Ever wondered how Steve Pavlina's website gets so much traffic?

[ericabiz]

I explain it here: How to Increase Your Web Site’s Traffic | Starting Your Own Business with Successful Entrepreneur Erica Douglass

I'm not sure even Steve recognizes some of the things he does to get traffic. I caught them and explained them in this article.

-Erica

[MyEyeIsOpen]

Nice work Erica, should help a lot of people 8)

[LostMyMap]

Originally Posted by ericabiz

I explain it here: How to Increase Your Web Site’s Traffic | Starting Your Own Business with Successful Entrepreneur Erica Douglass

I'm not sure even Steve recognizes some of the things he does to get traffic. I caught them and explained them in this article.

-Erica

Hi Erica,

Fellow San Diego County resident!

Good article! One question, about getting backlinks. I understand your explanation of the importance of them. I don't get the practical part of actually getting people to put up back links and do it with good anchor text. Can you elaborate on that?

Thanks.

[Savage]

Mmmm... that's a decent stab from the outside looking in, but unfortunately you missed the big picture.

Ranking high on a few individual terms isn't a big deal for me, partly because the way people find this work is so decentralized. There are no mega-terms like "sex" that would bring in tons of traffic by themselves.

"Personal development" for example is only responsible for 0.27% of my search traffic, practically irrelevant by itself. It's my #21 search term based on how much traffic I get from it. I could take it or leave it.

My #1 search term is my own name. Has been for years. That's brings in 2.2% of my search traffic, still not a huge % of the total. My blogging actually created the demand for that search term. It brings about 9x as much traffic as "personal development" does. But it still generates only on the order of 0.1% of monthly page views, hardly something to fuss over.

My #2 search term traffic-wise is actually "how to cook brown rice," which brings in 1.85% of my search traffic. How silly, eh?

But the real key isn't in any particular term. The key is that I get traffic from about 150K individual search terms in a month. That's individual terms, not searches.

That's an average of 150 unique search terms that generate search traffic for me each month, per article I've written.

So the truth is that people find this site in thousands and thousands of different ways.

And only a small percentage of my traffic even comes from search engines at all. Most of my fresh traffic comes from links on other sites, mostly blogs.

Hope this helps.

[ericabiz]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

Mmmm... that's a decent stab from the outside looking in, but unfortunately you missed the big picture.

Ranking high on a few individual terms isn't a big deal for me, partly because the way people find this work is so decentralized. There are no mega-terms like "sex" that would bring in tons of traffic by themselves.

"Personal development" for example is only responsible for 0.27% of my search traffic, practically irrelevant by itself. It's my #21 search term based on how much traffic I get from it. I could take it or leave it.

My #1 search term is my own name. Has been for years. That's brings in 2.2% of my search traffic, still not a huge % of the total. My blogging actually created the demand for that search term. It brings about 9x as much traffic as "personal development" does. But it still generates only on the order of 0.1% of monthly page views, hardly something to fuss over.

My #2 search term traffic-wise is actually "how to cook brown rice," which brings in 1.85% of my search traffic. How silly, eh?

But the real key isn't in any particular term. The key is that I get traffic from about 150K individual search terms in a month. That's individual terms, not searches.

That's an average of 150 unique search terms that generate search traffic for me each month, per article I've written.

So the truth is that people find this site in thousands and thousands of different ways.

And only a small percentage of my traffic even comes from search engines at all. Most of my fresh traffic comes from links on other sites, mostly blogs.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for responding! One of the reasons I posted this here was to get your feedback.

I have the challenge of thousands of readers who ask me constantly, "How can I get more traffic to my site?" And it's not as simple as just writing great content...I know a lot of bloggers who write great content and don't get anywhere with it. And I mean really solid, high-level stuff.

You did show that some of my observations were right (post titles being the biggie--notice your rice article has the same simple post title) and some were a bit off (gauging which keywords sent you the most traffic.) Regardless, I now have much more information which I can then package and share as content with my readers!

Cheers,
-Erica

[ericabiz]

Originally Posted by LostMyMap

Hi Erica,

Fellow San Diego County resident!

