We have studied our 2010 Traffic in depth. Here’s what we found…
We looked at sources, looked at headlines, looked at click-through rates. Here are 5 things we learned:
1. Have a List. See the headline above? “5 Steps to…” is a great way to put a post together. Our second most popular post from 2010 was one that listed “40” things learned by this reporter upon hitting an age with a round number in it. (Read that here if you’d like: https://area224.wpengine.com/40.)
2. Be topical. The most popular post last year* was one that talked about the Gap logo kerfuffle. But our take on the topic was that Gap threw the creatives under the bus, and should have stuck with the logo a little longer. Oh and “logo” does not equal “brand.” Oh and no one ever decided not to shop somewhere because they didn’t like the logo.
Here’s a link to the Gap story. Area 224 talks about the Gap logo.
3. Start with “How to…” That Gap story was enormously successful for us because it started with the words “How to.” And, two of the other top 5 posts from 2010, the ones along the “Buzzword Watch” theme (see below), had “How to” right after the “Buzzword Watch.” People love to learn, and if you back up the “How to” with valuable information, you’ll get repeat visitors.
4. Have a Theme. No, not THAT kind of “Theme.”
For the uninitiated – “Theme” is what WordPress calls its templates. The one we use is called Thesis and we love it. [DISCLOSURE] Affiliate link follows – if you get it for your blog, we get a little bit of cash.
Back to point 4 – the “themes” that worked best for us in 2010 followed along with this idea: “make fun of buzzwords.”
“Innovation.” “Engagement.” “Game Change(r).” Each one of those posts was viewed in excess of 275 times. While that may not seem like a ton, considering the bulk of the traffic for each came in one day…that’s pretty respectable.
5. Use Traffic-Generating Keywords and Logos. This makes sense, but it’s NOT what you think. The traffic-generating keywords that worked best in 2010? “Gap.” “Etsy.” “Quora.” Also note that they were “in the news” (see above) and we borrowed their logos (or, in Gap’s case, their proposed, then-scrapped, logo).
Oh, and the asterisk (*) above? Last week, we told you that the most popular post from 2010 was this one, an interview with Chris Brogan. It was wildly popular – on the day of. But that was studying just Google Analytics traffic, and matching it to day-of numbers.
It took us a little while longer, but adding su.pr traffic stats, studying the analytics more, we were able to come up with numbers that give us a more accurate picture of 2010.
What can you do with this info?
Well, first of all, know who you’re writing for. We write for the marketing, public relations, corporate communications, advertising and creative industries, with a focus on startups and “emerging brands.” We study those industries, see what’s happening, take the pulse of our contacts, and write from there.
If you’re writing to position yourself in your industry — maybe it’s a B2B blog, or maybe you’re in a medical or technical field — you can still follow the same advice above.
Take cues from others — there’s a site covering your industry; if not, maybe yours should be the site covering your industry.
You’re not looking for MORE traffic, you’re looking for BETTER traffic. Having things like the right Theme (like Thesis) can help with your SEO. Using Twitter and Facebook and su.pr certainly help with reach. Add those to your arsenal, no matter the reason for your blog.
AND one last thing:
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