How To Get Your Blog Noticed In A Crowded Room

Is your blog lost in an overcrowded room?   Do you feel like you're shouting for attention and not getting anywhere.  You know there are tactics you should be trying to drive traffic but it’s a bit overwhelming, so much information and you’re going round in circles.

The world of blogging has EXPLODED over the last decade.  More people are starting blogs than ever before as a way to drive traffic to their business and create an additional income.  I’ve been working with bloggers for over 6 years and I’ve seen & analysed literally THOUSANDS of blogs during that time as an SEO.

This gives me a unique perspective and insight into what works and what doesn’t work to get your blog noticed & build an audience.  And today I’d like to share that with you.

But before we begin let’s just cover one thing first.  Yes, there is more competition than ever before but that doesn’t mean it’s harder than ever before to grow an audience.  In actual fact, it’s easier than ever before to get your blog noticed.

You can start a professional looking blog in minutes.  Whether you decide to use a free website builder like Weebly*, or if you decide to get your blog designed by a Web Designer Agency. 

More people read blogs, there are more online communities and the concept of online networking and collaboration is much more advanced than it used to be. There are also now some fantastic social networks and people who have tried and proven step by step methods, for you to get results from them.
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So, all in all it is much easier now to grow an audience than it ever was previously.    If yours isn’t getting noticed then there is likely only some slight tweaks you need to make to get it going which is great news!

Check through the points below and see if you can improve in one of these core areas.

Choose A Simple, Memorable Blog Name

Your blog name is super, super, super important! I cannot stress that enough.  More often than not I can already tell if a website I am about to analyse has any traffic just from it’s name.  It’s easy to get over excited, to put too much thought and to over develop your blog name.  My advice is not to do that.  You audience has a very short attention span and they don’t have time to spend 10 minutes retyping your blog name into Google to get your website.

I also recommend you have some indication of your niche in the name, assuming you aren’t using your name.  For example, Ginger Marketing - I write about Marketing.  City Calm, my other website (which is currently down), is about meditation in the city.  Both names are short & memorable with a strong link to the topics they cover.

If you are concerned that your blog name is too complicated you might be wondering, should I change it.  My recommendation is this; if you don’t have a big audience, you are finding it hard to gain traction, and you think it could be due to your name, changing it is something to consider.

Your blog name is such an important aspect to get right and by continuing on with a name that no-one can remember, spell or understand, you are limiting your chance of success.

If you need help coming up with a name a wrote an article about How To Choose A Blog Name You Won’t Hate In 2 years.  So check that out for an entirely different approach to naming than you have read before!

Stick To One Blog Niche

Being someone who gets bored very easily (I can’t even stay in the same city for more than 2 years!), I realise this can be a challenge. Who wants to write about one thing over and over again right?!   Wouldn’t it be more fun to change it up and explore multiple topics.

Well, if you want a following then I’m sorry but you have to stick to one niche.

Preferably, at the beginning stick to only three topics within that niche as well.  Focusing is WINNING in the blogging world.

The reason is the quality of content you can offer increases the more focused your blog content is.

If someone wants to find out about Breakfast Recipes for example then they come to a blog which is FOCUSED on this one topic.  They want to read recipes, history, techniques, ingredients, differences between countries & regions.  There is a lot to cover in just this one area.  Other niches could be French Breakfast, Vegan Breakfast, Eggs For Breakfast. Each blog would become the go-to place about that one single topic and a very useful resource for readers interesting in learning about the topic.

On the other hand, if you set up a blog about recipes in general, with topics covering Vegan / Vegetarian / Regions / Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner etc, then you are going to need to create a TON of content.  You're going to be competing with large websites that have many hundreds of authors, or celebrity chefs.  It is not possible for you to offer a resource as varied as those websites, or compete with a celebrities exposure, unless you work very hard for a good number of years.

As a small blogger you have an advantage over larger sites - and that advantage is niching so USE IT!

Another top tip is to make sure that your niche is reflected on your site.  Make sure it is obvious, in your name, on your navigation in your blog title content & in your categories.

Research Your Blog Content Before Writing

Treat your blog like a business not a hobby.  You are putting time and energy into it because you want results right.  You want to GET NOTICED, which means you have to make sure you are writing content other people actually want to read.

There are a couple of tools you should always be using before typing a single word.  If you use these then you can be absolutely sure that other people are looking for your content before it’s even written.  Magic right!!

Those tools are:

Keyword Planner

This is Google’s keyword tool which will tell you how many people search for different terms through Google. They have recently bucketed the search volumes which means this tool is no longer as accurate if you don’t spend money on paid ads.

However, it is still useful to get a broad idea about which topics are the most popular and to give you some ideas for further research.

Moz Keyword Tool

Moz’s tool is more accurate.  However if you don’t get a monthly membership you are limited to 5 searches per day.  So, once you have a good idea about the terms you want to explore from Keyword Planner, go to the Moz tool and insert your keyword.

From there you will get more terms and accurate search volumes.

Using this method provides you with long tail keywords which are the best keywords to focus your blog content around.  If you haven’t heard this term before it’s a term used to categorise keywords into different group.

This table shows you Short Tail > Long Tail and how you would use the different levels to set up your blog.

Short Tail | Breakfast | Your Blog Niche

Mid Tail | Healthy Breakfast | Your Blog Niche / Blog Category

Long Tail | Healthy Breakfast With Eggs | Your Blog Title

These three areas are THE MOST important areas to get write on your blog if you want to get noticed.  These three areas form the framework which you fit your content into and without the correct frame you will find it hard to build an audience.

Start Guest Blogging Now! 

One of the most effective ways to get your blog noticed is to start guest blogging.  You can reach hundreds of thousands of readers with your message and introduce them to your website! 

In my opinion, every business which represents itself online (which is pretty much everyone), should be Guest Blogging.   It should be a core marketing strategy just like your own blog is.

I think it is absolutely fantastic the amount of effort and attention that goes into the content being produced in some of the niches I follow.  It is actually pretty outstanding. The attention to detail, research, and quality of work that goes into so many blogs is amazing.

But, when it comes to promoting the content, that's when I see people coming into issues.  You can have the most outstanding beautiful blog in the world, but if no one reads it then you're not going to get very many clients!

Guest Blogging is a relatively simple way for you to get your message out to a totally new audience and have them find out about your blog and business. 

And download our Free Guest Blogging Tracker

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So, if you are finding it hard to get noticed.  Check these three areas - could one of more of them be improved?

I’d love it if you would share your top tips for getting your blog noticed in the comments below! What has worked for you or the blogs you read?

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