Saturday 25 January 2020

Getting people to view your wargames blog

This post was inspired by a recent post on a blog that I can't now find, but it's something I've been musing on for a while.

I've seen a number of posts on blogs and fora bemoaning the decline of people viewing blogs and the perceived move over to social media, usually Facebook - a move which one can sense is typed in many cases through gritted teeth.

Some have even gone so far as to say that blogging is dying. Now I think there probably is a general decline in blogs from an unsustainable high of a few years ago when every man and his collection of 3mm Hittites were setting them up, but the idea that blogging as a whole is dying is pretty demonstrably untrue.

Now I for one would be sad if the many people I follow stopped blogging. I'd be even less happy if they shifted over to Facebook.

Don't get me wrong I'm a big fan of social media and I think the growth of Facebook Groups in particular has been a real benefit to hobbyists, but Facebook is completely hopeless for any sort of archiving. It is still very much a "fire and forget" medium - so if you see someone post a tutorial, or nice colour scheme or useful link - it's next to impossible to find it again even 24 hours later, never mind weeks or months after the fact.

I also like the sense of connectedness and contact you get from a blog - you see the personality (sometimes too much of it) when reading through a blog in a way that gets lost in the more "pub lounge" conversation of Facebook.

So, given that my real job involves telling people how to get more traffic to web pages I thought I'd give some very basic advice that may lead to a few more people looking at your posts.

At a very basic level there are two ways that people will find your posts.
  • Search
  • Links
So to increase views you should consider both of these.

Search

Search Engine optimisation (SEO) is big business. Making sure your page features on the first page of Google is a dog eat dog world and there are all sorts of tactics and techniques to apply that need to be constantly modified as Google tries to stay one step ahead of the people manipulating the system.
Fortunately we don't have to worry about any of that.

Google's job is to match people up with the things they are looking for. A search engine that doesn't deliver what you're after isn't a very good thing. So when writing up your blog posts you should think about making it as easy as possible for the Google to show your page to the person searching.

Titles

One of the key things Google will use is the title. So make sure your title is as straightforward and explanatory as can be. I love a good pun, really I do, but Google doesn't do puns. So if your post is about painting 6mm Spartans call it "Painting 6mm Spartans", not "Fiddling with Little Greek Boys".
I know, it's dull and not nearly as funny but Google will show it to more people.

Also think about your own searching. If you search for Warhammer Battle Report you are much more likely to click on the post titled Warhammer Battle Report than the one called Hot, Hard Dwarf on Elf Action (though I might bookmark that for later when the kids are in bed).

Keywords

This just means including the words that people might be looking for in the words on your post. Make sure you write Napoleonics, and not just Naps. Also include synonyms, so if it's a battle report include AAR maybe even 'after action report'. Include the full names of relevant armies and game systems - write out Flames of Glory (if that's your particular vice) not just FoG.

Think about what people might be searching for, or about your own searches, and make sure those words are in there somewhere. Make sure those words are (if possible) in the title and the body copy. Don't assume knowledge, because Google hasn't spent 30 years memorising the contents of WRG 6th edition ancient rules - even if you and the person you're writing the article for has done.

Links

Creating links to your posts will, almost inevitably increase traffic. People who didn't know about your blog are likely to click it and then, if what you write is interesting, they might come back or even follow you.

However just a link on its own isn't enticing. You need to put a few words, and ideally a picture or two to encourage people to click through and view your posts. As with titles a fairly straightforward description of what people can expect if they click is best. Some internet users are obsessed with the idea of fake links that will immediately lead to their entire bank account being drained by a Nigerian prince, their wives and children sold to the highest bidder and a life of ongoing penury. So something reassuring and plausible will help them overcome this.

Some people (and forums) even get annoyed if you don't put at least one picture and a bit of explanation - it's sort of good internet manners to at least put something on the forum you're using.  Likewise avoid the forums and groups that insist you post all your words and pictures there. They'll only get cross if you don't do it, so best to just steer clear.

Social Media

Social media. especially Facebook is great for increasing traffic to blogs. The bulk of my referrals (where people come from to get to my blog) is Facebook these days. Especially since the (alleged) Puffin Bummer blocked me from TMP.

