How to Use Referral Traffic: This Is the Way to Make Your Blog Grow

By: | October 21, 2017 | Tags: , , , |

Use Referral Traffic to Grow Your Blog

Are you trying to get referral traffic?

Have you ever tried to use referral traffic?

Guest author Emenike Emmanuel will explain 7 ways to use referral traffic to massively grow your blog.

How To Use Referral Traffic To Grow Your Blog

by Emenike Emmanuel

If there’s one thing that matters a great deal to a blogger as far as their blogging career is concerned, it’s how to get huge traffic.

Unfortunately, many amateur bloggers suck at that. They have spent many years in the game but growing beyond 100 page views per day has been too hard a journey.

I know what it feels like because I have been there, but what some of us don’t realize is that with over 2 million blog posts being published every single passing day, as revealed by MarketingProfs, it’s now obvious that for you to get tons of traffic to your blog, you must start thinking beyond the scope of what you were taught before now.

You need a proven system for generating recurring traffic that’s guaranteed to work. One such technique is REFERRAL TRAFFIC.

By the end of this post, you will learn how to use referral traffic to grow your blog.

What Is Referral Traffic?

Referral Traffic is the visit to your site that came as a result of someone clicking on your hyperlink placed on another site. Traffic of this kind, coming from sources outside search engines, is what Google Analytics consider to be referral traffic.

Why Traffic Matters So Much To A Blogger

Whether you are focused on getting search engine traffic, referral traffic or both, what I consider to be of great significance is knowing why you are focusing on getting traffic so that you can generate the traffic effectively and consciously.

Why do you need more traffic to your blog? How can increasing traffic to your website contribute to growing your list, income,, and influence?

Having been in the business of blogging for quite some time now, I discovered that most bloggers who work so hard to keep their blog traffic high do so for any if not all of these 4 reasons.

 

  • Social Proof

 

More traffic is proof that your blog is growing. When you generate more traffic to your blog consistently, it’s an indication that you are an expert blogger who newbies can trust with their resources in exchange for your resourcefulness.

Here are other unique ways to boost your social proof as a blogger very quickly. Once you’ve established social proof, you could plan to launch a new tutorial as a means of monetizing your blog.

 

  • Ranking

 

How highly ranked your blog is on Alexa and other platforms built for calculating site metrics is partly an indication of how much traffic you are getting to your site. Though there are others ways one can influence their Alexa ranking, consistently increasing your blog ranking is a surefire way to achieve that.

A well-ranked site, if focused on a specific niche, stands a better chance to appear first on the search engine result page (SERP) anytime a query containing its keyword is made on a search engine.

 

  • Advertisers Consider It

 

If you ever thought of allowing advertisers on your blog, one good thing you must never fail to do is to pay rapt attention to whatever it will take you to grow your blog traffic.

Advertisers don’t want to waste their effort and resources. It’s obvious they won’t look in your direction if your site doesn’t have huge traffic. The goal of every marketer before reaching out to run ads or sponsored post on your site is to generate more quality leads. But how will that ever be possible if there’s no traffic?

 

  • Income Growth

 

The more traffic you get, the more visitors will click on your AdSense display, the more a good number of them will click on your affiliate links and the more people will see your products and services.

Imagine your blog generate 5,000 unique visitors every day and 200 of them end up clicking on your affiliate products while just 20 proceed to the checkout and purchase a product worth $32.5 in commission, you’ve succeeded in generating $650 in a day.

Do this for 30 days, increase your page visitors and in 6 months from now, you will be proud enough to call yourself a successful blogger.

Bloggers in niches such as insurance and law with high pay per click (PPC) who monetize their blog using Google Adsense should invest extra effort mastering quick and enduring site traffic generating strategies.

 

  • Relevance

 

Blogs with a high level of traffic send an impression to search engines that your content are of great relevance to internet surfers. Same thing applies to social signals. If more people are liking and sharing your posts on social media, you will always dominate for keywords in your niche.

