15 Simple Reasons Your Blog Isn’t Getting Traffic!

15 Real Reasons Why Your Blog Isn’t Getting Search Traffic and How to change that! #14 is my favorite

Why is it that my blog isn’t getting traffic?

Hey it’s Pauli, your resident #realtalk mate. Yes I know Neil Patel and Brian Dean are cleaning up in digital marketing, because they are getting a ton of organic web visitors! Yet is your blog about as attractive as a cold sore?

You were told by a friend to start a blog and make a load of money from the truck loads of traffic = visitors that will simply flow or some such thing! You checked your analytics and your blog isn’t getting search traffic…nada!

Don’t worry you are not alone, at the start of our blogging journey we thought we had missed the blog traffic ball invitation. Seriously we felt like Billy no mates! Is this you right now? We’ve been there, and frankly…its crappy!

You know the worst part, you have no idea why that promised much coveted organic traffic isn’t coming your way.

Esp. when you write poetic pieces, (well your toddler thinks so!) You genuinely care about your readers, you share your whole “productivity vault contents,” mouth-watering recipes and still zilch. If you didn’t promote your posts on social media, your site would go out like a candle in the wind!

What did that Ray Higdon say again in the 3-Minute expert? You bought the course, you have gone about ¼ way through it and…

You share on your Facebook Fan page and even a couple of groups. Heck you tweet your post and pin an image…Still looks like nobody cares about their skin care, personal health, don’t they like to make more money?

You are asking yourself: What am I missing, what am I doing wrong?

Are you ready for some tough love? See I don’t have Julie’s gentleness nor tact, but I do want you to succeed, a lot!

So, first things first, don’t shoot the messenger.  

I am here to help you because Julie and I believe you deserve more. The reason you ain’t getting much blog traffic can be any number of reasons! Without access to your site, run some diagnostics, I cannot give you an EXACT reason.

But…

I know you may either be new to blogging or kind of green to SEO or Both. So let me break it down for you why your blog is not getting traffic, short of the social shares and a few search visitors if that.

15 Possible Reasons your Blog isn’t Getting Traffic yet.

1. Goal as clear as a chocolate mud pie!

When you started, did you and do you have a clear purpose for blogging or was it as clear as a mud puddle with a pup in it? WHY Are you blogging? What’s your personal vision and goal for your blog? Any long term plans? 2-5 years from now, what will you blog look like? What audience demographic will it be serving? What problems will it be solving, or what desires will it be fulfilling?

Don’t tell me you didn’t plan this out?

Sadly, you are not alone. Many bloggers have no idea whether they want their blog to be a content marketing platform, an e-Commerce resource, or a platform to build a brand and attract a specific type of person. We didn’t know in the beginning either. 

I know when we started out our only goal was to get more people to join our network marketing business…Of course it didn’t happen, because we had no plan of action, just blogged about what we wanted when we wanted!

Your blog isn’t getting traffic because it has no aim, like a boat without a sail or direction! Making money is a BENEFIT, a higher mission for your blog! Find that WHY, learn what your audience needs, serve them and you will create a proper road-map for your blog!

[bctt tweet=”Making money is a BENEFIT, a the higher mission for your blog! #blogtratfictips” username=”Juleskalpauli”]

2. You aren’t Skilled Enough!

First and Foremost, I will tell you it’s not easy. Successful blogging, is not for those unwilling to learn the ropes, apply the lessons daily and be patient for the results to come.

I am an engineer with letters to my name, that took over 10 years to build up. I know not to hire a tech student as lead engineer to build a water dam…! Yet I see more and more people blogging…Not a bad thing in itself…but

• These people, step out from day one claiming expertise they don’t have…so no one believes them!
• They don’t take the time to learn the ropes or even the basics, and it shows. 
• Ostrich syndrome is common among them, hoping if they keep their head under the proverbial sand, maybe they will start getting some search traffic.
• They refuse to accept they do not have the skill set to build up traffic and they fail to hire an expert to do it. Living on Hope Street and Practicing Hope Marketing is their forte! 
• Finding a Mentor to teach them what works in their niche? —Ditto Ostrich syndrome! I did say from the beginning this is gonna be a toughie…#realtalk

[bctt tweet=”Do you live on Hope Street and Practice Hope Marketing! Time to #getsearchtraffic” username=”Juleskalpauli”]

Have I hit a sore spot here? It’s all from a place of love!

