Using Twitter to increase your Blog’s Traffic and Interaction

It’s interesting to note how some people get into blogging. One particular person I know of got into it just by clicking links to blog posts on Twitter. Some Twitter members link to blogs that are so well done and the followers can’t help but be envious and be encouraged to blog. Is it safe to assume that most of the people on twitter are bloggers? Not really. Some are simply there to connect with relatives abroad, find out who’s friends with who and to promote their blogs. The fun part is getting followers. Yes, this is fun for me, but maybe not to some. See, most people feel compelled to follow you when you follow them first, and doing that over and over with really interesting people can be gratifying.

How do you fast track interaction on your blog through Twitter?
I’ve seen it done time and time again, and those who use their Twitter space wisely can enjoy the benefits of getting more blog subscribers, and more comments. I view each twit as bait; a colorful lure that invites people to explore more, ask more and follow more. Do you have a strong opinion about the economic crisis or the political standing of a presidential candidate? Simply telling your community that you have posted your thoughts about a hot topic on your blog will make them come running to read.

Comments can be ego fodder to some, and blog boost to some. It doesn’t matter whether you are a seasoned blogger or a new one, the feeling that comes after you see someone comment on a post is indescribable. The thing is, comments mean interaction. It also increases the relevance of a post. Comments mean that people have read your post and would like to put in their two cents. Remember that Twitter communities are expanding and your friends could be following the friends of the people in your community. Everyone’s getting to know everyone else, and because there is a character limit to every twit, your first words must be interesting enough for people to get curious and follow the link provided. If they disagree too strongly to your views, they won’t be able to expound more about why they disagree via Twitter so they go to your blog to reply there.

There are spammers on twitter, like everywhere else, but the beauty of it is that oen can simply delete a spammer from a list. You can spam all you want, but if you have no friends, no one will see it.

Building curiosity as well as community is the best thing about Twitter for me. There’s just so much wit that you can inject in one or two sentences, but those who manage to keep people rapt and tuned in to their twits have the power to invite anyone to their blogs, affiliate programs and company sites. The representatives of companies can even increase brand awareness by simply describing in frequent twits what’s so unique about their product. Again, the ability to avoid turning off spam-sensitive people comes into play. If you build a reputation of sending useful, non-spam information, or extremely entertaining one-liners, you could be the most popular Twitterati in your growing community.

Domain Name Selection and Keywords Selection

The most exciting part of building a self-hosted blog for me is choosing the perfect domain name for it. It is, after all, the face that you will present to people. Your blog’s domain name will be the digital imprint or signature that you will leave on other people’s blogs when you comment. Some people won’t even remember what your real name is, but they will remember which blog you are associated with. As you continue blogging, you will realize that you answer to your blog’s domain name in the same manner as you answer to your given name. The domain name will become a part of you so choose well.

Choosing Domains With Your Niche in Mind

You can begin your search by first identifying the keywords associated with your blog.
Note most “real words” are already taken and so you will have to make do with a domain with several real words in it. Alternatively, you can invent a word that “sounds” like it could be good for your niche.

Your domain name must be short, with very few syllables. However, there is another technique related with domain ownership that teaches us about using long tailed keywords as domain names. These keywords are the exact ones that people type in the search bar to look for something online (e.g. whatisablog). The likelihood that you could grab their attention faster is high if your domain name reflects the things they went online for.

Brandability

When I encounter quite a few domain names that are similar in quality and worth, the thing to consider would have to be the brandability of the name. Will it look good on a business card? Is it sticky (will it stay with the passers by?).

Aim for the dot com

It’s extremely difficult to compete with a site bearing the dot com version of your dot net domain name because a lot of direct browser searches will go to the dot com version by default. When searching for available domain names for your blog, always check the dot com extensions first, but also be on the lookout for worthy dot net names. If you find a short ‘real word’ domain name but it is only available as a dot net, it is advisable to get it. Investing on a very good dot com domain name could also mean buying it directly from the current owner. You should do this only when you are completely sure your investment will pay off.

Lists of Expiring Domains

There are hundreds of thousands of domain names that expire daily. When you find one you like on a list, the first step you should take is to research the history of the domain name. Was the previous owner careful with it (i.e. did he use it ethically)? The domain names in the expiring or expired lists may have an existing traffic source and even google page rank. Use the search engines to find out what types of articles were previously published on the domain, as these articles could still be included in the cache.

When you start your blog, you know that there are certain people who you think can appreciate your topic. Some of these can be your friends, co-workers and relatives who, of course, will read anything you are going to put out. However, one cannot earn from a blog by having just a handful of readers. You need a big crowd of fans, or at the very least, interested people who will hang out for a while and listen to what you have to say about a certain product or service. For you to earn decently through your blog, you need visitors who are already interested in your site’s topic, will likely be interested in your topic and those who will most likely benefit from your tips or endorsements.

Where do you find these interested and highly excitable people?

Forums – Online communities have been around for a long time, and some have evolved out of one particular interest that thousands of people share. Joining a forum that directly attracts posters who are more than a bit interested in what you have to say about a certain subject area is powerful. These forums may provide signature space where you can place a link to your blog, or may even allow you to include your blog link or banner in your forum profile. Discussion of your interest in the forum will lead to curiosity. The people who will develop a keen interest in your opinions will probably visit your blog to know more about you and to read more about your thoughts. Developing a good relationship with some of these forum posters will increase your credibility, and subsequently, the amount of traffic going to your blog.

Your Competition – Using the search box at Google (particularly google blog search) and Yahoo will reveal several sites that already talk about your exact blog topic. Visit the most relevant ones and observe the interaction of the webmaster with his readers, check out how he has developed his topic and learn about the trend of his posts. When you have deemed this blog as a “kindred spirit” (someone who has the same level of authority in your field), you may opt to contact him to ask to advertise on his blog. If you are the shy type and wouldn’t approach another easily, you may opt to simply observe what advertising systems the blogger uses on his blog and find ways to place your banner there. Having an advertisement on another blogger’s site will increase your chances of attracting a part of his traffic. Most webmasters will appreciate your business because you represent a related site, which their readers will enjoy. There are some others, however, who will not allow you to advertise on their site because they don’t want the competition.

Remember that finding readers for your blog is easy if you work with the concept of relevance. Also, there are several offline ways of increasing traffic to your blog. One of these is by creating business cards with your blog logo and a short description of what you talk about. You can distribute these in related events that you yourself attend.