5 Sources of Blog Traffic I’m Using to Build an Audience

1. Search Engines

Among the ways to get visitors to a blog, search engines are the most passive method.

Once a blog is properly set up, search engines like Google, Bing, and DuckDuckGo can automatically find and index its posts. Submitting a sitemap through their webmaster tools can make that process faster.

After the posts are indexed by search engines, it’s now the search engines’ job to send people searching for related information to that blog.

My Search Engine Experience

Did you know that my last two blogs got most of their visitors from search engines? The industry calls it organic traffic.

Thanks to this, I made a good amount of money from these blogs, which allowed me to buy a new phone and travel a few times.

For over two years, my old blogs were doing really well, and it looked like a bright future was ahead.

But then, in September 2023, Google made a big change with their ‘Helpful’ Content Update. This controversial update drastically reduced the visibility of many informational sites and small publishers by 90% to 99%, without any clear explanation on how to recover from the traffic loss. Mine was included.

Yeah, let’s talk about how an illegal monopoly can fold online businesses overnight or in just a matter of months!

Here’s where you can read the complete story of my blogging journey.

Considering Organic Traffic

As one of the small publishers affected by this update, I’ve learned not to put all my eggs in one basket. As long as Google Search controls more than 50% of the search market, I won’t rely solely on search engines.

However, for practical reasons, I’m not completely disregarding search engines as a traffic source for my blog. Here are two reasons why:

1. There’s no easier way for people to find content online than using search engines. I don’t want to make it hard for my blog’s audience to find my posts.
2. Millions of people don’t use my other chosen platforms for sharing content. Search engines, on the other hand, offer a big chance to reach thousands of people.

My Search Engine Approach

Growing my previous blog’s traffic to a thousand visitors a month in just a few months wouldn’t have been possible without search engine optimization (SEO).

It used to be my top priority, but now, with Explore to Thrive, I’m focusing on something else.

With artificial intelligence getting better at understanding human language, it’s only a matter of a couple of years before AI-powered search engines start showing relevant content without relying on SEO.

I’m not saying SEO will be gone, but it will probably change into something new that doesn’t involve technical details like word count or keyword density.

How I plan to improve my blog’s search engine presence is quite simple. I’ll rely on a strategy that has worked even before SEO was invented: traditional networking and industry outreach.

• I’ll promote my blog with authenticity and expertise from my experience to show that it’s trustworthy.
• By connecting with industry leaders, I’ll demonstrate my blog’s legitimacy.
• I’ll only share reliable information to build credibility.

The more people find my blog helpful and interesting, the more they’ll come back. And as more people talk about my blog, more people will search for it.

Search engine AI, which tries to understand how people trust information, will pick up on these signals to see that my blog is credible. Once the AI recognizes this, it will start showing my blog’s content to more people.

To learn more, check out my post, “Blogging in the Age of AI.”

What’s great about this approach is that even if the algorithm changes, I’ll still have an audience that trusts my blog and will keep coming back, even without relying on search engines.

I’ll build a strong brand.

It takes a lot of work to make this happen, but in the long run, it’s a winning strategy!

Building a Brand for People & Search

Now, the question is, where should I promote my blog to build credibility with both people and search engines?

Well, I could use the web itself. This means submitting articles, collaborating on posts, or writing as a guest author for well-known websites.

But for quicker results, social media is the best place to go. From my experience, social media can quickly reach a large audience.

However, choosing the right social platform to grow a brand can be tricky. If I’m not careful, these platforms might end up being like a digital treadmill—keeping me busy without helping me hit my milestones.

There are a lot of things to think about before starting one. For me, I’ve considered 5 main factors:

• Algorithm Independence — Which platform allows me to connect directly with my audience, ensuring they see my messages?
• My Skills & Personality — I should choose a platform that I enjoy using and find easy to work with.
• My Blog’s Topics and Target Audience — Which social media platforms are best for my topics? Are there users on these platforms interested in what I’m writing about?
• Overall Effort Needed — How much work will it take to drive traffic to my blog in the long run? Is the platform crowded with creators like me? How long do posts stay relevant?
• Opportunities for New Connections — Where can I find free promotions or collaborate with others?

After thinking about these factors, I’ve chosen 3 social media platforms to use for Explore to Thrive: Pinterest, Reddit, and Twitter/X. I also realized how important a newsletter is, so I’m including that as well.

2. Pinterest

I chose Pinterest for a few reasons, but the main one is its dual function as both social media and a search engine.

