Getting traffic to your blog can be a painstaking task.  Below are four tips that should help you get traffic to your blog fast!

Remember:  Getting traffic is only half the battle; give them a reason to stick around!

#1. Content is king

The number one way to generate interest in your blog is to provide interesting content people want.  Even if you somehow skip around this step (buying traffic for instance), people won’t hang around long once they realise that content is thin on the ground.

There’s a few easy ways to find out what your users may be interested in:

• Research other blogs in your niche and see what they are writing about, and more importantly what is popular.
• Keyword research can also be a great way to gauge interest.  Google keyword tool can be found here.

#2. Get Viral

Imagine if you could get your name out there, but at the same time cut out all the legwork?  Well it is possible!

Give your users something they want to scream from the rooftops and let news about your website spread like wildfire.  This can be absolutely anything that people will be interested in; An eBook, a theme, a plugin.  The list could go on forever.

#3. Social Media

In recent years social media has taken off in a BIG way.  It’s crazy not to take advantage of this.  A well-received Digg or Stumble for instance can literally provide thousands of interested visitors.

Be sure to add social media buttons to your blog that allow users to share your content easily.

#4. Guest Blogging

Guest blogging can be an excellent way of getting your name out there.  While the idea of giving away some of your best content might seem madness, it’s actually a great way to get traffic.

In return for your post, you get a backlink on a blog which is relevant to your blog and the owner of the blog gets free content from a fresh perspective.  A win-win situation all round.

1.  Frequent related blogs and forums

Posting or commenting on related blogs or forums is a great way to build backlinks, but that’s not all: as well as helping your search engine rankings it will also put your link in the face of someone interested in the subject of your blog.

2.  Install CommentLuv

I have mentioned this plugin a few times, but it really is the bees knees.  CommentLuv brings people to your blog, mainly for the free backlink, but comments make your blog look busy and the prospect of a free backlink to their most recent articles tends to bring out quality comments.

3. Post often without sacrificing quality

The more pages you have indexed by search engines, the better the chance the someone stumbles across your site.  Of-course, just getting someone to your blog is only half the battle; make sure that you post quality content as this will keep these new readers coming back.

4. Social bookmarking

Social bookmarking websites such as Digg can be an excellent way to get high amounts of traffic to your blog.  When you feel you have a particularly great article don’t be afraid to submit it.

5. Guest posts

Guest posting can be an excellent way to get in front of a new audience.  Guest posting is involves writing an article for someone else’s blog, generally in return for a backlink or two.

This is by no means a complete list, but just a few tips to get started.