Building a blog that gets search traffic is no easy feat and yet every blessed day we see “new bloggers” who wouldn’t visit an unskilled doctor to treat a festering boil! Yet they don’t wish to Skill up, master their new craft and become the Celebrated Brand they could be!

Yes, it takes time. No you won’t make much in year 1, maybe not even in year 2…Might never make any money via that blog either if you don’t learn how to drive traffic to your content!  

If cash is tight here is How to master a topic & Share value:

• Ask yourself a Question, head on to Google with your Keyword or if its a Popular topic. And to answer the question:
• Search YouTube for [Keywords] + tutorials
• Look at sites like Rccace.com, Udemy.com, Skillshare.com, Coursera.org. Lots of Free or really cheap training
• Make a note of the popular topics. Dive in and set aside time daily to Learn. Take notes, Apply the lessons to Your Business.
• Record your Actions and Track your Results!
• Create several pieces of content based on the above steps, e.g. Part 1, 2 & 3. Always end by pointing to a specific resource with some Real Answers!
• Or Start a weekly session sharing the lessons learnt on Video or Audio.

I find most bloggers just aren’t willing to work that hard to get the traffic they deserve. Yet if there was a Degree or reward at the end of 3 years, most would either not bother, or they would definitely get the Training needed to get that qualification…Go figure!  

3. You are Swimming on the Shallow side.

If your posts are too shallow you probably fall foul of this gremlin too! One of search engine criteria for ranking content is that it should be Fresh, and contain Value. Now you don’t have to create new content that no one wants, curation is legal. And there is nothing more off putting than a shallow post…Been there got the Tee…

When we first started blogging we had it on our mentor’s authority that 500 word posts were enough for ranking. We pumped them out daily!

Well where is that dang traffic?

A couple of months later we read a post by Neil Patel that posts with 1500+ word count ranked better…And the reason why most blogs tanked was that; in addition to the lack of quality they lack Quantity! We realised why our posts weren’t ranking before. They were shallow, they weren’t thorough enough, didn’t give enough value content…Back to the drawing board and enter new mentor…!

So…Ask yourself, how much depth can you give in a 3-minute video? And said video follows a 300-500 piece of content including the affiliate sales pitch, intro & conclusion? Back in the day before you and I started blogging, there wasn’t much online, so you could publish a shallow 250-word piece and still get traffic. Today we are spoilt for choice, so you wont be getting much traffic!

Now, if you are posting bits of fluff, expecting wonders. Sorry to burst your bubble. Come on, give us more meat.! You know you want to. Ideally, the most thorough & optimized blog for any keyword will always hold sway.

Do your research, cover every base, give us reason to bookmark, come back, like, share, Pin for later and salivate for your next morsel!

I guarantee you if you post One 2500+ word post once a week with a lovely Video Tutorial or Audio and promote the crap out of it, you will rank higher than Jane who posted a similar post with a 600-word count + a 3 min pitch-fest video!

Your audience want more and deserve more. NOT more information, there is lots of that online. Rather they want more practical Application, HOW they can get from A to B without overwhelming them with information. Share that consistently in bite size steps spread out over a quality post POINT Your Audience to a Resource with More of the HOW and your blog will attract more eyeballs pretty soon.

[bctt tweet=”POINT Your Audience to a Resource with More of the HOW #getsearchtraffic ” username=”Juleskalpauli”]

4. Are you Over Eager – like Peter Pan?

Well, here is what I mean, you are publishing way too many posts.

You want to soar, and fly to the sunset you are eager. That’s good. But are you pumping out posts without any real value content? I see this with some seasoned bloggers too, but mostly…

I see lots of new bloggers rushing to pump out content daily, with no real idea how often to post or where the traffic will come from. They publish a post for every day and colour of week. They don’t think about burn out nor do they promote the content enough…

That right there is probably the reason why you’re not getting search traffic or more blog traffic.