When you post something on Pinterest, called a “pin,” it can stay relevant for months or even years, thanks to its search feature. This means that even after your followers have seen your pin, it can still be discovered later on, even by people who don’t follow you.

Yes — Pinterest is a great way to drive traffic to blogs over the long term.

In fact, even though I haven’t updated my old Pinterest accounts for my two other blogs, Engineering Travels and WanderInEurope, in years and months respectively, they still get around 300 clicks per month.

Amazing opportunity, right?

What I Like About Pinterest

Pinterest is a visual platform, which is another reason I’m interested in using it.

Since I enjoy creating visuals and taking photos, I think Pinterest would be a great tool for growing my blog.

I just want to share: since I was in elementary school, I’ve loved drawing and doodling on the back of my notebooks. Later, in college, when I became a public relations officer for our organization, I got really into graphic design and video editing to make social media posters and trailers for our events. When I started working and traveling in 2018-2019, I practiced a lot with photography.

My visual creativity skills, developed over the years, will work really well with Pinterest to attract an audience to Explore to Thrive.

On another hand, looking at Pinterest as a source of new ideas and inspiration, I can’t help but think that Explore to Thrive is a great fit for this platform.

Since the blog covers travel (along with other topics), and travel is one of Pinterest’s top interests, there’s a real chance to reach a huge number of users searching for travel ideas. Have I mentioned that Pinterest gets a billion searches related to travel?

While online business and spirituality—two other areas Explore to Thrive covers—aren’t top niches on Pinterest, there’s still potential. Pinterest Trends shows that education, finance, and quotes are popular interests.

Topics I plan to write about on Explore to Thrive, like making money online, teaching how to craft AI prompts, and motivational quotes, could fit well with these trending interests on Pinterest.

Plan for Using Pinterest

From experience, Pinterest is a numbers game. To get more traffic from the platform, pinning frequently is important.

This is a key part of the Pinterest strategies that almost every Pinterest growth influencer on Twitter/X and YouTube discusses.

While it’s tempting to schedule pins every 30 minutes to see a hockey stick growth on the performance chart in Pinterest Analytics, that’s not my plan for Explore to Thrive.

Instead, I’ll use Pinterest naturally, pinning whenever there’s new content on my blog and possibly posting 1 or 2 pins per day to stay in touch with my followers.

As much as possible, I’m avoiding shady tactics like rapid pinning, which could get my account flagged as spam.

I haven’t heard of any rules against pinning 48 times a day (since Pinterest Scheduler allows pins every 30 minutes), but who knows what might happen in the future? This tactic seems abusive, and Pinterest might already be keeping an eye on accounts using it.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Pinterest adjusts its algorithm to make this tactic unusable and starts penalizing accounts.

3. Reddit

I’ve used every platform on this list except Reddit.

Even though I’ve known about Reddit for years, it was only when I started Explore to Thrive that I really began using it. The reason is that I wanted a place where the Explore to Thrive community could interact and discuss topics together.

Since Reddit has a forum-like structure, I thought it could work well for building a community. So, I decided to give it a try.

What I Like About Reddit

After testing Reddit for a few days, I realized it could really be a great place for my community.

The platform allows easy moderation with AutoMod, users can share media, and I can link to my blog for easy reference for my community. Even better, people outside of Reddit can find the community and its content because it is indexed by search engines.

I also like Reddit because its users are genuinely interested in the topics they discuss.

They freely share their experiences and opinions. Some posts and comments are impressively detailed. However, there are a few that should be taken with a grain of salt.

During my two-day trial of Reddit, I quickly found communities (subreddits) discussing topics I’m interested in. I even met someone who wanted to collaborate with me!

I think he got interested after I shared my story about how Google updates hurt my two blogs in a post on r/blogging. I was really surprised that someone wanted to do business with me so quickly.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t reach an agreement since our niches didn’t align—he has a tech website, while mine focuses on travel, spirituality, and business.

However, that experience introduced me to Reddit’s chat feature, which was super handy! It’s where we discussed the potential collaboration.

Plan for Using Reddit

As I’m writing this post, I’m already convinced that I’ll be using Reddit to build the community around Explore to Thrive.

However, I can’t say exactly what my Reddit strategy will be just yet, as I’m still learning about the platform and how to use its features effectively.

I plan to write about it in a future post because I think I’ll discover a lot about Reddit as I go. If you want to read that post and others, I’ll be writing for Explore to Thrive, sign up for my newsletter.

4. Twitter or X

After the pandemic, I decided to take a break from social media.

