How to Build a High-Traffic Web Site (or Blog)

stickycarrots Peon

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#21

how someone should write a sumery

stickycarrots, Sep 21, 2007 IP

bomberman Peon

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#22

Since posting my 2005 traffic figures recently, Iâ€™ve received many questions about how I was able to start this web site from scratch and build its traffic to over 700,000 visitors per month (Jan 2006 projection) in about 15 months â€” without spending any money on marketing or promotion. Building a high-traffic web site was my intention from the very beginning, so I donâ€™t think this result was accidental.

My traffic-building strategy isnâ€™t based on tricks or techniques that will go out of style. Itâ€™s mainly about providing genuine value and letting word of mouth do the rest. Sadly, this makes me something of a contrarian today, since I happen to disagree with much of what Iâ€™ve seen written about traffic-building elsewhere. I do virtually no marketing for this site at all. My visitors do it for me, not because I trick them into doing it but simply because they want to.

Here are 10 of my best suggestions for building a high traffic web site:

1. Create valuable content.

Is your content worthy of being read by millions of people? Remember that the purpose of content is to provide value to others. Do you provide genuine value, and is it the best youâ€™re capable of providing?

When I sit down to write, I sometimes imagine myself standing on an outdoor concert stage before an audience of a million people. Then I ask myself, â€œWhat shall I say to this audience of fellow human beings?â€ If a million people each spend five minutes on this site, thatâ€™s nearly 10 person-years total. I do my best to make my writing worthy of this differential. I donâ€™t always succeed, but this is the mindset that helps me create strong content.

Think about the effect you want your writing to have on people. Since I write about personal growth, I want my writing to change people for the better. I want to expand peopleâ€™s thinking, to raise their consciousness, and to help them eliminate fear from their lives. If my writing doesnâ€™t change peopleâ€™s thinking, actions, or awareness, then my value isnâ€™t being transferred well enough.

When you focus on providing real value instead of churning out disposable content, your readers will notice. And theyâ€™ll refer others to your site â€” in droves. I typically see at least 10 new links to my site appearing each day (mostly via trackbacks but also via vanity feeds). Iâ€™m not going out and requesting those links â€” other bloggers just provide them, usually because theyâ€™re commenting on something Iâ€™ve written. Many fellow bloggers have also honored StevePavlina.com with a general recommendation for the entire site, not just links to my individual blog posts. Itâ€™s wonderful to see that kind of feedback.

Strong content is universally valued. Itâ€™s hard work to create it, but in the long run it generates lots of long-term referral traffic. Iâ€™d rather write one article Iâ€™m really proud of than 25 smaller posts. Itâ€™s been my experience that the best articles I write will outperform all the forgettable little posts Iâ€™ve made. Quality is more important than quantity. Quantity without quality, however, is easier, which is one reason so many people use that strategy. Ultimately, however, the Internet already contains more quantity than any one of us can absorb in our lifetimes, but there will always be a place for good quality content that stands out from the crowd.

If you have nothing of genuine value to offer to a large audience, then you have no need of a high-traffic web site. And if thereâ€™s no need for it, you probably wonâ€™t get it. Each time you write, focus on creating the best content you can. Youâ€™ll get better as you go along, but always do your best. Iâ€™ve written some 2000â€“word articles and then deleted them without posting them because I didnâ€™t feel they were good enough.

2. Create original content.

Virtually everything on this site is my own original content. I rarely post blog entries that merely link to what others are writing. It takes more effort to produce original content, but itâ€™s my preferred long-term strategy. I have no interest in creating a personal development portal to other sites. I want this site to be a final destination, not a middleman.

Consequently, when people arrive here, they often stick around for a while. Chances are good that if you like one of my articles, you may enjoy others. This site now has hundreds of them to choose from. You can visit the articles section to read my (longer) feature articles or the blog archives to see an easy-to-navigate list of all my blog entries since the site launched.

