I've been writing a pageview driven website since 1997, and let me tell you, some days it's really draining. In all that time I've learned a lot about how to get the pageviews and move my sites forward in the quest for more pageviews, more visitors, more fame, and more money. I don't recommend doing all these things all at once, but if you're feeling stuck, try out one of them for a week or two. You might be surprised at the results. And if it doesn't work out, you haven't lost too much time.
The only thing required to use these tips to get to the next level is that you know where you are now. So if you don't have analytics on your site's performance, you should start tracking that first. Once you know where you are, you know where you need to get to.
- Have a plan If you don't have a vision of where you want your blog or website to go, you won't be able to make it real. So sit down and think about what you'd want your site to have if it were perfect. What content should it have? How many visitors and pageviews would it get? What would the demographic of your visitors be? What would be their favorite pages and how would they learn more about other pages on your site? Once you've got your vision, set some goals to make it real. Then get working on them
- Be generous If you're striving to get more link love, the best way to do this is to link to other people. Don't be stingy, if you find a page that you like, blog about it. If there's a product that adds value to your site, then tell your readers about it. The more you link to other people, the more they'll want to link to you.
- Take a new look at your design and layout Try and see your layout as a new reader might. What stands out? What is missing? Do you have content that is not obvious from your navigation? Taking a few minutes away from your writing to evaluate your design can help get your readers around to new places on your site and keep them a little longer.
- Tone / Style of writing Take a look at your writing, especially things like spelling and grammar. You may think it's pointless, but the best sites aren't creative with their spelling and use correct, but not stilted, grammar. You should also look at your tone. Many beginning sites are very personal, but to move forward, giving your site a more professional tone could help.
- Expand or decrease coverage Sometimes the reason that you're not moving forward is because you aren't covering enough or too much. Take a look at your topic. Are there elements that you're missing? Is there a related category to what you cover now that you could add to provide more vibrancy to your topic? For instance if you write about Science Fiction books, perhaps you could expand to movies or to Fantasy books. On the other hand, sometimes you have too much. Covering too wide a topic can make your site seem disjointed and confusing. If you have over 10 or 20 sub-categories that you cover, you might have overextended yourself. Look at your stats and consider dropping the category that generates the least amount of interest. Then focus on adding more content to your most popular category.
- Create a product or sell a service Sometimes the easiest way to make more money or get more pageviews is to start offering something new. Even if you don't have any products to sell, you could package your content as an ebook and sell that.
- Networking One way to get the word out about your site is to sign up for social networking sites like Twitter, Del.icio.us, or StumbleUpon. Then use them. Participate in the world outside your site. Promote links to your site and to other sites.
- Advertising Finally, getting people to your site may just be a matter of getting the word out. By using pay-per-click advertising, you can create an inexpensive advertising campaign to get more