10 Real Ways That I Tripled my Page Views in Less Than One Year!

This post may contain affiliate links. I will receive a small commission if you use these links.

---

In 2017 I tripled the page views on my blog from what they were in 2016 in just 8 months (I barely blogged for the first few months of 2017, my roundup post explains why so I did this in just 8 months of work rather than 12) and I am so so proud of myself for that!

It’s not like my traffic is incredible now and in the 100,000’s, plus my page views were quite low and average in 2016 as my blog was much more of a hobby.

HOWEVER, the fact that since May 2017 (which is when I really started to up my game on my blog), I have increased my page views month on month, with December 2017 being my highest viewed month is something to talk about and be proud of I think!

How To Increase Blog Page Views!

Feb 2019 Update: My page views continued to grow in 2018 and as you can see below totally blew up compared to 2017 which I thought was good when I wrote this post! I even left my job in 2018 to blog full time!

2020 Update: Look at this chart and that increase for 2019!! I made good money a lot of these months from ads and affiliates on my site and it makes 2017 and 2018 look tiny. This really is proof that with hard work and time you really can increase your views and make money from blogging!

Not only has my traffic increased but I feel like my blog has got ‘out there’ a lot more in 2017 due to me working on various collaborations and going on quite a few press trips. I have also earnt a fair amount of money from paid press trips and sponsored content on my blog which I’m very proud of!

I don’t think I have done and am doing anything revolutionary and totally different to any of the many many successful bloggers out there to increase my page views, BUT I thought I would write a post on the ways I think I have increased my page views and traffic to my blog in less than one year so I can see it in black and white and continue doing it, and so you can have a read and hopefully take one or more points away with you too!

1 – I’m Prioritising My Blog!

I have always loved my blog and my little space on the internet otherwise I’m sure I would have stopped a few years ago and of course I have been through phases where I can’t be bothered and don’t see the point, but to be honest, I haven’t had that feeling since the early few months of 2017 and right now I really, really love blogging!

I guess it makes sense, but I have found that the better my year and my page views have been, the more I have prioritised and worked harder on my blog, and in turn, my opportunities and page views have become even better!

The reality is, I have cancelled and turned down dinners with friends because I needed to blog, I often go home after working for 9 hours to blog for 3 hours, I feel like I am always ‘switched on’ because I blog for ‘work’ and for leisure, I don’t have time to watch Netflix series like other people seem to do (which I’m ok with FYI!), I am even starting to write this post on Christmas Day!

All of this means that I am prioritising my blog highly in my life. And I fully believe that this has helped me increase my page views in less than a year.

If you work full time too, you’ll like – The Positives of being a Travel Blogger who Works Full Time.

2 – Reaching out & Seeking out Opportunities!

I remember wondering how big my blog and social media channels had to be before contacting a brand to see if we could work together. I can’t actually remember the first time I did reach out to someone but I think it must have been mid to late 2016 when my numbers really weren’t that high, but to me, they were growing, and I knew working with brands was something I wanted to do.

I’m a big believer of ‘if you don’t ask, you don’t get’ so I have reached out to a lot of Brands and Companies in 2017. A lot of them I haven’t heard back from and others I have which have then turned into collaborations.

I’ve reached out to Tourist Boards of places I want to visit by finding their details online, to booking Companies, travel PR Agencies and lots more.

I also don’t see anything wrong with reaching out to a brand that you have seen working with a blogger you follow. If they are working with them, maybe they’re looking to work with other bloggers, maybe that could be me? When done authentically and with the right intention, this isn’t copying or stealing limelight, it’s seeking out opportunities.

The worst thing that can happen is to not get a reply or get a reply saying no, in which case you can file for later or just delete.

This point links well with point 10 too so keep on reading!

3 – Educating myself. E.G listening to Podcasts!

I have found Podcasts to be very helpful in educating me. In particular What She Said by my friend Lucy Lucraft for bloggers, freelancers and creatives.

Her first series gave me so much inspiration and motivation, plus so many tips and tricks that I believe have helped me be a better blogger and in turn, increased my page views.

Sam Sparrow’s episode finally kicked my ass into getting on Pinterest (more on that below). Elle Croft’s episode got me thinking about Facebook advertising and Monica Stott continued to inspire and marvel me with her tips on how to make money through blogging!

There are so many podcasts out there on blogging, travel and everything else you may be interested in but I would really recommend Lucy’s.

Update: I was a guest on What She Said a few months after writing this, I’m Season 2 Episode 12 if you want to listen!

4 – Finally getting on Pinterest has helped me increase my page views!

I loved Pinterest back in 2013 when I’d scroll through hundreds of travel and life quotes and pin the occasional pretty picture of somewhere I wanted to go but I’d never used it for my blog until 2017! (Big mistake!)

In the last 2 years or so I have heard time and time again that Pinterest is a big traffic driver but I just didn’t understand how it worked for bloggers at all!

I read a few blog posts about Pinterest and I started making pins for my blog posts at the start of 2017, but I just pinned them to my own boards and didn’t do anything else with them (another big mistake).