How to Start Getting Referral Traffic To Your Blog

One of the easiest and most guaranteed ways to generating explosive traffic that will keep you on Google’s good book as long as your blog exists is referral traffic. If you ever desired that, here are steps you need to take now, not tomorrow.

 

  • Guest Post On Authority Blogs

 

You will have a chance to get hundreds of referrals to your blog if you are privileged to guest post on authority sites with tens of thousands of daily visitors. What that simply means is that the more authority blogs you are able to feature in, the more your traffic, list, income and influence grows.

In order to make the best use of such guest posting opportunity, you are advised to have a lead magnet or simply a product or services for sale that hot audience landing on your site for the first time can easily grab.

 

  • Participate In Expert Roundup Posts

 

An expert roundup post is a type of blog post whereby the owner of a blog reaches out to other bloggers in the same or different niches to make their contributions to a definite topic. Often, the host blogger will send out one question to all and expect them to respond based on their experiences and knowledge.

Participating in expert roundup posts is a good way to get referral traffic consistently. Imagine having an average of 2 daily referrals for a period of 365 days from all the blogs you’ve participated in their roundup posts. Think of how that will help your blog to grow.

To position yourself as an expert so that you will be invited to contribute from time to time, create enough viral posts and master how to build a relationship with other experts in your niche.

 

  • Grow Your Email List

 

The same way you can use referral traffic to grow your email list, you can also use your email list to grow your blog traffic. It’s simple. All you need to do is to create a weekly roundup post that highlights all the topics you discussed within the week or you can put a hyperlink in all your emails to your subscribers that will point them to the site.

The more your email list subscribers increase and your open rate goes up, the more referral traffic you will generate as long as your contents remain relevant.

 

  • Comment On Other People’s Blogs

 

You are wrong if you still think people don’t read comments. In fact, people do, especially if the author delivered a high level of valuable content or the topic is a controversial one.

The best way to use blog commenting in increasing your referral traffic is to stay away from writing spammy comments and focus on using the comment section to add meaning and add value to the post. Don’t fire your comments just like that, act like human – mention the author’s name (as in, Hi Emenike,) before you proceed with your opinion.

Here’s how and why it works if done like I advised.

When readers are not satisfied enough with the information the author shared, they will check out the comments section. If your comment was the one that caught their attention, they will stick to you and will most likely visit your blog.

 

  • Accept To Be Interviewed On Other Blogs

 

There’s money, growth, and dignity in exposure if well-managed. The more you get into a new audience, the more your influence grows. Aside from that, one of the best ways to brand yourself as an expert is to become featured on many platforms, especially popular platforms where your ideal audience congregates.

For each blogger you grant an interview, make sure your link is placed somewhere in the post where anyone that considers reaching out to you will see where to click.

If you consider this to be included as one of the marketing strategies for your business, (which I often recommend because it serves two purposes) here’s what you should do: write out authority blogs you would like to be featured in and pitch them. Some will accept, while others may not accept. Additionally, some may ask for a review fee.

 

  • Register With Link Sharing Sites

 

I’d be hiding a lot from you if I don’t mention this particular strategy my clients and I have been using to get tons of referral traffic and social shares from people we don’t even know. In fact, it literally took a new blog I built in a very competitive niche to a whole new level.

Here’s how they work: when you share another person’s link on social media, you get a credit and when another person shares yours, you are debited. The owner of the link will give you options of social networks they would like their article to appear on.

A good example of platforms that allow you to do this is ViralContentBee[dot]com. Log on to their site, register and start sharing other people’s posts so that you can earn their credit. Scoop.it, Medium.com, Kingged.com, etc are also examples of sites where you can get referral traffic.

Social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and LinkedIn are also a huge source of traffic to sites. If you have a large audience following you on social media, and your posts are always interesting, you will pull huge referral traffic to your blog.

 

  • Help Other Bloggers Replace Their Broken Links With Your Active Link

 

There are so many sites on the web you can use when you want to know how to find broken links on your blog. Some of them will charge a premium to deliver a detailed work but majority of them are free.

