Steps for creating a blog which gets search engine traffic

People who want to set up a blog ask me for advice from time to time.

Do you want search engine traffic to your blog?

This is always my first question:

Are you happy with it being for friends and family or do you want to reach people who are searching for your chosen blog topic?

If your blog is for friends and family then simply sign up to blogger.com and start blogging.

If you want to reach an audience via search engines there’s a little more to it. These are the main steps for creating a blog which gets search engine traffic. Anyone can do this, but be aware it does take time and effort.

Get a domain name for your blog

Woot! Yay! Let’s go and buy a domain name right now!
No! Stop! Nein! Halt! Non Arrêt!
Do some keyowrd research for your blog first, having your target keyword(s) in your domain name generally will help – but don’t overdo it.

Use a standard free blogging software such as wordpress.

By using the same blogging software as others in your niche are using you can utilise many of the same features that they have for free too. The other major benefit of using such blogging software is that if you have a problem with it there are plenty of people who can either tell you how to fix it, or fix it for you.

Get a template or theme for your blog

The look of your blog will need to please you. Your template or theme also controls the html code which is used to display your blog. Good clean code and a search engine friendly structure are essential if you want to get search engine traffic.

Depending on your budget get a ready made free blog template or get a theme designed which you feel will be appealing to your audience. If you do a google search for “free wordpress themes” for example you’ll find a heap of ready made templates. Getting one properly designed and built will cost money, but if done really well will be worth it. Properly designed and built means it needs to be search engine friendly – beware here, many claim to be search engine friendly but are not, do your research.

Get yourself known, if you’re not already, in your blogging community

Make comments on other people’s blogs, get involved in discussions on other blogs in your niche. When you do this remember to fill out the field “website” or “url” which will normally make your name a link back to your blog. This will get you noticed and help your blog along too, make your blog posts interesting and informing so when people do visit your blog they like it. Do not spam other people’s blogs, as this will get you a bad reputation.

Creating a blog which gets search engine traffic is simple

Anyone can do it, but it does take time and effort. All the knowledge you need to do it is out there. If you follow the above steps and invest the time and effort into it you will have a blog which gets search engine traffic too!