Even as you hit publish, tens of thousands more people are posting on the same subject. The competition is stiff!  That’s why I recommended you go for the low volume search words in your keyword search! FOCUS ON quality, spend some time doing research and post a killer post full of so much value, it becomes the Free Go-To resource on that subject in your niche! 

Of course it takes time? Why do you think only the best rank?

Here is the deal, publish less posts but make sure to write them really well! Very Important – Less is more!

Don’t get me wrong, if you can pump out 3 power posts pw, Do it. But only if you can pack them full of value, quality, practical content and PROMOTE the shit out of those buggers!

5. We went to Sleep on paragraph 1

Yes, truth be told most blogs are not entertaining at all…We too aren’t immune to this sometimes.  

For crying out loud do share that holiday swimming with dolphins’ photos, peppered with the fun commentary. You took a dozen sneaky photos, admit it!

Okay here is the deal, if you didn’t know it, you are in the ENTERTAINMENT industry. Why do you think news sells? Because it’s entertaining…Esp. the gory stuff. So I am sorry to say you might be doing all the above and boring as heck…

See being informative and dull will not get that traffic flowing. Get those headlines Jumping off your blog, literally sucking in eyeballs! Try our Secret sauce to bangin headlines here. You can literally pump out and tweak up to 50 Headlines for different medias esp. Google Plus!

While you can crack jokes and share funny gifs, you have to find the right jokes for your audience. The idea is to captivate your reader from the word go.

So go right ahead and inspire us, show us awesome, you have a scary story, we want to hear about it…Don’t be all fuzzy wuzzy, we got our fur babies and Pinterest for that!

Rather share a story with soul, they sure do sell…Check out the last Hello issue if you don’t believe me!

And if for goodness sake you have no clue how to write captivating stories, you totally suck at amazing, you need this resource, just saying!

6. Lazy about Keyword Research then your blog isn’t getting traffic?

Don’t wake up and post about your supermarket rant, unless that’s your specialty. And if your neighbour loves streaking naked across his back garden starkers…take some photos and blackmail him, (jox)  just call the local news. 😉

The idea is you need to know what your audience needs first before you create and publish a post! You aren’t getting web traffic because you aren’t doing enough keyword research!

You must never post articles that have no relevance in your niche, i.e. you didn’t research if anybody wants to know about that topic. It’s simple enough so here’s what to do:

– Type your topic in Google search

– Click on Blogs – And see what comes up, check out the top 5 articles. Are they related?

– What are their strengths, can you do better?

– Scroll to the bottom of the page and check what other keywords people search for…

–  Copy them, paste in a word document. Is that all? Not yet Jose…

– Head on to the Google Keyword Tool and do some more research for those low volume yet commercial keywords…This step is well explained under our White hat SEO post. And you can find Julie Syl’s tutorial on how to find those Keyword in the AB Testing post so go on there and check it out! Then go write your piece of prose. Paste above keywords as Tags in your post. No more than 15 tags tops. 

As a blogger it’s your most important duty to create content based on searchable keywords, In Your Own Voice! Its also your duty to create content that is of value to your audience. Find out what is considered great content, in Google’s view right here.

My Super Tip: You will never run out of blog post ideas if you create a list of the niche Keywords you get from the keyword planner and create articles around those words!  Yes, you are most welcome.

7. You’ve backed your blog into a corner- Small Niche

Okay I know, we keep saying; find a niche and become the Bad ass boss, yes? And you absolutely want to avoid all the  branding mistakes we made right? Well if your blog isn’t getting traffic, you got us all figured out wrong my friend…

The idea of branding is way bigger and again should be based on Market Research!

[bctt tweet=”The idea of branding is way bigger and based on Market Research! #blogtraffic ” username=”Juleskalpauli”]

You don’t wake up one day and decide you are going to blog about cat shoes after all nobody is doing it! You are going to crush it and make lotsa of mullah…right? WRONG! 

The question you should be asking is; who is searching for cat shoes online?

I thought so…Blogging is the same. Find a topic where at least 50-500 minimum people are searching for, then write mega posts! You will clean up the search traffic for that topic and hit Top spot sooner.  

Don’t get me wrong, if you are selling 10 million dollar premium real estate on the golden mile. You are in a very specialist niche, and must target a very select few with millions in spare change!