I basically stopped using Instagram and Facebook for a few big reasons: increased anxiety, social pressure, and depressing news constantly appearing in my feed.

The only social platforms I kept were LinkedIn (which I haven’t opened since I quit my job) and Twitter, now called X.

I like Twitter because it lets me easily filter the words and topics I want to see and avoid the ones I don’t. Honestly, it has become my favorite social app as an aspiring entrepreneur and content creator.

What I Like About Twitter/X

The networking opportunities on X are unmatched—there’s no other place online where you can connect directly and easily with influential and knowledgeable people.

From the amazing writers who inspired me to write my “5 Ways I Will Provide Value Through Blogging” to some of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs, I can say that X is one of the best sites for learning new skills and improving your mindset.

Of course, I’m not only interested in connecting with influential people on X, but also with bloggers, content creators, and aspiring entrepreneurs like me.

The community formed by these groups on X is a real treasure. Staying updated on industry trends through their posts is just one way they help me.

I really value their opinions, especially when it comes to building a blog and growing an audience. Plus, the experiences they share serve as valuable lessons, helping me avoid common mistakes like waiting for 50K views before applying to Mediavine, using unreliable hosting companies, and more.

Plan for Using Twitter/X

So, how do X and these connections help grow the audience for Explore to Thrive?

Just like Reddit, X lets me connect instantly with people who are into the same niche as me. It’s perfect for showing my expertise and sharing my insights on current topics, which helps build my credibility.

During these conversations, I can also drive traffic to my blog by linking to my posts for more information or related content.

Another way I can grow my audience on X is by connecting with other bloggers and content creators. By collaborating with them and asking them to link to my blog posts, I can reach their followers and get my content seen by new people.

Notes Before Using Twitter/X

Anyway, one thing is clear: I won’t be using X as my main way to share content. Here’s why:

• The tweets or posts on X aren’t made for sharing evergreen content, which is what I mostly want to create. People mainly use X to connect with others, entertain themselves, vent their frustrations, or argue with people who have different beliefs or political views.
• Posts on X have a very short lifespan, often just a few minutes. I don’t plan to post or tweet every hour to drive traffic to my blog; it’s too impractical.

Sometimes, though, a post’s lifespan can be longer if it’s really relevant or if people keep interacting with it. From what I’ve seen, the posts with the longest lifespan are usually controversial, viral, or trending.

Occasionally, I see posts that are 2 or 3 days old resurface when someone I follow comments on them.

5. Newsletters

After getting hit by a rogue Google algorithm update, I promised myself I wouldn’t rely on any third-party platform or algorithm to drive traffic to my blog again.

From now on, I want to control my connection with my audience. That’s why, from the moment I started Explore to Thrive, I knew I needed a newsletter.

Even though a newsletter doesn’t automatically drive traffic to my blog, it ensures I can directly reach my audience through their inboxes.

What I Like About Substack

Deciding to start a newsletter is simple, but picking the right email platform can be tricky.

Each platform has different features like tracking email stats, scheduling emails, and automating tasks. They also have various pricing plans. Anyone might end up spending too much if they don’t know exactly what they need.

However, here are my top choices:

• Substack — Ideal if you want to offer paid newsletter subscriptions.
• ConvertKit — Perfect for individual creators like bloggers.
• MailChimp — A popular choice for various email campaigns.

Out of the three options, I picked Substack because:

1. Substack is free to use no matter how many subscribers you have or how many emails you send. I figured it’s the best choice for me since I’m just starting out.
2. Looking at the long term and how I plan to use my newsletters at the moment, I don’t see a need for the extra features that ConvertKit and MailChimp offer.
3. I also like Substack because it’s simple, which helps me focus on getting better at writing newsletters.

Essentially, ConvertKit and MailChimp also offer free plans which could be also great for beginners. As long as the subscriber count stays below a certain number, there’s no need to worry about paying for their services.

Plan for Using Substack

Another reason I prefer Substack is because it has a feature called “Discover.” This lets users find and subscribe to newsletters from different writers in various categories.

This is why I want my newsletter to be more than just a bunch of links to my blog or simple announcements. I plan to include a short story and content that’s interesting and worth reading.

One thing I’ll add is a progress report, which might inspire readers to follow along with my journey.

The last reason I picked Substack for Explore to Thrive’s newsletter is that it can make money through subscriptions.

The subscription fee will help me create premium content, like detailed case studies, well-researched articles, and comprehensive tips like this:

• 7 Pieces of Advice Before Quitting the 9-to-5 for Blogging