Why blog traffic is so important

Location, Location, Location!

Why do you think those three words are carved in gold everywhere you go!? It's Location that drives foot traffic, and traffic is what generates revenue.

But Qwaider, this is a blog, it's free, there is no revenue!

That statement couldn't be farther from the truth! Every single thing that you do in your life has a cost and a revenue. Be that walking your dog, or selling your car. Everything has a cost and a revenue. The revenue of your blog is actually priceless. It's counted by the number of people who read the blog. Or maybe a single article. The rule is, the more people read it, the higher the intellectual revenue.

But what does the traffic mean!?

That's the million dollar question. People have literally written several PHD thesis trying to explain what does traffic mean at the end of the day. Data-mining the traffic is well, exactly as the term suggest, it's mining. You usually mine for something of value. Something that could be turned to revenue.

But Qwaider, I still don't understand what it means!

In layman's terms. More traffic, means your blog has been exposed to more people. More people are interested in reading what you have to say. Which means. You're having greater impact on your community and on the Internet

But Qwaider, how can my little hole-in-the-wall have an impact on the vast Internet

Every time you get a click on your blog, you get a chunk of the Internet directed towards you. What that means is that you get a bigger piece of the pie. The more the clicks. The bigger the pieces. The more impact you have on your Surroundings.

Alexa, Technorati, yahoo-links Google-rank, blah blah blah?

These are some of the sites on the Internet that keep track of the traffic going to sites. Alexa measure the traffic by estimating the number of hits a specific site gets. Technorati follows up on the number of times your blog is mentioned or linked to. The more people link, the higher the count. Same goes for Yahoo and Google. Although the later has a little bit of an additional alogorithim associated with it. So it's not just plain counting.

But Qwaider,  see these numbers and I don't know if I'm doing good or bad!

These numbers will help you gauge your progress. Consider them a reward and punishment system. If you were doing something and you got good results. Then keep doing it. If it doesn't work for you. Then stay away from it. Or improve it.

So Qwaider, if someone got a higher ranking, does this mean they have a better blog?

Absolutely not! You'll be surprised to find a sleazy Internet forum with way more traffic than major publications. There's a golden rule here. Traffic doesn't not mean Quality. Traffic means more people went there. But chances are more people are going to watch a naked stripper in the street than say, Albert Einstein reincarnated.

So how do I get better traffic?

Read these guidelines and you should be off to a good start: Some technical tips for the non technical bloggers, and Blogging guide-Tips-Tricks-glossary

Alright, Qwaider so learned all of these by heart, when can I expect my traffic to shoot up to the stratosphere?

I hate to say this but the odds are usually against you. In fact, for every single blog that goes up. There are at least 99 that plummet. Some are never heard from again. The truth is, this is just like any other human skill. There will be thousands even millions of musicians, dancer, actors and writers. But the ones who actually are able to support themselves and make a living out of these are barely 99 to 1! Of those 1% only about 1% shoots up to stardom. So don't think that you will be the next Internet star overnight. There's a greater chance that you will not.

Alright, Qwaider, I'm very serious about blogging and I want to make money of it. Is that good?

Yes, there's no rule that says, do not make money from things that you enjoy. In fact, it might offset your hosting costs. Or even better land you a few bucks in your pocket for whatever.

Just understand that making money is not guaranteed.

It's a popularity contest, dude!

Your presence on the Internet is really a popularity contest. The more people like you. The more popular, the more traffic the better the results.

But even if you're a ultra serious blogger. There's a very important aspect to traffic. It might mean the difference between getting your message across or not. Do I have your attention now?! Ok here it is..

The way Google for example ranks the search results is by an algorithm that takes, yes yes, popularity in mind. What this translates to is simply, the more popular you are the better your message is delivered to more people!

Now tell me if there was ever a prophet in the history of man kind who was not interested of (1) delivering the message and (2) To the largest number of people out there.

Anyone fooling themselves into believing that traffic doesn't mean anything. Is seriously in need of a reality check.

Here's a little example. Lets say you write the words "Pretty lamp". Chances are the site related to lamps, and have been popularized for their lamp designs will get a higher ranking than my blog in that arena. BUT If you search for "Jordanian radio stations" you will find this blog ranking higher than Jordanian radio and television site. Coincidence? The rank is enhanced by the popularity of the blog for such a very common search term

Conclusions

Traffic doesn't define you. The audience doesn't own you. Although a good author would love to stir the emotions of the crowds, and at the same time put bread on their dinner table. Balance between the two and you can make a living. Or in the blogging world stay afloat.

Monitor your traffic. Don't obsess over it. But keep an eye on it. Monitor incoming links and what people find interesting. Give the people what they like the most about you. And have fun while doing it. Just to make you feel good about this. EVERY SINGLE MAJOR BLOGGER YOU'VE EVER SEEN IN YOUR LIFE monitors their traffic. Some use 4 or 5 different tracking tools. Many often post about the most searched terms on their sites. Most will answer a ping back, or a link from a site.

Your statistics are a tool, an opportunity to get into the minds of the silent majority of your readers, it would be insane to leave  this valuable resource untapped. It would be such a waste.

Enjoy the traffic

Still have questions? Please feel free to ask, in fact, feel free to ask the questions on your own blogs and I will come to you and answer your questions. How about that?! Just link back to this article so that I can keep track of the questions