How Many Blog Posts to Get Traffic? Quick Tips for Bloggers
Starting a blog can be exciting but a bit daunting. You might wonder, ” How many blog posts do I need before I start seeing traffic?โ Well, I’m going to answer that for you in this blog post. You’ll also learn the basics of building organic blog traffic and SEO basics.
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Key Takeaways
- New blogs start life in the ‘Google Sandbox’.
- Only 3.45% of posts get organic Google traffic.
- Consistency in posting is critical to attracting traffic.
- Quality content is better than quantity for SEO success.
- Understanding SEO principles is the way to increase your blog visibility.
What is Blog Traffic?
Blog traffic is the number of visitors to your blog. When more people visit your posts, it boosts engagement and opens up more opportunities to monetize your content.
Search engines like Google play a huge role in bringing in that traffic. Better search engine rankings mean more organic traffic, meaning people find your content without relying on ads.
How Many Blog Posts Before Seeing Results?
When I started my blog, I remember how desperately I wanted to see it show up in search engine results.
One, two, ten, twenty blog posts later, still nothing. ๐ค Iโll be honest; I thought about quitting after just three months. Thankfully, I didnโt.
But I did start asking, โHow Many Blog Posts Should You Have Before Seeing Results?โ and found out itโs a common question.
Although answers vary, I learned two things: firstly, blogging isnโt an overnight success story, and secondly, consistency is crucial.
96.55% of all indexed pages get zero traffic from Google.
Source: (Ahrefs)
Why Thereโs No Single Answer
There is no set number of blog posts needed to get traffic; it depends on a bunch of factors, such as your topic, target audience, and content quality.
Then, there are technical aspects, such as using the right keywords and a solid SEO strategy.
I had over 60 articles before seeing decent traffic. Then, with one post about AI SEO strategy, the floodgates opened.
While the number of posts is important, creating engaging, valuable content is even more critical. Search engines need time to index your site and see that your content is valuable to your audience.
Gaining traction typically takes 3 to 9 months.
(Source: Outranking).
Typical Milestones for New Blogs
Along my blogging journey, I have learned some established benchmarks you can use as a new blog writer.
Knowing this stuff is useful, but don’t worry if your numbers are different. Every blog and niche is unique, so focus on what you can control.
Realistic Expectations
Building traffic on your blog takes patience. Many new bloggers think organic traffic will happen right away, but SEO is a slow game.
After three months, I almost gave up. I had to remind myself that the work I was putting in was still valuable, even if I wasnโt seeing traffic right off the bat.
Realistically, it’s going to:
- Take years, not months
- Require a consistent publishing frequency
- Happen in slow increments, not big chunks
- You’ll need to pivot and adjust depending on what’s working
So, the big takeaway here is patience!
Google Sandbox: Why New Blogs Take Time to Rank
A little-known secret is that Google purposely holds back new blogs. Let’s break down the Google Sandbox and offer tips for navigating this period.
What is the Google Sandbox?
The Google Sandbox is like a waiting room for new websites. Google needs time to evaluate new websites so it holds them in this ‘sandbox’.
This ‘sandbox’ phase gives Google time to evaluate a new site’s credibility and ensures that it isnโt trying to manipulate rankings with tricks like keyword stuffing.
Frustratingly for bloggers, it also prevents new sites from quickly making it onto the top pages, even if they have great content and backlinks.
Google doesnโt confirm or deny the sandbox, but it helps explain why new blogs often struggle to rank higher soon after launching.
Tips for the Sandbox Period
I didnโt know about the โsandboxโ when I started my blog. If I had known, I would have done things differently.
Instead of worrying about traffic, focus on these strategies:
- Post often: Regular publishing shows Google that your blog is active.
- Quality: Make sure each post is well-written and offers valuable information to your readers.
- Guest post: Teaming up with other bloggers through guest posts increases your visibility and authority in your niche.
- Build backlinks: Networking with fellow bloggers and getting links from trusted sites sends good signals to Google, which may shorten the sandbox phase.
- Competition: Targeting less competitive topics can help you rank better while your site builds authority.
One tip I was given was to try creating content in batches (clusters) around the same topic. This kept me organized and helped readers easily follow along as I published more content.
SEO Basics for Beginners
Getting traffic from search engines is all about understanding SEO. By understanding how search engines work and why SEO is crucial for blogging, you can ensure your blog gets noticed.
How Search Engines Work
Search engines like Google use complex algorithms to find, save, and rank web pages.
When you type a search term on Google, it uses a process of crawling, indexing, and ranking to pull up the most relevant results for you.
Crawlers check out new and updated content by clicking through web pages and following links. This new content gets stored in a huge index.
Then, when you search, the engine digs through this index to show the best matches.
This is a very simplistic explanation of how search engines function, but understanding it can help you publish better content that is more likely to rank.