Yes, thereâ€™s a lot to read on this site, more than most people can read in a day, but thereâ€™s also a lot of value (see rule #1). Some people have told me theyâ€™ve read for many hours straight, and they leave as different people. I think anyone who reads my work for several hours straight is going to experience a shift in awareness. When you read a lot of dense, original content from a single person, itâ€™s going to have an impact on you. And this content is written with the intention that it help you grow.

Although Iâ€™m not big on competing with others, itâ€™s hard to compete with an original content site. Anyone can start their own personal development web site, but the flavor of this site is unique simply because no one else has had the exact same experiences as me.

While I think sites that mainly post content from others have the potential to build traffic faster in the beginning, I think original content sites have an easier time keeping their traffic, which makes for a more solid, long-term foundation. Not everyone is going to like my work, but for those that do, thereâ€™s no substitute.

3. Create timeless content.

While I do occasionally write about time-bound events, the majority of my content is intended to be timeless. Iâ€™m aware that anything I write today may still be read by people even after Iâ€™m dead. People still quote Aristotle today because his ideas have timeless value, even though heâ€™s been dead for about 2300 years. I think about how my work might influence future generations in addition to my own. What advice shall I pass on to my great grandchildren?

I tend to ignore fads and current events in my writing. Wars, natural disasters, and corrupt politicians have been with us for thousands of years. There are plenty of others who are compelled to write about those things, so Iâ€™ll leave that coverage to them.

Will the content youâ€™re creating today still be providing real value in the year 2010? 2100? 4000?

Writing for future generations helps me cut through the fluff and stay focused on the core of my message, which is to help people grow. As long as there are people (even if our bodies are no longer strictly biological), there will be the opportunity for growth, so thereâ€™s a chance that at least some of what Iâ€™m creating today will still have relevance. And if I can write something that will be relevant to future generations, then it will certainly be relevant and meaningful today.

In terms of traffic building, timeless content connects with people at a deeper level than time-bound content. The latter is meant to be forgotten, while the former is meant to be remembered. We forget yesterdayâ€™s news, but we remember those things that have meaning to us. So I strive to write about meanings instead of happenings.

Even though weâ€™re conditioned to believe that news and current events are important, in the grand scheme of things, most of whatâ€™s covered by the media is trivial and irrelevant. Very little of todayâ€™s news will even be remembered next week, let alone a hundred years from now. Certainly some events are important, but at least 99% of what the media covers is irrelevant fluff when viewed against the backdrop of human history.

Ignore the fluff, and focus on building something with the potential to endure. Write for your children and grandchildren.

4. Write for human beings first, computers second.

A lot has been written about the optimal strategies for strong search engine rankings in terms of posting frequency and post length. But I largely ignore that advice because I write for human beings, not computers.

I write when I have something meaningful to say, and I write as much as it takes to say it. On average I post about five times per week, but I have no set quota. I also write much longer entries than most bloggers. No one has ever accused me of being too brief. My typical blog entry is about 1500â€“2000 words, and some (like this one) are much longer. Many successful bloggers would recommend I write shorter entries (250â€“750 words) and post more frequently (20x per week), since that creates more search engine seeds for the same amount of writing. And while I agree with them that such a strategy would generate more search engine traffic, Iâ€™m not going to take their advice. To do so would interfere too much with my strategy of delivering genuine value and creating timeless content. I have no interest in cranking out small chunks of disposable content just to please a computer. Anyone can print out an article to read later if they donâ€™t have time to read it now and if the subject is of genuine interest to them. Part of the reason I write longer articles is that even though fewer people will take the time to read them, for those that do the articles are usually much more impactful.

Because of these decisions, my search engine traffic is fairly low compared to other bloggers. Google is my #1 referrer, but it accounts for less than 1.5% of my total traffic. My traffic is extremely decentralized. The vast majority of it comes from links on thousands of other web sites and from direct requests. Ultimately, my traffic grows because people tell other people about this site, either online or offline. Iâ€™ve also done very well with social bookmarking sites like del.icio.us, digg.com, and reddit.com because theyâ€™re based on personal recommendations. Iâ€™ve probably had about a dozen articles hit the del.icio.us popular list within the past year, definitely more than my fair share.

