Growing photo blog traffic is a main concern for many of our visitors. We’ve all read plenty of tips and hacks about how to increase reader engagement, key strategies to increase subscriptions, and of course, ways to monetize your blog. However, without traffic all these helpful hints are meaningless.

How many bloggers average less than 20 visitors average per day?….the answer…MOST. I recently read a very interesting article, 50 Rapid Fire Tips For Power Blogging,  written by David Risley – Confessions of a Six Figure Blogger – in which he speaks candidly about improving your blog performance.

While I won’t recap each of the tips listed in his post (since you can read this for yourself), I would like to discuss several points  I found to be very effective..along with some do’s and don’ts. (I’ll be referencing the tip #’s from David’s article, so don’t get frustrated with missing numbers.)

• #1 – Use WordPress – I couldn’t agree more. I’ve used TypePad in the past, but wasn’t particularly fond of the user interface and really didn’t like paying a monthly/annual fee. Blogger has it’s uses and I currently use it for a few limited focus sites. However, WordPress is the industry standard. Yes, it does have a bit of a learning curve, but it’s well worth the initial pains. You can get a free WordPress blog that WordPress hosts, but you are limited to a subdomain url, i.e., ilovephotoblogs.wordpress.com (kind of messy!)….. My suggestion, select a quality hosting company (  I use GoDaddy, but there are other fine ones out there such as Blue Host and Host Gator), find a domain name that works for you (check out my favorite domain name search tool), download WordPress to your new account and you’re ready to take on the world. WordPress offers thousands of themes (free) and even more plug-ins (again, free) which add tremendous functionality to your site.
• #3 – Use catchy blog post titles – I agree with this statement, however, don’t go overboard with a perfect SEO researched title each time. Always having the perfect link bait title will turn off a portion of your viewership. A good mix of great SEO terms, Top 10 lists, and conversational speak style titles has worked best for me.
• #5 – Comment on other blogs – often – Not only does commenting on other blogs give you additional links and exposure, you’ll discover many interesting sites and people that you’d probably never encounter if you were waiting for them to stumble across your site. Get out there, network, and socialize. Remember, easy on the spammy comments. Sincere and topic appropriate comments always work best.
• #11 – Use header tags to separate sections in your blogs. I won’t get into the details about header tags and SEO performance, other than to tell you it’s worth the research.
• #23 – When writing your About Page, pay attention to what you write. Never publish your blog before completing your About Page!  The About Page is your brand and tells people who you are, what you’re about, and is the one of most important aspects to building a community aside for great content. I often equate an About Page with the automaker badge on your car. Can you imagine purchasing an auto without knowing the identity of the manufacturer? Probably not. And while you’re creating this section, be sure to get it your fullest attention. The About Page should not be an afterthought. My About Page is the 5th most popular page on my site!
• #24 – Do lots of videos. I have come to the realization that video does matter..and in a big way. Consider your viewing habits. Unless you’re still on dial-up, chances are you watch videos for news, sports, YouTube, tutorials, etc. If you’re serious about taking your site to the next level, video is a must. Yes, I am currently guilty of being video deficient on this site, but (BREAKING NEWS) video is on the way. FLIP Video camcorders are available for well below $100US, and connect directly to your PC via USB.
• #26 – Link to other, related blog posts regularly in your own posts. Linking to related blog posts increases your relevance in the eyes of your readers as well as search engines. In addition, you should also monitor who is talking about/linking to you as well. This is easily performed by signing up for Google Alerts, a must-have tool for any serious blogger. When setting up your Alerts, be sure to monitor your name, your link, as well as any competitors you have identified. Google Alerts gives you an easy way to keep your finger on the pulse of what’s happening relevant to you.
• #36 - Spend some time creating some killer posts for your blog. As bloggers,we understand that all blog posts are not created equally. Some days/weeks, we’re pressed for time or if we do have a spare moment,we may not have the energy to compile in-depth, qualitative writing. Have no fear, most blogs are one-person operations, run by people with full-time job responsibilities, readers get it. However, if you are looking to take your blog to the next level, be prepared to dedicate at least a couple of hours on research and writing per day.
• #42 – When starting a blog, decide on it’s mission. Focus is key to your blog’s success. Stay on topic as much as possible. This is key for building an audience, but more importantly, getting the needed Google love to boost your overall search engine ranking.
• #46 Be yourself, #47 Don’t write like you’re writing for Britannica. I think you can get idea of these points by the titles, but I’d like to emphasize the importance of actually including written text in your posts. I’ve reviewed numerous photo blogs which contain little to no text..only images. Understand, if your blog post only contains a photo with no text, the only data search engines have to evaluate is the ALT text associated with each photo, assuming you have even entered this information. In summary, use your words liberally, in a style that is user friendly, warm and not overly scholarly. I am not saying to dumb-down your writing style, but realize that many of your viewers will be reading your English post as a second language.

Hope you enjoyed our post and as always, feel free to comment!