Increasing blog traffic is extremely important if you are building your online business. I was checking my blog stats earlier today, and the numbers for my blog traffic are not at all what I expected. Even though I’ve been posting regularly to this particular blog for almost three years, my ranking in the search engines has not moved up for quite a while. I attribute this to a variety of factors that I will share here with you.

For a couple of years I was writing my blog posts and then submitting the exact same content to the article directories. While there is nothing inherently wrong with this, when Google did their latest updates earlier this year, now known as the Panda or Farmer update, that content was considered to be less valuable because it was also appearing on article sites that are now devalued. This is not a duplicate content problem, mind you, but a problem based on authority, or at least Google’s perception of it.

I also stopped posting twice a week, every week, on this site. Even though I had started and participated in several blog challenges, posting every day for thirty days during those times, afterwards I went back to only posting about once a week, or even less frequently.

The solution to all of this is that I will again start posting at least twice a week. Also, I will be writing separate content to post to the article sites. This will take several months to have a great effect on my numbers, but it is well worth the wait.

I recommend that you install the free plugin for Google Analytics on your blog. I like the one from Joost de Valk called Google Analytics for WordPress. Make sure to set up your free Analytics account so that you can connect it to your blog. You can’t improve what you don’t measure, so this is a crucial step in the process. Check your stats every week to see how much blog traffic you’re getting and where it is coming from. The goal is to receive as many visitors to your blog as possible from organic searches.

Building an online business is more of an art than an exact science, but I wanted to make sure to share this information so you could learn from my mistakes.

As I have already mentioned in an earlier post on my 5 Pronged Approach, you must think of your blog as your Home on the Internet, and make it welcoming to visitors. I maintain several blogs, but my main ones for my Core business (helping people to get started with a home business on their computer) are this one, Huge Profits Tiny List, and ConnieGreen.com.

I recommend posting to your blog at least twice a week during the first year, and about once a week after that. Remember that you are in this for the long run, not just for the next month or so, so always be thinking about the future as you build your online empire.

Categories are important here, as is SEO (search engine optimization). I recommend that you use the WordPress SEO plugin from Yoast. It’s free, and allows you to optimize your post for a specific keyword phrase. This makes it possible for you to target the exact topic you will cover, and to reach prospects who are already interested in what you are knowledgeable about. Blogging to build your online business is a valuable and profitable use of your time.

If you are using WordPress to build your business, and I strongly recommend that you do, then you may already know that plugins are one of the best ways to enhance the capabilities of what you can do. They are tools, created by a variety of people from around the world, which will turn your WordPress site into a content management system to rival the best website ever created. But finding just the right ones may be something you have been struggling with.

I find the plugins I will use on my sites by searching by keyword within my dashboard, asking other people which ones they are using and recommend, and by reading a variety of blogs and offline publications that have regular discussions on this topic.

When you are logged in to your WordPress site’s dashboard, click on the tab to add a plugin. Then type in a keyword for what you are searching for. Because there are thousands of plugins currently available, there is an excellent chance you will find what you are looking for. For example, I was searching for something to help me create a newsletter

Driving targeted traffic to your blog and other websites is a worthwhile goal. Even though I believe that paid traffic will ultimately serve you well and be a part of your online marketing strategy, I feel that free traffic is best to begin with and should continue to be a part of what you do on a regular basis in order to build your business on the Internet.

It all begins with your blog, which is your home on the Internet. Welcome visitors with information they can use, and be sure to ask them to opt in to your email list. Use your keywords in your blog post titles and within your posts. If you are not sure which words people are using when they search for your topic online, visit your competitor’s sites, as well as the free keyword tool made available by Google. Post regularly, at least twice each week. All of this will build your visibility and bring you lots of targeted traffic on a regular basis for years to come.

Article writing and marketing comes next. I turn most of my blog posts into articles right away, further reinforcing what I have started on my blog. Be sure to write about four hundred words, and give the reader excellent information on your topic they can use right away. This will build your connection with them while they are still reading your article. Then you can invite them back to your blog or other site at the end of your article in your resource box. These links back to your sites are referred to as back links, and will give you more credibility with the search engines for your keyword phrases.

Connect with others on the social media sites, and syndicate everything that is posted there. I like Networked Blogs and RSS Graffiti, two applications from Facebook, as well as Digg and Stumble Upon. These make the entire process of driving targeted traffic mush easier to maintain.

Another idea you will want to consider is that of guest posting on other blogs, and having others guest on yours. I have done this successfully over the past several years, and now look forward to exchanging posts with other people. Everyone gets more traffic as a result, and you also make a nice connection with the other blogger that can lead to joint ventures and more. More readers are always a great idea. The best training on this is available from Nicole Dean at Guest Blogging Secrets.

Blogging is still more important than ever if you are building a business on the Internet. It seems that people do not give blogs the credit they deserve, so if you have neglected your blog for awhile it may be time to rethink your marketing strategy. I have been blogging regularly since coming online at the beginning of 2006. Blogs are important for building your credibility, helping people to find you through your keyword phrases, and connecting with your prospects to turn them into clients. Your blog is your home on the Internet, so it is time to take that seriously as you continue to grow your business.

Working online is very different than working offline. For one thing, you may never meet the majority of your clients in person, even if you speak at and attend live events, travel across the country for conferences and seminars, or even host your own live events and workshops. I have worked exclusively online since 2006, and even though I do everything I just mentioned I have not met even ten percent of my clients face to face. This means that we build credibility through

Blogging can become tedious and boring if you don’t look for a way to make it more interesting. Guest blogging is the way to do this, and this marketing strategy is quickly taking off as one of the best ways to making blogging work for you in a big way. Internet marketer Nicole Dean has done this extensively and teaches how to do it with her guest blogging secrets course.

As a guest blogger you travel virtually around the Internet, stopping at various blogs to write a post and connect with new readers. This can be done without having a huge list or millions of readers, no matter what niche you are in, and even if you are not currently seen as the expert in your niche market.

When you connect with other bloggers, you will find that they are also looking for ways to make blogging more interesting. Approach them with the idea of you writing a guest post for them. These should be areas where you have some knowledge so that it is worthwhile for both of you. Give them your idea for what you would write about in a guest post.

Once you have decided what would work, write a four

Remember that we want to give as much of ourselves as possible to the people who have joined our list. One way I have done this is to offer to write an article or a blog post for my prospects. This will help you to connect with your list and to know more about what they are working to achieve online.

Marketer Nicole Dean spent this past summer writing guest posts on a variety of blogs, and has written a report that teaches you exactly how to do guest blogging to promote yourself as well as the person whose blog you are writing on.

When I write articles for someone else I do it under my own name, but promote their site in the resource box. This adds another article to

Did you know that you could have a guest blogger post to your blog? What I like best about this is the idea of having someone else share content and information with my list.

Sometimes the guest blogger will promote their own products and services using your affiliate link. Other times they will tell your readers about what you have to offer. Either way it’s a win-win-win for you, the guest blogger, and your readers.

As soon as the post appears,

We always think that our prospects are reading every article, tweet, and blog post we make, but this is not necessarily the case. Many times people only read a small portion of what you are publishing online.

You can change this by including a link to one of your posts in an email to your list. Ask them to read the post and to leave a comment. This will help you to build readership to your blog and to educate your list about what else you are doing. I like to make a post about one of my upcoming teleseminars or webinars so that more people will attend.