{"id":1068,"date":"2014-06-26T15:37:44","date_gmt":"2014-06-26T19:37:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/novicenolonger.com\/?p=1068"},"modified":"2014-06-26T15:37:44","modified_gmt":"2014-06-26T19:37:44","slug":"massive-web-traffic-is-mostly-worthless","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novicenolonger.com\/massive-web-traffic-is-mostly-worthless\/","title":{"rendered":"Why massive web traffic is mostly worthless"},"content":{"rendered":"

The other day, I was browsing Reddit when I stumbled upon a question<\/a> in r\/blogging:<\/p>\n

\"reddit-blogging-question\"<\/p>\n

I got this! I got this!<\/em> \u2014 I thought. I shared my story: how I managed to use my old personal blog to escape the retail world and get a staff writer job at Laptop Magazine.<\/p>\n

I got a few upvotes out of it…but more importantly, there were a lot of great questions. One of the things I saw asked, time and time again, is how bloggers can get more traffic to their website.<\/p>\n

The problem is: this is the wrong<\/strong> question to be asking.<\/p>\n

The only reason that big blogs and websites want big traffic is because it increases the number of conversions. Big blogs like Smart Passive Income<\/a> and Entrepreneur on Fire<\/a> make their money when a user clicks on an affiliate link and makes a purchase, or when someone purchases access to online courses or communities.<\/p>\n

If their conversion rate is 2.3 percent, then 10,000 new visitors means 230 new purchases. That can add up to a LOT of money, depending on the cost of that purchase!<\/p>\n

But most of the people in r\/blogging are not selling any products or making any money off their users. Their main goal is to be seen by a larger number of people. They think: higher traffic = greater reach.<\/p>\n

But that’s not necessarily true.<\/p>\n

I posed the following challenge to one of the commenters:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Add all your favorite blogs to an RSS reader<\/li>\n
  2. Choose one post per week that you find particularly interesting, pull out a paragraph for your own blog (crediting the original) and add two or three paragraphs of your own thoughts<\/li>\n
  3. Once published, send a tweet to the author of the original piece and share your post<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    You won’t get as much traffic, but you’ll get the right<\/em> traffic: writers and editors from the websites you respect. They’ll see you over and over and (if your writing is good) grow to respect you.<\/p>\n

    After a few tweets back and forth, you can easily ask if you could pitch for them. I have no doubt the answer will be yes.<\/p>\n

    Imagine the reach this blogger will now have. It’s not about working hard, it’s about working right<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

    Do you want 10,000 users to download your app, or a single interested investor? Which would be worth more?<\/p>\n

    Sometimes, a slight shift in focus can have tremendous results.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n