Why SEO is Important in Blogging
Well-optimized blog content helps your posts appear higher in organic search results, which means more organic traffic.
People who find your blog through search engines are more likely to trust the content. This boosts traffic and builds brand awareness and credibility.
SEOโs importance in blogging can’t be overstatedโas it can drive more visitors and potential customers to your site.
Basic Keyword Research
Keyword research is the process of figuring out the words and phrases that people actually type into the search bar of a search engine.
By targeting these keywords, you can create content that speaks to your audience, making it more likely that search engines will show your links and that readers will want to click on them.
Using tools like Ahrefs and KeySearch, you can find keywords with lots of searches but not too much competition. Itโs all about striking a balance between traffic volume and competition level.
This way, your content can reach the right people without getting buried under a ton of competition.
Basic On-Page SEO
On-page SEO means improving individual web pages to help them rank better in search results.
Start with strong titles, clear meta descriptions, and simple headings and sub-headings. These elements explain to search engines what your blog post is about.
Use good internal links to help people navigate your site and to assist search engines in indexing your post.
Make sure your content is relevant and well-organized, and you’re on your way to successful on-page SEO optimization.
Basic Off-Page SEO
Off-page SEO is all about activities outside your website that impact ranking.
This includes building quality backlinks from reputable sites. Promoting content across various social media platforms to drive traffic and enhance visibility is also very important.
These links act like votes of confidence from other pages, boosting your credibility. You should also engage with audiences on social media and forums to increase visibility and attract more visitors.
Basic Technical SEO
Technical SEO focuses on making sure search engines can easily crawl and index your website.
Essential factors include page speed, mobile-friendliness, and security.
By improving these elements, you enhance user experience, which can lead to higher search rankings.
There are many great AI tools that can simplify some of these technical aspects and improve your site’s performance.
Creating Quality Content: Quality Over Quantity
Making great blog content means understanding your readers’ wants and creating helpful posts.
This builds your credibility and improves your SEO, leading to more organic trafficโwithout having to spew out tons of blog posts that no one wants to read.
Basics of SEO-Friendly Writing
SEO-friendly writing starts by understanding what your audience is searching for– their ‘search intent’.
Other things you should remember when writing SEO-friendly content include:
- Combine engaging content with smart keyword use.
- Understand audience search behavior.
- Use keywords naturally in titles and text.
- Avoid keyword stuffing to protect rankings.
- Include internal links to related posts.
- Develop a strong backlink strategy.
- Optimize page speed for better user experience.
- Ensure mobile optimization to retain visitors.
- Use clear and simple language for readability.
Tracking Your SEO Traffic: Using Google Search Console & Google Analytics
When I started blogging, I needed a way to keep track of my website traffic without spending any money. Like many new bloggers, I was on a tight budget.
Two super helpful tools I discovered are Google Search Console and Google Analytics.
Google Search Console is great for seeing how your blog is doing in search results. It shows you which search queries bring visitors to your site and what devices they use. You can also check out which pages are getting the most clicks and impressions.
On the other hand, Google Analytics helps you monitor visitors’ actions on your site. You can see which blog post is the most popular and where your traffic is coming fromโwhether through search engines or social media.
By setting up Google Analytics and Google Search Console, you get a full picture of your SEO traffic.
Using these tools has really helped me. Honestly, these are the only two SEO tools you MUST have. Everything else is optional.
Conclusion: How Many Blog Posts Before Traffic to My Site?
Getting more blog traffic isnโt just about the number of posts you publish; it also depends on your niche, content quality, and SEO.
Focus on creating helpful, high-quality posts that answer problems your audience is facing rather than churning out lots of low-quality posts.
Improve your SEO skills and ensure your content aligns with what your audience is searching for.
But most of all, don’t give up. Hang in there and keep trying to improve a little every day.
In the comments below, share what challenges you face in consistently creating content.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the ideal number of blog posts per week?
Posting consistently is important. I recommend aiming for 2 to 4 posts a week and ensuring each blog post is well-optimized for on-page SEO.
How long does it take for a blog to start attracting readers?
It usually takes a few months to notice a real uptick in traffic. Patience is crucial since building an audience doesn’t happen overnight.
What’s a good number of initial posts for a new blog before going public?
Try to have at least 10 to 15 posts ready to make your blog look substantial and give your audience a good experience by providing enough content for new visitors to explore.
In terms of SEO, how many articles should I aim to publish?
For effective SEO, I aim to publish regularly. There is no set number of posts to publish, but blogs with more than 24 blog posts start to experience an uptick in organic traffic.
What’s considered decent traffic for a blog these days?
When I think about decent traffic, it varies based on the blog’s niche. However, aiming for steady growth (6% CMGR) is what’s important to me.
How frequently should I post blogs to improve my site’s rankings?
I try to maintain a regular posting schedule to keep things active and improve my site’s rankings. I find that publishing at least once or twice a week helps me stay visible and continue building momentum.