Okay so here's the deal: I've been keeping up with a blog for a while. I started it at the beginning of January, posting relevant updates multiple times daily. I have been doing anything and everything to promote my blog without spending a dime. I've scanned countless google search results for 'increasing website traffic' and related searches. I am still only getting less than 10,000 total pageviews per week. I'm fairly happy with this, BUT I'm hitting a bit of a wall. I'm looking for new ways to promote the blog, and I'm leaning towards Google Adwords. I would only run a campaign until I had a steady stream of traffic and really established the presence of the blog on the web; then I would stop paying the daily bill for adwords. so here's the golden question/bottom line: IS IT A GOOD IDEA TO RUN ADWORDS TO PROMOTE A BLOG IN ITS EARLY STAGES? Any advice at all is appreciated. The site is www.freshlyservedhiphop.com
Yeah i agree, try something diffrent, adwords aint that affordable and you basically need visitors/members.
I noticed that a good part of your posts are You Tube videos, and not much else. You cannot get more search traffic without content...text, words. You Tube is a great source of contributing or additional content, but not as the main content. To get more visitors and more traffic from search engines you need to actually write about Hip Hop. Obviously people can go to You Tube and watch the videos, you need to offer more than that. If you need some ideas, you can check out my music blog in my sig. It has good traffic and it's consistent because I serve up a crap load of content and information about the industry, events, tours, releases and what ever I can get my hands on, including contests and give away's, which I do on Twitter. If you can do that with Hip Hop, it will raise you above average, and you will not only see more targeted traffic, but converting traffic. People want to know what's going on ?, who's got a new album coming out? who's on tour? I can go straight to You Tube and watch video's, I don't need come to your site for that. You need to offer up information that is not prevalent, or hard to find elsewhere on the web. You need to be a source, not a follower...that is what makes a great blog, and people like reading great blogs.
Alright thanks a lot. I got some advice on another thread that I should probably start adding more text as well, so that's a change that I will definitely make in the future.
If you ever do use adwords, read a lot about it, its easy to waste good money with it, the problems not mostly with adwords but with people not understanding how it works. Plus if it was to get adsense revenue from adwords traffic then that would work against you.
I've heard a lot about social bookmarking, but I don't think I really understand the best way to implement that strategy. I understand that sites like digg can increase your traffic, but should I just repost all my blog posts on digg?
Adwords is not the best idea that's for sure. Little tip: try not to do many "categories". Also you may start a contest
Cool, I run a hip hop website as well. I've been seeing a steady increase in my visitors. Content is definitely huge. I'm still trying to figure out how to implement more content. I'm gonna take a look at hmansfield's post to get some ideas, but I definitely would recommend making sure you have at least some written content in each post.
No. It will lose it's effectiveness if you just post your own stuff. You have to appear to bookmark other things as well to balance out your profiles. I use software for this...but to do it yourself, you actually have to take the time to build your credibility. Digg does little for music, with the exception of popular top 40 artists and such, so I wouldn't expect a lot of traffic from it unless you break a story of a well know artists. Digg is pretty "middle of the road". It is good for backlinks, as most of them are. I found limited success with Facebook, since my blog posts are auto updated on there. A little from Blog Catalog, and but the most from Twitter. Most of my traffic comes from Google, and with the translations now....it's picking back up on foreign search engines as well.(Something to think about). The thing is, there are a lot of Rap and Hip Hop blogs, artists, DJ's and "wanna be's" on the social networking sites. You have to consistently beat everyone with the information to build up some credibility and status....which brings us back to content. The only way to get ahead writing about music is to have good stuff...newsworthy items, and get all the press you can from every label that will respond to your emails and post them up. you have to be on top of the industry as much as possible...who's doing what..and what's coming out new. The reason I suggest looking at my Dance Music site is because I had to go through all of that and struggled for months before I found my way. The kind of information that i have on that blog, you need to have on yours to at least beat out the other hundreds of independent bloggers and webmasters in the same niche..and then you have to stay on top of it and take it as far as you can. Design, Contests, Give Away's, and have the Fresh News first, or at least on the same day as the big boy's...and you have to do all this while building links, bookmarking, responding to emails, searching out content and connections, building profiles on My Space, Facebook, You Tube, Twitter, Zimbio, and a hundred others (all of them won't work for you, but you don't know which ones will) It's competitive, but once you get a few artists or managers under your belt, the rest start blowing up your email box. They have to like the way your blog looks, how you post the information, and a really good way to stand out is to do reviews every now and then.(Those may get you something on Digg). The first review that I did that was actually quoted in the artists newsletter is what put me on the map, and after that I never had to look for something to post again. Music is a very competitive field...If you consistently make artists look good, the others won't want to be left out, and they will want to be posted on your blog too. I still have a long way to go, but I'm not struggling with it anymore...most of what I need now is just more professionalism, a logo, and a few other things i have been wanting to add that will blow the competition out of the water. But it takes time, and it takes dedication..even when traffic is slow, you have to keep going...some of my oldest posts are still the most popular. You have to be the best, and you will eventually find your niche, within your niche and become a source of information, not a follower. next thing you know, you won't be posting old You Tube videos, you will be premiering them the day they come out.
I have read of a few people who have had great success with adwords. However, almost all of them sell a product. Work on SEO and content. 10,000 is a pretty good # for pageviews for as long your blog has been around.
Haha sorry less than 3,000 is probably more accurate. I average about 300 page views per day. I don't know what I was thinking when I said 10,000. I think doing reviews sounds like a good idea. I might start doing some of that. Thanks for all the advice everyone
Don't let anyone tell you differently..throwing up a blog and hoping to make some money is a hobby...creating a successful blog that makes money is a job.
That is very true. I'll be honest with you in saying that your feedback in this thread has opened my eyes to some new things and I'll be considering some changes in my formula as well. Fortunately, I have a few key connections within the industry and get the same emails the big guns do, but I don't have nearly as many, so creating a unique formula to deliver similar content is a necessity I feel.