It wasn’t until August/September time when I listened to Lucy and Sam’s podcast episode (episode 10) that I knew I HAD to learn how Pinterest works to help grow my traffic! I’m a 27 year old millennial I thought, I can surely work out how to use it!

When I published this blog post I asked if you wanted me to write a beginners guide to using Pinterest seen as I couldn’t understand it for ages! The resounding answer was YES so here it is- A Step by Step, Beginners Guide to Using Pinterest as a Blogger to Grow Traffic, Plus Tips!

5 – Not spreading myself so thinly AKA choosing to Blog over Vlog!

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Instagram Stories, YouTube, Blog, Newsletter.. there is just so so much for us to be on and all over, ALL OF THE TIME!

In 2016 I really wanted to start vlogging so when I went to Copenhagen in June with a new camera and I just did it! I continued to film a lot of my trips in 2016 which I enjoyed and I enjoy putting the videos together but it does take a lot of time and my views are very hit and miss! Some of my videos now have a few thousand views which is good and others have under 100!

I have filmed a few bits in 2017 but I decided around June that I needed to not spread myself so thinly and if my blog and my page views were my focus, I should just focus on my blog and my writing rather than filming and editing. I believe this has helped me increase my page views and traffic to my blog as I am focusing on just publishing and sharing blog posts rather than blog posts and videos!

6 – Monitoring my Stats Closely!

I’m pretty damn addicted to my WordPress app. The app that shows me how many views I get each day, which posts have been read, where my readers are in the world and what people have searched for to get to my blog.

I use Google Analytics too but I must say that I’m not that clued up on it which is something I need to focus on in the future. I know monitoring stats hasn’t directly grown my blog but I do find it really interesting to see what days I get the most views, which posts people like the most, and where they find them because that is helping me to…

7 – Publish Blog posts that are click-worthy, searchable & link-able!

In 2017 I have been thinking a lot more strategically about the blog posts I publish, the title of the posts and the SEO within it (although I am in no way an SEO Queen.. I plan to improve on this in 2018 along with many other things I have mentioned in this post!).

I am trying to think- What are people searching for? Or better, what have I searched for that I haven’t found?

I’m also looking to see where I can link posts together, what are my top viewed posts, what other posts can I mention in them so they get clicked on too and I keep the reader.

This probably sounds really simple for those that have been blogging for a while, and even if you haven’t been blogging for long you may think ‘duhh’ but I know that never used to think that strategically about this blog because it was just a hobby. Therefore so many of my Asia & South America posts have totally unsearchable titles like- Back to the islands of Thailand!

8 – Attending Networking Events!

Again, another thing I have heard over and over again from bloggers is that you need to network and attend events and I’m afraid I am here to say that yes, it does actually work!

Living in London helps me a lot because there are so many events on in the city and most are in the evening so I can go after my full time job. I don’t get invited to looaaddss but I went to a lot more in 2017 than 2016.

I have certainly bailed on events because I’m tired or I have turned up and wished I hadn’t because its awkward but generally, they are so good for meeting other bloggers and the occasional PR. When I attend an event in London now, I know I’m going to see the same few faces at each one which is really nice!

I would suggest not going purely to meet PR’s or to see who can offer you an opportunity and instead going to mingle, have fun and make friends, but it’s true that once you get your name out there at events and meet people face to face you will be at the forefront of their’s and other peoples mind to work with.

Traverse Events is a great way to meet bloggers at their regular meet up’s and educate yourself at their annual conference!

9 – Creating a Community on Social Media.

My social media has increased a bit this year in terms of numbers & but in terms of connection I believe it has increased a lot, and that means so much more to me!

A good connection within the blogging community is all about supporting each other’s blogs, and hopefully turning that connection into a friendship, even if it is online.

If I send a tweet with a new blog post and no-one likes it or re-tweets it, it’ll just get lost and the post will not be viewed via that tweet. Whereas, if it gets shared, liked and read by the people who follow me on social media, the people who I have a connection with, the people who are interested in what I say, it will do a lot better thanks to their views & shares.

Of course, this works 2 ways so be sure to give what you hope to get!

I have always been social on social media but as I said, I believe my connection has grown both in strength and in reach this year which has helped my page views increase too!

10 – Believing in Myself and what I want!

Finally, if I don’t believe in myself, who will?

If I don’t believe I am worthy to be invited on a press trip to showcase a destination, PR’s won’t either.

If I’m not proud of my blog and don’t promote and shout about my blog, who is going to find it and read it?

In the last few months I have been very interested in the term ‘manifesting’ and understanding how we can manifest what we want in our lives through positive energy, work, concentration on our goals and belief in ourselves. I genuinely believe that I have manifested a lot this year in terms of trips and money which have in turn tripled my page views and what I see as the success of my blog in 2017.

I hope the above points have helped you or have been of some interest!

Numbers of course, are not everything, but page views mean a lot when it comes to wanting to make a living from our Blogs and Media Kit’s look a lot more attractive with higher page views and readers!

• If you liked this post you may also like:
• A Step by Step, Beginners Guide to Using Pinterest as a Blogger to Grow Traffic, Plus Tips!