Good article! One question, about getting backlinks. I understand your explanation of the importance of them. I don't get the practical part of actually getting people to put up back links and do it with good anchor text. Can you elaborate on that?

Thanks.

Um, well, yes and no. Here's the situation. I'm setting up a backlink building company and I expect to launch it next month. We'll charge a monthly fee (introductory price under $100/month) and build backlinks for you.

How much information should I give away for free on building backlinks?

On the one hand, I love creating free content. But on the other hand, sometimes I hear from people saying "Why should I buy your product when you've already explained everything I need to do for free?" I walk a fine line. I'll ponder this one. In the meantime, feel free to add your two cents. I'm happy to listen to my readers on this.

-Erica

[Savage]

Are those bloggers writing great content or inspired content?

Great content may or may not build traffic. It works for some but often fails. It's the kind of content that generates feedback like "great article. cool tips." People will usually digest such content and appreciate reading it, but a week later they won't even remember they read it. Also, they won't refer their friends, family, and coworkers to read it.

Great content is ubiquitous these days. There's so much of it already, especially in certain niches.

Inspired content, on the other hand, generates feedback like, "Crap. I think I need to reevaluate my whole life now." People are still digesting it months later.

I've read some of the content on your site, Erica, and all of it was great, including the piece you just shared. I'd really love to see you write something inspired.

If you can learn to write inspired content, you won't even need to worry about SEO, competition, or things at that level, and numbers like money, traffic, and subscribers won't be so distracting to you.

If I can learn to delegate, perhaps you can step into this.

[ericabiz]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

Are those bloggers writing great content or inspired content?

Great content may or may not build traffic. It works for some but often fails. It's the kind of content that generates feedback like "great article. cool tips." People will usually digest such content and appreciate reading it, but a week later they won't even remember they read it. Also, they won't refer their friends, family, and coworkers to read it.

Great content is ubiquitous these days. There's so much of it already, especially in certain niches.

Inspired content, on the other hand, generates feedback like, "Crap. I think I need to reevaluate my whole life now." People are still digesting it months later.

I've read some of the content on your site, Erica, and all of it was great, including the piece you just shared. I'd really love to see you write something inspired.

If you can learn to write inspired content, you won't even need to worry about SEO, competition, or things at that level, and numbers like money, traffic, and subscribers won't be so distracting to you.

If I can learn to delegate, perhaps you can step into this.

I know what you mean. The two most inspired articles I've ever written are these:

Do Young Entrepreneurs Need To Go To College? | Starting Your Own Business with Successful Entrepreneur Erica Douglass

Diagnosis: Celiac Disease | Starting Your Own Business with Successful Entrepreneur Erica Douglass

And this one, on another site, which is probably the most controversial post I've ever written:

Outsourcing Life: Unconventional Advice for When You’re Financially Secure

But--I also enjoy the gaming aspect of SEO. To me it is like leveling, only you get real world character benefits. (Yes, yes, "real world" haha.)

And, since I'm a systems thinker (you have this pattern too), I enjoy breaking things down into little step-by-step pieces. People seem to love the step-by-step pieces--I've gotten rave reviews for my Blog Success Manifesto, for instance--and the technical articles rank well in Google, which happily sends me about 10,000 visitors a month. I rank for about 1200 different keywords now.

So, there is a balance there. The inspired content "inspires" word of mouth. The "how to" content can be easily gamed to rank well in Google. I enjoy both sides.

-Erica

[ericabiz]

Oh, I just had another thought come to me. Here's what's up.

I can easily tap into the Other Side and write inspired content. But how to *teach* that...I don't know.

I can teach SEO. SEO = machines. Machines have methods. Methods can be gamed. I can teach technical methods for ranking well in Google with decent content and that stuff sells like crazy. (It also generates provable results.)

To do the other one would be a huge challenge. Erin mentioned recently that I have it in me but it would require a complete life shift. At some point, I may take that on. I've already been doing it some with my private coaching students--breaking down walls and encouraging them to write without fear. But it is not only a much more challenging path--it also doesn't seem as immediately lucrative.

This gets more toward the core of why I teach the technical, step-by-step stuff.

