog from the platform if you're attentive and tasteful.Get in touch with the community and build rapport with dedicated commenters first, otherwise you'll get a couple of fingers knocked down.Once you've built your reputation, you can start posting posts asking for feedback on your content when you're comfortable.

19. Sharing to Facebook groups.

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic) Facebook Groups

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic) Facebook Groups

Try to find groups on Facebook that are extremely relevant to your niche and join those that have a lot of engaged members who seem to be in your target audience.As on Reddit, though, you'll want to focus on engaging with the community, liking and commenting on others' posts, and building rapport for weeks (or months) before promoting your content, and trying to use the group to drive traffic to your blog.The moderators of the group are experts in recognizing members who are there for self-promotion shamelessly.

The good news though is that people are already there to consume content related to their niche (and to learn more), so if your blog can really help them, you're bound to find a receptive audience — and once you've learned how to drive traffic to your website from groups, it's a perfect opportunity to get targeted subscribers to take the next step and subscribe to your email list.Offer free content in exchange for their email address, ask them to subscribe to your newsletter, or take advantage of live chat software to interact directly with them on the page.

20. Be active in niche-oriented online communities.

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic) Niche Community

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic) Niche Community

Using niche communities to drive traffic to your blog follows the same general principles as using a platform like Facebook groups or Reddit, but with a slight twist.Self-promotion in online niche communities is usually a bit more common (and acceptable), because these communities naturally attract an audience of people who are there to build their own businesses along with their authentic discussions with others in their niche.Your ability to successfully drive traffic to your website from this channel, however, will depend a bit on your blog's niche, but I have a couple of suggestions:

  • News of hackers .If your blog covers topics related to technology, computer science, entrepreneurship, or marketing, check out this community as a way to drive traffic to your website.If you wrote your article, think it is in-depth and intellectually interesting: submit it here and you could be rewarded with thousands of new readers (it happened to me).
  • GrowthHackers .Just to get a small meta here, this community is focused on growth marketing.This community gives you a great destination to provide in-depth commentary and advice to others in the marketing world, and you can submit your own content about growth or marketing to drive traffic to your blog as well.
  • Business 2 Community .This is a great place to network with other professionals, interact with their articles, contribute guest posts, and post your own content to share in forums if you get accepted.They openly encourage readers to use the platform to establish themselves and increase their exposure, which makes it perfect for learning how to drive traffic to your blog from the community.

More creative ways to drive traffic to your website

The sky is really the limit when it comes to learning how to drive traffic to your blog, but here's a list of even more promising ways I've experienced in driving traffic to my website over the years.

21. Get an interview on podcasts.

The Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic) Are Surveyed

The Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic) Are Surveyed

Having my own podcast for the past few years, I know firsthand that podcast hosts are always looking for people with great stories in their niche to interview and highlight for their listeners.Using this knowledge, it's not hard to deduce that other podcast hosts would be willing to let me in as a guest who can share from my deep well of blogging advice (and grow a six-figure blogging business).Being a host on numerous podcasts like Tropical MBA recently, I learned this channel on how to drive traffic to your blog.

Here's how to do it within your niche: Do a quick Google search for a keyphrase you've written about + the word "podcast" and see which shows appear in the results.Consider contacting hosts of such shows if you think they'd be interested in showing up on their podcast, and you can definitely expect to drive traffic to your blog as a nice side effect of the presentation.

22. Start a YouTube channel (and post regular videos).

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic) YouTube Channel

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic) YouTube Channel

Nowadays people search for instructional videos online for everything from how to replace a screen on their laptop to how to create a website and so much more.So far, even with just a limited number of tutorial videos on my YouTube channel, I've been able to drive traffic to my blog very significantly from the platform (mostly for the relatively small investment time to create a video compared to writing a 10,000-word article).

If you can provide high-quality, well-thought-out educational videos in a specific niche, this is a simple tactic for learning how to drive traffic to your website.Just make sure you focus on video topics where there is already a proven demand in terms of people looking for answers on YouTube.I'm not sure?Do a keyword search to confirm.After that, it's just a matter of tweaking the SEO of your video marketing to move up the rankings and capture more viewers and subscribers.

23. Webinar Host.

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic) Host Webinars

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic) Host Webinars

This is a truly creative way to connect with other related brands and influencers, and all together for a live conversation that can educate your combined audience, generate new leads, and drive traffic to your blog at the same time.