8. Your Title and/or URL is Keyword-poor

Well, I’ll tell you a secret, this is a pet peeve of mine: finding an article with this type of URL:
www.yourdomain.com/2169-6

Who the heck is searching for “2169-6” as a keyword online? Maybe ET’s brother might be…

To add insult to injury, you find the article title is: “Why my grandma loves this pie!” Followed by a blurry pixelated picture of a pie with text across, (blog name.) Even your dog wouldn’t want to eat that pie! 

Really…if that’s the kind of blog you run, no wonder you aren’t getting any traffic! Thing is there are hundreds of thousands of such blogs/web pages online!  Rant over…lol

Fortunately, you are not like that I hope! You know that your headline is an extremely important part of on-page optimization for both ranking and getting search traffic. Every post you find in search top spots has the keyword in both URL, Title, tags etc.!  Don’t let your amazing informative piece of content rot on Page 53 due to poor formatting, No one will ever find it!

9. Go Bananas on Social media!

Why does someone fail to share their own content? With all the free resources to help you automate your Social media promotion? You visit a blog with Share buttons neatly on the top/side and “Zero counts!”  How do you expect anybody else to share if you don’t love your own content enough to share it? Its a domino effect, one share attracts another…

Then again you may actually share it, the once…that’s it! Here is the deal. You must Re-share your content over and over on social media, since you get new fans and followers right? 

No need to carry the donkey; you can use the Co-Schedule tool. It helps you automate the process and will also show you which blog posts need extra shares on social media. Please do share your old content. You don’t kiss your wife just the once on the day you wed right. Well keep giving your old posts some love too. Socially share them again and again, or they are forgotten in your archives!

While Google claims not to use social shares as a signal for ranking. Most humans use it as a signal to judge your blog popularity, if they come across it somehow!

With regards to Google rankings, Matt Cutts answers the question on whether Google uses Facebook and Twitter social shares as a ranking factor? He claimed it most definitely doesn’t! Yes, you heard…And yet most Social media and SEO experts will tell you this:

“Social Media, likes, shares, and traffic, are used as validation signals. We call them social proof. They can help in validating the quality of backlinks and even increase the rank of a page. So while Google may not use them directly they do use them to verify various other signals and improve weight of other factors on your blog.

To you and I this means; yes, Google doesn’t necessarily rank Facebook likes, shares, re-tweets etc., but they so help in their algorithm to determine a post’s popularity! In fact, it was confirmed by research that Tweets do contribute to the ranking of a post see research results below:

So if you aren’t getting re-shares and you aren’t making every effort to use resources like Social Jukebox or IFTTT to get your content re-tweeted you are missing out on the fastest ways to getting search engine traffic!

According to Mark Traphagen’s article on Google and Social signals:

“To Google, each individual tweet is a web page on its own. On Facebook a “page” would be any status update, re-share, link share, etc”

If that’s not enough to get you sharing your content more, I also proved to you that if you share your content on Google Plus and get some more organic re-shares, your post could rank on Page 1. The image research above carried out way back in 2012 proved that a certain number of re-tweets boosted your page rank. You can dive into it here!

Then make up your own mind whether you prefer to sit it out and hope for some social shares or… Join an active group of Bloggers helping each other share content and build up our websites and blogs influence! Here is your very own VIP Invitation to the Social Bloggers Hub.

10. Images with no Identity – Lost in Translation!

Well if they were in MIB they would be obliterated. Your image is part of your brand and is supposed to speak those 1000 words for you. Yet most bloggers post images with no names to their pages/posts. Pin them and share them alover their socials.  

I know we have said this before, heck it’s true. Optimize your images already! Go back to older posts and name your images, your keyword. Follow these simple steps: It’s your blog right, and you want Free Search Traffic?

1. Save your images on your desktop as [keyword-phrase], then Upload them to your blog.
2. Add the Keyword/s as Alt text.
3. Add title tag as the same keyword phrase. Simple as fish and chips!
4. Delete the old nameless image- Saves some server space and blog load speed.

See image below to know where to add the important keyword/s.

This helps in your on-page optimization as well and thus page rank! Guess what that means?

