1. Want More Traffic That Actually Converts? Follow These 4
Steps...
When you sign up for the Backlinko newsletter for the first time, you get this email from me:
As you can see, the first thing I ask is:
"What's the #1 thing you're struggling with?"
To date, I've asked over 57,000 new subscribers this question...
...and have received thousands of replies.
But get this:
I tend to get the same response again and again.
What's that response, you ask?
TRAFFIC.
In fact, here's a reply I got the other day from Christine:

2. Christine is absolutely right. Traffic is a common problem...
The Truth About Getting Targeted Traffic in 2015 (and Beyond)
I probably don't need to tell you that traffic is the lifeblood of any online business.
No traffic, no leads.
No leads, no sales.
No sales, no business.
Despite the fact that targeted traffic is so important, when most people log into Google Analytics,
they see something like this:
Flat as a pancake.
Look familiar?
If so, I want you to know that you're far from alone.
Today there are 164 million blogs online...
...71% get fewer than 5,000 visitors per month.

3. That's less than 200 visits per day.
Unless you're a conversion Jedi, it's almost impossible to turn 200 daily visitors into a thriving online
business.
Even if you already get "enough" traffic, I can guarantee you that you have the potential to boost
your traffic by 2x, 3x, or even 10x from where it is today.
How?
Well that's the 4-step process I'll go over later in today's post.
But first...
Why People Struggle to Generate Traffic...and Convert That Traffic Into Customers
Here's the deal:
Backlinko may generate over 90,000 unique monthly visitors today, but this success came after I
struggled for YEARS.
In fact, the first site that I launched in 2008 was in the nutrition space. And it failed.
On paper this site should have been a home run for me.
After all, I had a Masters Degree in nutrition from Tufts University and a solid year of clinical
experience under my belt (here's me at graduation with my Dad):

4. My credentials meant I could produce "great content" that cited research studies. I could also use
real world examples from my time working in hospitals and clinics in Boston.
And that's exactly what happened:
I published some of the best nutrition content online at the time.
I mean, who else was taking scientific research and translating it into bite-sized nutrition tips?
There was only one problem:
No one cared.

5. Was I publishing "great content"? Sure.
Did I promote it? You bet.
Was my blog updated at least once per week? Like clockwork.
So:
What was the problem?
The fact that I didn't publish the RIGHT CONTENT.
What is The Right Content, you ask?
The Right Content is:
Content that generates traffic, leads and (most importantly) sales.
Content that only needs a little content promotion "push" to get going.
Content that establishes YOU as an expert (and someone people want to buy from).
In other words, rock solid content that you can build a business on top of.
Because when you do that, everything changes...
How I Went From "Oh Crap!" to "Hell Yeah!"
Since I discovered how to create The Right Content, everything in my life and business changed.
Now, instead that sinking feeling in my stomach that I used to get when I logged into Google
Analytics, I get butterflies.
Here are Backlinko's traffic stats from last month:

6. But keep this in mind:
These aren't 93,277 tire kickers. A good chunk of these people are interested in my products and
services.
In fact, even though enrollment for SEO That Works only open two or three times a year, I get emails
like this every week:
Because I attract people that want to invest in my training products, I've quickly turned Backlinko
from a blank WordPress installation into a highly profitable business.

7. And that luxury gives me the opportunity to live my life on my own terms.
At the drop of a hat, I can go skiing in Canada or in Japan.
Or strap on a Speedo and sit on a beach in Thailand.
(I'm kidding about the Speedo...or am I? )
In fact, a few months ago my girlfriend turned to me and said: "Honey, let's go to Italy".
So we packed our bags and took off. No arrangements. No phone calls with clients. We just went.
We saw the sights, ate lots of gluten...and I grew a beard:

8. Whether you own an ecommerce site, run a digital marketing agency, sell software, or are a full time
blogger, you need content that brings in targeted traffic.
In other words, traffic that converts into leads and sales.
To do that, you need to rank for keywords that your customers search for every day.
Here's the 4-step process to do just that...
Use This 4-Step Process to Get More Targeted Traffic, Leads and Sales From SEO
There's no other way to say this:
Most content published today isn't designed to maximize shares, traffic and customers.
And, yes, that even includes most "great content".
Because there's a BIG difference between "great content" and The Right Content.
And once you know what that difference is, and how to leverage it, you'll be ahead of 90% of your
competitors.
With that, let's jump into the 4-step process for creating The Right Content.
Step #1: Find Influential People In Your Niche
This is HUGE.
Unless you describe your target customers as "influential bloggers and journalists", your target
audience isn't going to share your content.
There's a simple reason for that:

9. Your target customers don't run websites in your niche!
For example:
The content on my old nutrition site was aimed at people looking to lose weight.
My target audience? They loved it.
Unfortunately, the influencers in my niche -- like health and fitness bloggers -- thought my content
was way too basic and "rapid fire".
These influential people preferred to link to in-depth articles. Articles that dissected dozens of
research studies.
That's one of the reasons Steve Kamb at NerdFitness succeeded where I failed.
His in-depth, 3,000-word blog posts...
....like his Beginner's Guide to Intermittent Fasting)...