To host a webinar, find a handful of bloggers or partner brands that have a high concentration of readers in your target market, then choose a topic that interests you and is aware of.You don't even need to make it stylish from a technology or presentation standpoint, just sign up for the simplest Zoom account that allows you to host webinars and you're done.The best part about webinars too is that everyone involved will bring in some of their audience, which will result in a great lead generation opportunity for all of you – and you have a captive audience of people interested in your field from which you can drive traffic to your website after the live event concludes.

24. eBooks, books and audiobooks.

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic) eBook

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic) eBook

This strategy on how to drive traffic to your blog is a win-win.First, putting together enough information to create an in-depth, valuable, and interesting book (or eBook) will mean you're already creating and optimizing LOTS of useful information for your readers.There's already a huge amount of value in doing so.

After that, you can start driving traffic to your website by promoting your eBook to your followers on social media, tapping on existing partners you've connected with, writing about them in a guest post, and giving away your eBook as an incentive for people to subscribe to your email list.The right eBook on a killer topic within your niche can become a huge tool for driving traffic to your blog through word of mouth from readers who get a lot of value from your free book.While promoting a free eBook is a proven way of driving traffic, if you choose to use one of the best CRMs for small businesses and take selling additional books (or courses) seriously, then you start monetizing your blog if your free readers are ready to upgrade to paid products.

25. Offer free downloadable templates.

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic) Free Downloads

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic) Free Downloads

If there's something everyone loves, it's free stuff.And contrary to popular belief among new entrepreneurs, giving away your ideas for free is not the worst thing you can do for your business, often, it can be the best thing.The right (free) template can drive traffic to your blog from organic search, word of mouth, social networks, and even large publications.The trick is to offer something your audience can truly benefit from.Consider these examples:

What's great about offering free templates like this, is that these are the kinds of things people specifically search for on Google, which is almost guaranteed to drive traffic to your blog if you back up with some long-form content and promote it well.Also, if your audience is discovering you from these kinds of free resources, then they know that you are providing great value within your niche, so they are much more likely to keep looking for more.

Here's my thought on why I give away models like this that other people charge for.I'm working on it for the long term and today I'm willing to give up some small revenue, in order to build stronger relationships (and provide more value) to new bloggers – and be the first person they think of when you're ready to take their blogs to the next level and participate in my blogging course like Built to Blog.So, I don't need to charge me for a simple template, because I know that giving them away for free is a great way to drive traffic to your blog and create a community of people who are enthusiastic about what I have experience in, I'm positioned to win in the long run.

26. It hosts a virtual summit.

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic) Virtual Summit

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic) Virtual Summit

Hosting a virtual summit is a lot to deal with (I'd know), but they have the potential to pay off hugely when it comes to how to drive traffic to your blog, if you really commit.

To summarize the process of putting together a summit, you first need to understand why a virtual summit is the right venue to connect with your audience and whether it's the right medium to deliver your content.Next, determine what your topic will be and who you will include, to make your event a success.You'll need thought leaders, influencers, teams, businesses, bloggers, anyone who already has an engaged audience and a distinct POV that can add value to an event like this.You'll all work together to drive traffic to your website for the summit, and you'll want to consider some sort of list sharing or revenue sharing after the event concludes.

27. Teach online courses.

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic) Online Course

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic) Online Course

It may seem a bit overwhelming to think about teaching an online course if you've never done it before, but you can boil it down to one simple question: What does your audience already want to know?Approach it from the same angle as your articles, comments, or blog content by providing useful, in-depth content that your audience wants in the form of videos, written lectures, and interviews with thought leaders in space.

What problems do your readers have?Teach them how to fix them, and following the launch of an online course, you'll likely drive traffic to your blog, and you may even start making offers for other types of jobs from housework like coaching, consulting, and counseling as your audience grows as your authority grows.Plus, this can evolve into a phenomenal way to make blogging money into a much more passive capacity as traffic grows.

28. Start a creative side project.

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Side Design (Increase Blog Traffic)

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Side Design (Increase Blog Traffic)

Now, as much as I'd love to, I just can't find a creative side project idea for you.You still have to do the work on that.But a witty, funny, weird, or crazy idea can generate a big buzz and drive traffic to your blog (yes, real new readers engaged for your regularly scheduled programming).

In 2016, I posted a public challenge for my readers to choose ANY random business idea for me, and I had to validate it live in front of them.In 30 days For less than $500.Out there?Yes.Effective, relevant and creative for the audience I've had?Yes, yes, yes.