I prefer this traffic-building strategy because it leaves me less vulnerable to shifts in technology. I figure that Google ultimately wants to make it easy for its visitors to find valuable content, so my current strategy should be in alignment with Googleâ€™s long-term strategy. My feeling is that Google would be well-served by sending more of its traffic here. But that alignment simply arises from my focus on providing value first and foremost.

5. Know why you want a high-traffic site.

I write because my purpose in life is to help people become more conscious and aware â€” to grow as human beings. I donâ€™t have a separate job or career other than this. Because my work is driven by this purpose, I have a compelling reason to build a high-traffic web site, one that aligns with my deepest personal values. More web traffic means I can have a bigger impact by reaching more people. And over the course of the next few decades, this influence has the potential to create a positive change that might alter the future direction of human civilization. Most significantly, I want to help humanity move past fear and for us to stop relating to each other through the mechanisms of fear. If I fail, I fail. But Iâ€™m not giving up no matter how tough it gets.

Those are big stakes, and it might sound like Iâ€™m exaggerating, but this is the level at which I think about my work today. Everything else I do, including building a high traffic web site, is simply a means to that end. Today Iâ€™m just planting seeds, and most of them havenâ€™t even sprouted yet. A high traffic web site is just one of the sprouts that came about as a result of pursuing the purpose that drives me. But it is not an end in itself.

What will you do if you succeed in building a high-traffic web site? If you someday find yourself in the privileged position of being able to influence millions of people, what will you say to them? Will you honor and respect this position by using it as a channel to serve the highest good of all, or will you throw that opportunity away to pursue your own fleeting fame and fortune while feeding your audience disposable drivel?

Although I launched this web site in October 2004, Iâ€™ve been writing articles since 1999, and feedback has allowed me to understand how small slices of my writing have affected certain people in the long run. After reading something Iâ€™ve written, people have quit their jobs, started their own businesses, changed religions, and ended relationships. While some people might find this level of impact ego-gratifying, for me it intensifies my feeling of personal responsibility for my writing. Iâ€™ve seen that Iâ€™m able to have an impact on people, so I damned well better make it a good one.

This â€œwhyâ€ is what drives me. Itâ€™s what compels me to go to my computer and write something at 3am and not stop until 10am. I get inspired often. The #1 reason I want more traffic is that it will allow me to help more people. Thatâ€™s where I direct my ambition for this site, and consequently Iâ€™m extremely motivated, which certainly plays a key role in taking action.

6. Let your audience see the real you.

My life and my writing are intricately intertwined, such that itâ€™s impossible to separate the two. When someone reads this web site, theyâ€™ll eventually come to know a great deal about me as a person. Usually this creates a skewed and inaccurate impression of who I am today because I change a lot over time â€” Iâ€™m not the same person I was last year â€” but itâ€™s close enough. Getting to know me makes it easier for people to understand the context of what I write, which means that more value can be transferred in less time.

Iâ€™ve told many personal stories on this site, including my most painful and difficult experiences. I donâ€™t do this to be gratuitous but rather because those stories help make a point â€” that no matter where you find yourself today, you always have the opportunity to grow in some small way, and no matter how small those changes are, theyâ€™re going to add up over time to create massive lifelong growth. Thatâ€™s a lesson we all need to remember.

When I find ways to turn some of my darkest experiences into lessons that might help others in similar situations, it actually transforms those painful memories into joyful ones. They take on new meaning for me, and I can see that there was a positive reason I had to endure such experiences, one that ultimately serves the highest good of all. Oddly, I now find that it was my darkest times that help create the most light for others.

With respect to privacy, I donâ€™t really care much for it. I do respect other peopleâ€™s right to privacy, so when people tell me personal stories via email, I donâ€™t turn around and re-post them to my blog. But Iâ€™m OK with being rather un-private myself. The need for privacy comes from the desire to protect the ego, which is a fear-driven desire, and fear is something I just donâ€™t need in my life. My attitude is that itâ€™s perfectly OK to fail or to be rejected publicly. Trying to appear perfect is nothing but a house of cards that will eventually collapse.