All the above about links is also true of social media. Though Facebook and Twitter will automatically preview your post if you don't add any pictures. I mix and match, sometimes it's just the link, other times I add some pictures and occasionally (usually for specific painting posts when the pics really are the only content) I just add the images to the Fb group and don't bother with the link - that way you're participating in the community without always expecting people to click away - which is a good thing to do and has the added benefit of making people better disposed to you when you do post a link.

So there you have a few simple tips that may increase traffic to your blog. It's not intended to be exhaustive and nor is it really "pro SEO advice" - just some things I try and bear in mind when creating content writing on my blog.

23 comments:

  1. What a great post, so glad to hear that you think the blog might be around for a tad longer. I find the linkwithin app generates a fair bit of referral too.

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    1. Thanks Michael, there's no doubt there are lots of other ways to get traffic. The bulk of mine actually probably comes from followers and the linkwithin and other blogs.

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  2. Good post. Even though i do use Spcial media, i much prefer posting on my blog

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    1. Thanks. Doing this made me think about "why we blog" too. Whilst the traffic is nice, I don't think it's my primary motivation. A subject for a future post perhaps?

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  3. Excellent post....I for one will be sticking to blogging the more random openness of Facebook just isn’t focussed enough for me. 👍

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  4. Puffin Bummer? Good post and food for thought.

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    1. I heard that the owner of TMP Bummed a Puffin.

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    2. Lol I also got blocked on TMP; but, thanks to the industrious Tango, I still get traffic from there.

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  5. I know that my Blog traffic is lower than previous years but I quite like the Bloging experience a don't enjoy Facebook.

    I have thought about moving to You Tube and producing video tutorials, but once again I prefer Bloging.....

    You hints and tips were interesting and I've bookmarked them for future reading.

    Is Bloging dying?

    I don't think so - I think it is just finding it's level.

    Tony

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    1. I occasionally consider YouTube, but I think the effort required is waaay beyond my attention span!

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  6. Good post, and thanks for the laughs!

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  7. Excellent article. I would like to add that it is useful to keep a blog in English. English-speaking community of wargamers, the most numerous, are not very interested in blogs in other languages.

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    1. Yes, although the Google translate button is a useful tool that I'm more than happy to use if the ye candy is good.

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  8. Thanks for the article - I tend to follow blogs that are followed by other bloggers, and I will often see blogposts linked from LAF or similar. Most of my posts get a tiny audience, which is fine, and when I post to a discussion list on groups.io I can pretty much guarantee a three to five times multiplier.

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    1. Yep, links from LAF and the like can deliver great traffic. Having a blog also means I only have to post at length once and then can link from multiple places

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  9. What a very thought-provoking post. Time beign a most precious commodity means I read more blogs than I comment on or even follow. When I started blogging 9at the behest of another blogger) it was with the intention of getting into 'print' what my thoughts, games and ideas on wargaming are, not for greater 'numbers', be it followers, comments posts or whatever. I read a lot of blogs where this doesn't seem to be the purpose of the blogger either. I usd to read and find a lot more blogs from the lists of bloggs that were on the profile page - lost by using google+ iirc and never got back into the habit.
    Blogging is a very peculiar phenomena we'll always struggle to justify or understand imho. But it's still going to be with us for a long time.I reckon.

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    1. I reckon there's almost as many reasons for blogging as there are individual bloggers. I think for most of us stats are the least important thing.

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  10. Some excellent tips, I might use them for promoting my own blog!
    Though I realy should do more with my blog. I like it a lot more then FB. For me it is also a window to my own past as a wargamer.
    Thanks!

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    1. Yes, I had an enjoyable few hours the other day going back in time through some of my posts

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  11. Driving traffic is important, I use the seo settings all of the time. I use LAF, Facebook and Tmp to drive traffic, but google is also good as is Pinterest as I upload pictures to there also.

    Cheers
    Matt

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  12. Great post...would echo all your thoughts. The only point I would add its post often/regularly. A number of really good posts have stopped posting frequently. I am sure that this has an impact on traffic

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    1. Yes, really good point. Frequency of posting will definitely help improve traffic.
      I suppose I missed that off as ironically one of the things that most puts me off writing a blog post is feeling under pressure to write a blog post :) If I feel I have to do it, I don't want to do it. So posting just to maintain frequency is counterproductive for me.

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