I already knew that many of my readers came to my blog because they were looking for advice on how to start a business.I also know what a scary process it can be.

The whole challenge was an exercise in connecting with my community and proving that it can be simple to build the foundation of a business, no matter what the business is (they chose a hiking guide for California, anyway), but it also served to generate interest and drive traffic to my blog, to see how the heck I was going to do it.Also, as an added bonus, I started submitting both freelance and remote job offers.

29. Google Discover.

Google Learn how to drive blog traffic

Google Learn how to drive blog traffic

Just a few years ago, Google started rolling out its new Discover feature that features relevant, typically noteworthy content (which tends to have very healthy on-page SEO) for users of Google's Chrome browser application on both mobile and desktop devices.The best (scary) part?They use your search data — the things you're typing into Google on a regular basis — to try to highlight new content they think they want to read.As a blogger and content publisher, this is a great opportunity to drive traffic to your blog from an extremely targeted source.

Offline strategies to drive traffic to your website

I know the internet is a bit of a big deal when it comes to learning how to drive traffic to your blog, but don't discount these creative ways to bring people to your blog from offline sources.

30. Speak at a conference.

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic) Conference

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic) Conference

Shit, don't speak in public!Joking aside, landing a concert on the right conference can drive traffic to your blog massively (especially if you offer a freebie on the last slide of your presentation).If there's a conference going on that's closely related to your niche, do everything you can to get there and be a speaker.

I will never fight online online, but there is something about reaching a group of focused, focused, and engaged people who sit face to face listening to your words.It's a whole new level of promotion and networking.As a bonus, you're sure to meet tons of other people doing the same thing, which means a million opportunities for collaborations and future beneficial ways to drive traffic to your blog even long after the conference ends.

31. Get on local television.

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic) Local TV

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Increase Blog Traffic) Local TV

Sorry to crush your Oprah dreams, but it's not likely you'll get a spot on a big TV talk show (yet).But it is not necessary!You can pay to go on TV as a guest, but you can also build a reputation for yourself as someone who is an authority on a very specific topic and you will find that it is much easier to get that interview.This is one of the most unique ways to learn how to drive traffic to your blog and can lead to many more opportunities for print and media after reaching your first TV commercial.

You'll need to focus heavily on those relationships: networking with media, starting low (like podcasts and radio), connecting with journalists, etc. More importantly, you'll actually need to do something that could be featured in the news if you're hoping to use this tactic to drive traffic to your blog.It's no easy feat, but you can get creative!

32. Use paid search and social advertising.

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Drive Blog Traffic) Paid Online Course Ads

Best Ways to Drive Traffic to Your Website (Drive Blog Traffic) Paid Online Course Ads

While it's not the most ideal way to drive traffic to your website since it requires a budget of money to spend to get that traffic, if you're directing readers to the right page that converts well, whether it's an email signup or purchase — then it can be a very profitable investment to increase your paid advertising expenses when there's a clear immediate financial return.In addition, the positive social signals that you will send with many active visitors to your site, should help you get more referrals and social shares, thus giving you more opportunities to drive traffic to your blog from other sources as well.

Final Thoughts: How to Drive Traffic to Your Blog in 2020

We've covered a lot here, so kudos to you for making our way through this huge guide of the best ways on how to drive traffic to your website.

With millions of new bloggers jumping into the content creation game every year (and at an increasing rate), it's becoming harder to stand out from the sea of competitors.The good news for readers is that there is now a race to the top in terms of offering maximum value to people in the form of free content.

What it means to you as a blogger… It's that to gain your share of readers (and drive traffic to your blog), you'll need to discover smart ways you can use your strengths, experience, and personal relationships to capitalize on a sustainable traffic source.

However, your industry will change… New social networks will emerge as important sources of traffic… search engines will continue to provide less traffic to websites and treat your content more as a source of data to respond to search queries directly on search engine property…

We live in a time with an unprecedented pace of change.

It's up to you to decide whether or not to adapt, grow and seize the new opportunities that come your way.

And for years to come, I'll be here testing new traffic strategies, updating and expanding this guide to share what works best today.

I hope you've learned a lot from this guide on how to drive traffic to your blog.🙏

And if you want to dive even deeper, check out the best blogging courses to broaden your knowledge and perspectives on traffic.

What did I miss?

Hour… Are there any traffic driving strategies you think I may have missed?

Other smart ways you've learned how to drive traffic to your blog?

Share with us in the comments below!