-Erica

[Savage]

Originally Posted by ericabiz

Oh, I just had another thought come to me. Here's what's up.

I can easily tap into the Other Side and write inspired content. But how to *teach* that...I don't know.

I can teach SEO. SEO = machines. Machines have methods. Methods can be gamed. I can teach technical methods for ranking well in Google with decent content and that stuff sells like crazy. (It also generates provable results.)

To do the other one would be a huge challenge. Erin mentioned recently that I have it in me but it would require a complete life shift. At some point, I may take that on. I've already been doing it some with my private coaching students--breaking down walls and encouraging them to write without fear. But it is not only a much more challenging path--it also doesn't seem as immediately lucrative.

This gets more toward the core of why I teach the technical, step-by-step stuff.

-Erica

Perhaps you would find more value in a metaphor other than teacher.

I like explorer. For starters, the sex is better.

[ericabiz]

Okay, I checked in with my higher self and spirit guides and found out why I manifested this conversation. I have a post sitting in my Drafts folder that needs to be published. It's been sitting there for over a week because I'm really nervous about hitting that Publish button.

I like how the whole thing manifested. That was neat.

My spirit guides remind me that writing inspired content AND selling products on SEO aren't mutually exclusive or incongruent. They are also encouraging me to try a vitamin B12 shot.

-Erica

[Savage]

Originally Posted by ericabiz

Okay, I checked in with my higher self and spirit guides and found out why I manifested this conversation. I have a post sitting in my Drafts folder that needs to be published. It's been sitting there for over a week because I'm really nervous about hitting that Publish button.

I like how the whole thing manifested. That was neat.

My spirit guides remind me that writing inspired content AND selling products on SEO aren't mutually exclusive or incongruent. They are also encouraging me to try a vitamin B12 shot.

-Erica

That's funny. Earlier I had an intuitive sense that there was something you were holding back from posting, but I didn't know you'd already written it. So this is validation that yes, it's okay to post it.

Did you notice the last line of my copyright post?

[LostMyMap]

Originally Posted by ericabiz

Oh, I just had another thought come to me. Here's what's up.

I can easily tap into the Other Side and write inspired content. But how to *teach* that...I don't know.

I can teach SEO. SEO = machines. Machines have methods. Methods can be gamed. I can teach technical methods for ranking well in Google with decent content and that stuff sells like crazy. (It also generates provable results.)

To do the other one would be a huge challenge. Erin mentioned recently that I have it in me but it would require a complete life shift. At some point, I may take that on. I've already been doing it some with my private coaching students--breaking down walls and encouraging them to write without fear. But it is not only a much more challenging path--it also doesn't seem as immediately lucrative.

This gets more toward the core of why I teach the technical, step-by-step stuff.

-Erica

Erica,
Since you are in to SEO and you related it to gaming, I'd like to ask a question that I wonder about often. Is doing SEO a zero-sum game? Seems like it is, because for any given search, there is only one top spot (or first page). You have it, means someone else doesn't. You optimize to get yourself up there, then the other guy optimizes, and bumps you. Any advantage you have only lasts until he figures it out too.

On the other hand, not everyone optimizes. And the variations on searches are endless.

Makes me think of trying to beat the stock market, where advantages are self correcting.

Love to hear your thoughts.

[mikethedrummer44]

I used to think SEO was the most important aspect of making a website. I spent around a year learning everything I could, and mastering it. I made websites that ranked well, but didn't convert to anything because the content was garbage. So, I learned my lesson. Content is king.

[Savage]

Originally Posted by mikethedrummer44

I used to think SEO was the most important aspect of making a website. I spent around a year learning everything I could, and mastering it. I made websites that ranked well, but didn't convert to anything because the content was garbage. So, I learned my lesson. Content is king.

Content is queen. Inspiration is king.

[aiyori]

Setting up a company that "builds" backlinks...

It smells like a linkfarm. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

[AmazonKing]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

Content is queen. Inspiration is king.

Great NEW quote for the future use everywhere online!

[ericabiz]

Originally Posted by aiyori

Setting up a company that "builds" backlinks...

It smells like a linkfarm. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Nope, not a link farm, or link wheel, or any of those.