If you are running a WordPress blog, I recommend you install this plugin, Broken Link Checker, to help you monitor, detect and edit broken links.

Like the subtitle says, you can help other bloggers in your niche detect broken links on their site, write a new blog post that will match the one that had a broken link, email the blog owner and ask if he would like to replace the broken link with your active link.

This is a subtle way to get a legitimate backlink and consequently, referral traffic from authority sites. Trust me, many bloggers will be glad to replace the link with yours because you helped them to identify broken links on their site.

If you are serious about growing your blog, these strategies we listed here are things you must not fail not fail to do.

Now over to you.

What other strategies do you use in order get more referral traffic to your blog? Share with us in the comments below.

Emenike Emmanuel is a freelance business writer and coach, owner of Entrepreneur Business Blog, a social media strategist and an enthusiastic online marketer who help small and medium scale businesses to grow their sales online. Connect with him on Twitter and Instagram with @ebusinessroom.

Host blogger’s comments:

Readers, please share so other bloggers trying to boost their traffic learn from Emenike’s tips.

I look forward to your views in the comments section. What did you think of Emenike’s tips for how to use referral traffic to grow your blog?

  1. Matt

    Great post! These tips are definitely worth trying! I still have a hard time growing my email list, but I absolutely see spikes in traffic when I comment on other blogs.

    • Janice Wald

      Hi Matt,
      Thanks for writing. It’s important to get in first or early when you comment, so people scroll past you and see your comment.
      Janice

    • Emenike Emmanuel

      Hi Matt,

      Thanks for your kind words.

      Leaving valuable comments on other blogs is an amazing way to generate referral traffic.

      People you get through referral traffic find it easier to sign up to your list, especially if they trust the site that referred them to you.

      Now you’ve been able to find out what works for you, I want to encourage you to keep doing it.

      Cheers.

      Emenike

  2. Emenike Emmanuel

    Hi Matt,

    Thanks for your kind words.

    Leaving valuable comments on other blogs is an amazing way to generate referral traffic.

    People you get through referral traffic find it easier to sign up to your list, especially if they trust the site that referred them to you.

    Now you’ve been able to find out what works for you, I want to encourage you to keep doing it.

    Cheers.

    Emenike

    • Emenike Emmanuel

      Hi Ritu,

      I’m glad you like the post. Thanks for reading.

      Emenike

  3. Godson Rapture

    Emenike you have done a great job.

    Reddit, nairaland, stumbleupon are also great places to get referral traffic from.

    The best for me is QUORA. By participating in the community, sharing your knowledge to help others, you can get something in return for that.

    Keep up the good work Emenike.

    ~Godson Rapture.

    • Janice Wald

      I have not received as much traffic from Reddit do you have any strategies you can recommend?

      • Godson Rapture Chijioke

        Reddit is a community. Try and participate more. comment, upvote and post your links.

        • Janice Wald

          I actually spent some time looking for an upvote buddy but I was unsuccessful and stopped putting my efforts there.
          Janice

    • Emenike Emmanuel

      Hi Godson,

      Thanks for the kind words. That’s true. Those are awesome ways of getting tons of referral traffic.

      One of my blogs is growing so well as a result of referral traffic from Quora. I love it

      Thanks once again for your contribution.

      Emenike

  4. Hot Mess

    I absolutely love this post! I find posts valuable when you learn something you may have otherwise never thought of! I am going to pin this so I can refer back to it and work on the strategies! Thank you!

    • Emenike Emmanuel

      Wow! That’s interesting. I’m glad you found the post interesting.

      Thank you so much for reading and pinning it.

      Emenike

  5. John Doe

    There’s some really great tips on how to get referral traffic. Thank you for the help.

  6. Michelle

    Super helpful advice, can’t wait to start trying out some of these!

    • Emenike Emmanuel

      Hi Michelle,

      It will awesome to know that you tried them out. They work 24/7.

      Thanks for reading.