• Your image will rank top for that key word. Yes, it’s possible to rank content via image search.

None of the above even matter if your website can’t be found.

Well…some websites are deliberately hidden. But most people do want their content to be found by Joe Public!

And then again some people are seriously duped.

Recently a client came to us wondering why they didn’t have a single bit of traffic? They also couldn’t find their website in search at all. It was like it didn’t exist. Well I asked if they didn’t mind JWEB Design solutions running a test? And guess what we found their problem to not getting search traffic…

11. An Un-Indexed Site

Imagine you are driving to a destination…You don’t know where it is, there is no map. No roads, not even buffalo tracks…What place again? In the middle of nowhere…How the heck will you find it?

That’s the scenario, if your site isn’t indexed. No one can find you, search engines can’t give you any traffic! It’s the simplest thing go do as well…Yet I bet someone reading this post has a blog that’s not indexed!  Here is how to Correct that anomaly Right Now. Don’t read further before you do it:

If you are on WordPress and use Yoast SEO plugin, simply log into your blog:

• On your Dashboard Scroll down to SEO, like image below
• Click on XML Site map and Copy that
• Head on to your Google Console or Webmaster tools
• Submit your Sitemap… Job done!

The more content you add and ping, the more the Google bots visit for a cuppa and index it. Of course you ping every bleeding post and page you publish right? Unless you want it to stay hidden, in which case simply “No-follow, no-index the thing!”

To ping simply head to pingler.com and do the needful. This gets your content crawled and indexed faster of course! Others are getting search traffic and you aren’t, so do it!

BUT your lack of traffic problems could be bigger…

Could it be that your blog isn’t getting traffic because it has been de-indexed? This means that for whatever reasons or crimes committed intentionally or accidentally, Google or other search engine has either penalized you or removed your website/blog from its pages. 

Or the Google bots cant crawl your site for some reason, could be any number…

To check if any if the above might be the problem, got to your Google Webmaster tools and do the relevant checks…See if you have a message from Google. Check if your traffic has had a sharp drop to Zero. Check if its because your site lost connection to your Google Console, or Maybe your Robot.txt files need fixing. Could be any number of reasons. Go Check Now.

This has happened to us and we found that we needed to fix our Robot.txt file. Fortunately Yoast SEO plugin creates that file by default and once we fixed the problem, resubmitted our blog and things got sorted. You might like to use seo site checkup to Find out what needs fixing and exactly how to fix it. Very useful resource! 

12. Pages/Posts with No Friends aka Links.

I don’t know how many posts Julie reads with no links, she always goes aaarrgg …Yup she does. Ssshhh don’t tell her I said so.

In our last SEO post, I mentioned interlinking your posts to both keep them fresh and to share link juice from older, stronger posts. Well, one of the fastest ways to get search engine traffic is to have quality back links to your content.

You must add links to your blog post, both externally and internally period. See how I have done it in this post? You want your blog to be a Great valuable resource that:

• People come back to over and over. Because;
• You save them time, by linking to other resources they may never have found.
• It adds value to your website and of course they share with their friends meaning more traffic!
• Linking to other bloggers brings them to you eventually, unless they don’t check their analytics as to which sites are linking to their content!

To achieve the above feats…you gotta do what I already suggested you do, i.e.:

1. Over deliver value, so much so those who matter realise the gift you are giving them and subscribe to receive it without missing a beat!
2. Entertain your audience…If I read a post and I laugh, I will come back.
3. Have you created it from a place of serving? It does come through you know!

I promise with these things in place on your blog, you can reach out to various other authority bloggers and ask for that link. You don’t ask, you don’t get. I also gave you a script in the last post! Blog Outreach does work for more traffic.

So you just might be doing all these things and have a few people opting in to your blog RSS feed, but…

13. You can’t be bothered to communicate to your List?

What, you don’t have one? And you are a blogger looking to make long term income?

Yes, I hear it a lot; I do have a subscribe box but what do I do with these people? Seriously…it’s a common thing among new bloggers. Some even say they are not trying to build a list. Well and you wonder why you have a pitiful flow of traffic…?

Thing is Aweber an amazing CRM/auto responder offers FREE List Building Training to its esteemed users! If you already subscribe to Aweber then you have no excuse. Login to your back office and check out the free resources!