10. ....attracts links from influential health and fitness bloggers with ease.
Bottom line: Publishing content that appeals to your target customer isn't enough. You need content
that your influencers want to share with their audience.
But to create content that appeals to influencers, you need to find out who they are.
Once you've identified the influential people in your industry, it's time for step #2...

11. Step #2: Find Out What Your Influencers Care About
After you know exactly who the influencers in your space are, it's time to figure out what they care
about.
Because once you understand which topics push their buttons, you can create content that appeals
to them.
Example:
A few years ago I created an infographic for a client in the investing niche.
Even though that niche is far from "interesting", our infographic went viral. We're talking thousands
of targeted visits in the first two days.
Here's the infographic:
Now there dozens of reasons this infographic did so well, from the design to the content promotion
campaign.
But a good chunk of its success was due to one simple thing:
It appealed to the influencers in the personal finance space.

12. I'll explain.
I noticed that a lot of high-powered financial bloggers were up in arms about inflation:
So I decided to create an infographic that highlighted the problem they cared so much about.
And it worked GREAT.
Bottom line: If you want influential people to share your content, you need to know what topics they
care about most.
Step #3: Create Content On That Topic
Once you have a topic that your influencers care about, it's time roll up your sleeves and create
content around that topic.
Here's an example from real life:
A few months ago I published a post called 21 SEO Techniques You Can Use Today to Get More
Search Engine Traffic:

13. The post was a huge hit. To date its generated over 113,000 visitors.

14. (Not to mention and 2,136 new email subscribers)
Like the infographic I mentioned earlier, there was a lot that went into this post's success (including
the Share Triggers I'll cover in a minute).
But the post did well largely because it covered topics influencers in my niche cared about.
For example, I couldn't help but notice that more and more bloggers in the SEO space were talking
about broken link building.
So I led off the post with an advanced broken link building tip:

15. Even though a good chunk of my target audience hadn't ever heard of broken link building, my
influencers had.
So I put that tip first.
Bottom line: When you create content, it needs to appeal to the influential people in your niche.
Once you've finished the first draft of your content, it's time for the most important step....
Step #4: Finally, Add Share Triggers (This Is the Secret Sauce)
In my experience, content largely succeeds or fails based on one factor:
Whether or not the content has Share Triggers.
What are Share Triggers?
They're scientifically-backed psychological principles that -- when embedded in your content --
encourage people to share and link.
Also, Share Triggers give your content that "WOW!" factor that turns cold traffic into leads and
customers.
A lot of these principles were first discovered by behavioral scientists like Dr. Jonah Berger, Dr.
Katherine Milkman and Jure Leskovec.

16. And they've proven in the lab what I discovered through trial-and-error:
When you include Share Triggers in your content, people are significantly more likely to link and
share it.
For example:
One of the most powerful Share Triggers is Social Currency.
Social Currency is the idea that we share things that make us look good. And this Share Trigger is a
large part of the reason that the Shrinking Dollar infographic did so well.
Yes, the infographic was on a topic was near and dear to hearts of personal finance bloggers
(inflation).
But more important than that, the infographic confirmed what they were already saying: inflation is
a big problem.
Specifically, my content backed up their rants with meaty data:

17. Every time an influencer shared my infographic with their audience, it boosted their Social
Currency.
So they shared it. Again and again.
It even got included in Google News thanks to a feature in
The Christian Post.
All because I strategically added the Social Currency Share
Trigger into my content.
Note: There are several Share Triggers that I use in my content. And I'll cover more of them in detail
over the next few weeks.
Bottom Line: Including Share Triggers in your content significantly boosts the odds that it will
generate shares, backlinks and traffic.
You Can Totally Do This!
Over the next few weeks I'm going to send you a ton of brand new training material.
This material has one goal:

18. To show you how to get more high-converting traffic to your site.
Also, in the beginning of March, I'm opening enrollment for my premium business training course,
SEO That Works.
But right now, I want you to do one thing:
Get started with this process.
Specifically, I want you to leave a comment that describes the influencers in your niche...and the
topics they tend to talk about and share.
For example:
If you sell supplements for athletes, your
comment might look like:
Influencers: Fitness blogs and journalists
that cover nutrition research.
Topics: New nutrition research studies,
workout recovery tips, and superfoods for
athletes.
I'll be around today to answer questions and give feedback.
So leave a comment and let me know what you think.
http://backlinko.com/increase-website-traffic