      Emenike

  7. Smiling Notes

    This is such a great post, Janice. I need to start using Medium (I came to know about it a few months back through one of your posts) and the other resources you have mentioned. Sometimes these things slip from my mind but I know I can always come to your blog for helpful resources 🙂

    • Emenike Emmanuel

      Hi,

      That will be a great idea. I’m sure you will get a ton of traffic from there too.

      Enjoy.

      Emenike

  8. Suzanne Fluhr

    I’ll be pinning this post. Do you think potential advertisers or brands are still interested in Alexa ranking rather than Moz Domain Authority? My understanding is that Alexa only looks at visits from users who have the Alexa tool bar installed which seems to be fewer and fewer people — or am I way out of date on this?

    • Janice Wald

      Hi Suzanne,
      Thank you for writing. Your understanding is my understanding. Today people care about domain authority.
      Janice

    • Emenike Emmanuel

      That’s true, Susanne.

      Domain authority also boost our social proof.

      Thanks for mentioning that too.

      Emenike

  9. Robin Khokhar

    Hi Janice,
    Referal traffic is really a great help, and I am sure this kind of traffic is awesome for the new website and blogs.
    Thanks for sharing this amazing post.
    Have a good week ahead.

    • Emenike Emmanuel

      Hi Robin,

      That’s true. New blogs need referral traffic to come alive and start catching attention.

      Thanks for reading.

      Emenike

  10. Debbie

    Hi Janice and Emeneke- I must admit that this is an area I had no real knowledge of, so I have learnt something today! I find commenting on other posts to be interesting but I’d never really thought about the possibility of referral yptraffic as a result. Thanks for sharing at the Blogger’s Pit Stop as I’m sure many readers will find this very useful information. Debbie from Debs-World.com

    • Janice Wald

      HI Debbie,
      So glad you enjoyed Emeneke’s article. I’m glad you found his tips helpful. Thanks for writing to tell us.
      Janice

    • Emenike Emmanuel

      Hi Debbie,

      It’s my pleasure to know that this article taught you something new today.

      Yes, blog commenting is a huge source of referral traffic. Keep doing it and soon your volumes of referrer will explode.

      Cheers.

      Emenike

  11. Melinda J Mitchell

    Thanks, BBFFJ for hosting Emenike, with all these excellent ways to use referral traffic!
    PS My .com site is going live Monday!! So excited!!
    Your BBFFM

    • Janice Wald

      Hi BBFFM,
      Thanks for writing us. He is amazing. I agree.
      I am excited for you. How will I know the link? MelindaMitchell.com? I was subscribed to the old one, so I guess your followers will transfer, yes?
      By the way, I don’t think I’ve received my purchase from your party yet. Is that odd?
      Thanks for writing.
      Your BBFFJ

    • Emenike Emmanuel

      Hi Melinda,

      Thanks and congratulations on your new blog. I hope it’s growing very rapidly as it ought to?

      I will review your blog later.

      Keep it up.

      Emenike

  12. BISWAJIT SAHA

    Hi Janice, referral traffic is a great way indeed for increasing traffic. Thanks for sharing!

    • Emenike Emmanuel

      Hi Saha,

      Yes, it is. When I started out with no money to throw around on advertising, I used referral traffic to grow my blog and also get nofollow backlink. It works.

      Thanks for reading.

      Emenike

  13. Blossom Smith

    Alexa has always been a mystery to me. Followed all the steps you’ve mentioned and now looking forward to the next Alexa update. Hoping to see a positive result soon!

    • Emenike Emmanuel

      Hi Blossom,

      Alexa ranking is the cheapest thing to do. Just install the Alexa toolbar in your Chrome and watch your ranking go up.

      Focus on one niche and get more backlinks even as you increase your pageviews.

      These things work.

      Thanks.

      Emenike

  14. Emenike Emmanuel

    Thank you all for always reading this blog post.

    Referral traffic is a guaranteed way to grow a blog.

    Emenike

Would you like to share your thoughts?

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Instagram
Pinterest
fb-share-icon
LinkedIn
Share
%d