I think allowing people to know the real me makes it possible to build a relationship with my audience thatâ€™s based on intimacy and friendship. I dislike seeing people putting me on too much of a pedestal and using labels like â€œguruâ€ or â€œoverachiever.â€ Such labels create distance which makes communication harder. They emphasize our differences instead of our similarities. Communication between equals â€” between friends â€” is more effective.

More genuine communication means better connections with your audience, which means more repeat traffic and more referral traffic. This isnâ€™t a manipulative game though, and excessive or overly dramatic self-disclosure for the purpose of linkbaiting will only backfire. Your reasons for storytelling must be to benefit your audience. The traffic benefits are a positive side effect.
Click to expand...

This post is informative but it also looks like a spam.

bomberman, Sep 21, 2007 IP

miamiwithstyle Peon

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#23

hey comboy do you do have seo services for other people?

miamiwithstyle, Sep 21, 2007 IP

trichnosis Prominent Member

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#24

wow, tips are very good.
thanks for sahring them

trichnosis, Sep 21, 2007 IP

zorus Peon

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#25

this is steve pavlina !!

zorus, Sep 26, 2007 IP

fst Peon

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#26

great post thanks

fst, Sep 26, 2007 IP

fst Peon

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#27

great post thanks

fst, Sep 26, 2007 IP

richard.has.j Peon

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#28

hi.......
i have read this article giving the good information about to How to Build a High-Traffic Web Site.
this information is very useful to me.
thnx

richard.has.j, Sep 27, 2007 IP

hadiyarobins Peon

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#29

Gr8 stuff, it is very useful for me.

Thanx.

hadiyarobins, Sep 27, 2007 IP

add_cents Peon

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#30

Thanks for posting that. I picked up a few pointers from it.

add_cents, Sep 27, 2007 IP

freshEO Banned

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#31

"Think about the effect you want your writing to have on people."

i believe in this one! unique and relevant content is really effective.

freshEO, Sep 27, 2007 IP

agusjuara Peon

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#32

saved succesfully

agusjuara, Sep 27, 2007 IP

ptamdagr8 Peon

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#33

whooooaaaaaa... i think if it's written in point wise... more ppl will read

ptamdagr8, Sep 27, 2007 IP

naveennagole Active Member

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#34

zorus said: ↑

this is steve pavlina !!
Click to expand...

are you the Original writer of First Article ..? I saw this line in first article :

Many fellow bloggers have also honored StevePavlina.com with a general recommendation for the entire site, not just links to my individual blog posts. Itâ€™s wonderful to see that kind of feedback.
Click to expand...

Very Nice Article .

thanks.

naveennagole, Sep 27, 2007 IP

boyponga Banned

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#35

Thanks for the information, hope to get more traffic this time

boyponga, Sep 27, 2007 IP

Whitey Active Member

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#36

Cheers, will read it sometime

Whitey, Sep 27, 2007 IP

tndrloin Peon

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#37

The content came from this link:

http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2006/01/how-to-build-a-high-traffic-web-site-or-blog/

Steve Pavlina should be given due credit.

tndrloin, Sep 28, 2007 IP

rawaccess Member

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#38

wow, that was deep.
i enjoyed reading that very much

rawaccess, Oct 3, 2007 IP

rawaccess Member

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#39

tndrloin said: ↑

The content came from this link:

http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2006/01/how-to-build-a-high-traffic-web-site-or-blog/

Steve Pavlina should be given due credit.
Click to expand...

when reading the content it becomes clear that steve wrote it and not some dp member lol. steves website is included in the middle of the post somewhere.

rawaccess, Oct 3, 2007 IP

shand0 Well-Known Member

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#40

It's toooo long to read

shand0, Oct 3, 2007 IP

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How to Build a High-Traffic Web Site (or Blog)

stickycarrots Peon

bomberman Peon

miamiwithstyle Peon

trichnosis Prominent Member

zorus Peon

fst Peon

fst Peon

richard.has.j Peon

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add_cents Peon

freshEO Banned

agusjuara Peon

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naveennagole Active Member

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tndrloin Peon

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