[vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link=”https://youtu.be/BeSdxeFEDHo” el_width=”80″ align=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]
Imagine – you’ve finally launched your blog to the world. You are now marketing all of your great blog posts all across the internet. You’ve begun to generate blog traffic, but do you know what you should be measuring in the first 30 days to be successful?
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”5266″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]As a newbie bloggers I bet you are super excited to launch your blog; as you should be! After nailing down your color palette, carefully deciding on a logo and publishing your first posts, I’m sure you want all of your creativity to be seen by everybody on the internet.
The truth is, getting your blog up and running isn’t really that hard. In fact, I can show you how to start a WordPress blog in a weekend. One of the most challenging aspects of blogging isn’t actually starting a blog or even writing blog posts; it’s getting people to see your content.
Honestly, there’s a strong chance your new blog will have little, to no traffic, engagement or profits at first. Blog traffic takes work and it’s even more of a struggle if you don’t yet know what you should be focusing on to attract it.
What is blog traffic and how do I attract it?
Blog traffic – the number of people visiting your website. Often one indicator of how successful a blog is.
You can attract blog traffic by marketing on your secondary platforms also known as social media. Social media is where you’ll find your target audience hanging out. Promoting your blog content on social media will drive traffic back to your blog if and only if they find it interesting and/or valuable. That is why it’s important to create captivating content for your blog.
If content is king, marketing is Queen! You could have the best and most creative content on the internet, but if you can’t get eyeballs on it, it won’t help you reach your goals.
If content is king, marketing is Queen! You could have the best and most creative content on the internet, but if you can't get eyeballs on it, it won't help you reach your goals.Click To TweetHow do I measure blog traffic for my new blog?
Google Analytics has many plugins to capture insights for your blog. Here’s a step-by-step guide to setting up Google Analytics on your WordPress Blog. Read: Does Google Even Know You Exist
What metrics should I be measuring for my new blog?
What you do with your blog traffic insights really depends on what your goals are as a blogger. A lot of bloggers go into blogging as just a hobby and then later decide that they want to quit their job and become a full-time blogger. Some bloggers have no desire to quit their jobs but rather want to generate passive income so that they can have multiple streams of income. Aspiring Influencers are looking to work with brands and therefore are looking to use their blog traffic to establish a loyal fan base. Serious bloggers may consider themselves to be multimedia journalists and could be seeking notoriety and respect through awards and recognition. Maybe your goal is to become a powerful woman like Blair Waldorf in Gossip Girl. In that case, I guess you’ll want to accomplish all of the above!
As a blog coach, I’m here to encourage you to discover your why and use that to develop long term and short term goals for your blog. As you begin to reach milestones in your blogging journey, these will be Key Performance Indicators, also known as Key Performance Index or KPIs, to move you closer to your main goals.
What to measure in your first 30 days
Your blog is new among a sea of other blogs on the internet and as I mentioned before, it may be hard to generate traffic at first, but not impossible. Once you’ve launched, you should take some time to map your content. Determine how you will initially get your post in front of your audience. The blog traffic that begins to come in during the first 30 – 90 days will tell you valuable information about your audience.
- Track your blog’s pageviews. See how many people are actually visiting your site in a day. You’ll want this number to increase over time because if it’s too low, you won’t be able to gather the information you need about your audience. Without this metric you basically will be blogging blindly and not know what’s working for you or against you as you aim for your goals.
- Track your blog traffic source or where your blog traffic is coming from. Did someone talk about you or reference your blog from their blog? Perhaps someone clicked on a link you posted to Facebook or the link in your Instagram bio. This is important to know because it tells you where your audience hangs out.
- Capture your audience’s demographics. Who are they and where are they located? Country? City? Do you have more women, men or other genders reading your content? Are they Android users or Apple users? Homeowners? Pet lovers?
- Track how users are consuming your content. Are they viewing on their cell phones, tablets or desktop displays? This informs decisions about UX or user experience. With this information, you may learn that your blog’s buttons are too small or that the images on the pages aren’t displaying accurately. You’ll be able to make necessary tweaks and changes to the themes look and feel based on this information.
- Capture Top Viewed Pages and Posts. If you know what pages and blog posts your audience is visiting you can use that information as a direct indication of what content they want to see from you more often. This could be “how-to posts and tutorials” or maybe “reviews of products and services”. Either way, use what you discover from top viewed metrics to determine what you should keep blogging about in the future.
These 5 metrics will be the most important to measure in the first 30 – 90 days of your blog launch because this information will continue to shape and mold your brand identity.
Blog traffic is great, but if you aren’t capturing leads you won’t be able to monetize and scale your blog successfully. To reach your long term goals, keep your KPIs in mind and work on tasks that will boost your traffic and gradually push you towards your main goals.
I always say, “Stay ready, so you ain’t gotta get ready!” Here are a few common goals that I mentioned above, their purpose and metrics you should measure to reach them.
Goals | Outcomes | KPIs |
---|---|---|
Work with Brands | Loyal Fans | Track Social Shares and Email Subscribers |
Passive Income | Product Sales | Track Top Viewed Product Pages |
Quit My Job | Match My Current Salary | Track Conversion Rates |
Award-winning Blog | Captivating Content | Track Social Shares, Backlinks and Top Viewed Blog Posts |
A Powerful Woman | Measuring What Matters | All of the Above!!! |
Finally, placing a Call-to-Action or CTA button on your blog measures your impact because you’ve influenced your audience to take you up on an offer. If you are ready to start a blog in 2020, I’ve left a Call-to-Action for you below. Search for your domain name and get started today!
Placing a Call-to-Action or CTA button on your blog measures your impact because you've influenced your audience to take you up on an offer.Click To Tweet[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1547924352038{background-image: url(https://www.digital.helloambi.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/HelloChic-BlogGridBG-2.jpg?id=456) !important;background-position: center !important;background-repeat: no-repeat !important;background-size: cover !important;}”][vc_column][vc_column_text]Get Started!
Get your domain name below.
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