Even if you have 5 people on your list, and they genuinely subscribed. Send them an email with your new post every time you hit publish. At least you might have 5 eye balls on your new content! Esp. if it appeals to their senses! Any one of these people just might share your post with someone who may know a heck of a lot of people…You don’t believe in the Law of Attraction? Well I am here to tell you it works…Ask Julie!

14. I am a Part timer

Yes, this may harsh coming from me but remember Julie is full time WAHM. So, show me a man/woman who created a Successful 6-7 figure or real life changing income on a Part Time Blog…? And they to date run it part time, not as a main part of their business?

Every successful blogger took it on as a full time Labour of love and job at some point and that is when the breakthroughs start.

[bctt tweet=”Getting organic search engine traffic, is darned hard and time consuming #blogtrafficfacts” username=”Juleskalpauli”]

Getting organic search engine traffic, is darned hard and time consuming. I am not even joking. My 5 Years BSc Eng. Degree was an easy ride compared to learning the ropes of successful blogging and getting search traffic!

Understand that getting traffic and producing content is a HUGE undertaking, unless you focus on paid traffic. EVEN that is a major investment and learning curve. Ask Vince Reed of My Internet Traffic System.

Blogging and traffic getting are a full time enterprise and demand that level of commitment to create for you a full time or life changing income!

Appreciate that like a Swan, you will be the ugly duckling for months, years even. Then one day you’ll grow into a beautiful swan. Even then no one will know the furious kicking underneath the water just to maintain that semblance of beautiful tranquility above the surface!

So with all them left hooks delivered, it would be cruel not to encourage you at this point so here we go…

15. Be patient with Yourself

If you lack patience, for goodness sake, keep the day job…Oops I forgot this was meant to be the kind touchy-feely, hug bit. But seriously, if you think blogging is gonna deliver a deluge of organic search engine traffic, you will get a ton of subscribers, make a shed-load of sales and live happily ever after from day/week even month one…Keep walking…

One of the biggest problems many newbies have is believing the hype and being overly optimistic thanks to lots of so called Gurus, flashing their “Results” online as “overnight Success!”

Ask that person the hard question:

“How long did your blog in and of itself actually fully replace your job income?”

[bctt tweet=”How long did your blog in and of itself actually fully replace your job income? #blogtraffic #seo” username=”Juleskalpauli”]

Do your market research, then start your blog expecting to get search traffic based on some hard facts. Because frankly there are successful popular blogs that don’t earn a sou for their web masters! 

Let’s Wrap this up

Your blog isn’t getting traffic because…

You have a sloppy site, poor design, poor load speed, no images, or tiny images, too spammy, too many pop ups, not mobile optimized etc. All these things matter and could apply to your blog!

You also may be a mean (read selfish) blogger, sorry this has to be said…If you don’t visit other blogs and leave meaningful blog comments, share the posts to your socials, yet you expect others to do for you, well you may have to think again.

Lots of blogger communities out there happy to share your content, if you reciprocate. Find one that works well and Be a Giver!

Try Ryan Biddulph’s of Blogging from Paradise fame medicine. GIVE MORE…

Remember there is no magic bullet, and overnight success is a miracle for the Smart Worker.

To end the quagmire of why your blog isn’t getting traffic, you need to embrace delayed gratification, fix the above and the results will come.

Believe in your Dream, have a focused theme on your blog, be the Go to resource for something, others want…Zone in on your why!

What’s Your Blogging WHY?

I leave you with that simple yet hard question. If you enjoyed my post on “why you are not getting search traffic,” and know someone who needs this dose of tough love, do Like, Share with them. Pin this Post, and Share on your Socials…

If this post was a Wake up Call, and you know you need help with your blog. We got you covered. We recommend that you consider investing in your blog’s success by taking on The Ultimate Branding Blueprint!

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE: YOUR SEO CHECK LIST DOWNLOAD IT BELOW

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Well that’s it…Until the next time, you do Deserve more

Pauli Kalungi

Skype: Julie.Kalungi1

Twitter: @Juleskalpauli

AND @syl_julekalungi

Email: julieatJuleskalpauli[dot]com

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