How to Increase Traffic to Your Blog: Blog Hops

Everyone with a public blog wants to increase traffic to their site. Whether you want to promote yourself or your ideas, whether you want to generate revenue from your blog---everything depends on attracting readers.

For those bloggers just starting out, the easiest way to get more traffic is by participating in Blog Hops. A Blog Hop is simply a list of blogs posted on a host site. While the blog list is open, participants list their blogs, then "hop" from one blog to another, and follow the sites they like. This is a great way to get exposure for your blog and to get to know other bloggers out there.

The first step is to make sure you have a Google Friend Connect (GFC) account. Add the widget to your website.

Then, find a Blog Hop you want to participate in. Since the hops are held on a daily basis, due a Google search for "Monday Blog Hops" (or whatever day it is). Under the Google tab for "More search Tools", narrow the time frame to within the past 24 hours, since you can't participate in hops that happened last week. Also, try to find a blog hop that seems to represent the target audience for your blog. There are blog hops for people over 40, mommy bloggers, single bloggers, etc.

Read the instructions for the Blog Hop. Usually they are as simple as following the hosts.

Scroll down to the end of the list, to the part which says, "add your link HERE". Click on that. A screen will appear asking you to enter a short description. This is where you will add your blog's name. Some people also add something like, "follows back". More on that later.

The next tab will ask you for your blog address. Type in the complete address of your site, then submit.

You will then be brought back to the host site, along with an option to copy the code to add onto your blog. You can add the HTML code as a new post.

Now you can start hopping! Click on the titles of any blogs that seems interesting. If you want to follow them, select the "Follow" button on their site. Then, leave a comment in the comments section, letting them know you are a new follower and from which Blog Hop.

That's it for the basics. Now for the extras.

Some people participate in Blog Hops to find new blogs to read, or to network with their fellow bloggers. Still others want to create as many followers as possible. They may do this because some businesses will only advertise on blogs that have a certain number of followers (usually 1000+), or they just like having dozens, or hundreds, of followers. These are the folks who will add something like "Always Follows Back" on their blog description. It is a way of saying that if you follow them, they will follow you. Now, these will likely not be loyal followers, and they may rarely, if ever, read your blogs. Some bloggers add dozens of blogs at a time. But again, if your goal is to increase your GFC count, then this is the way to go.

On the other hand, if your goal is to develop a community of loyal readers, then blog hops are a way of "meeting" those readers. Select the few blogs you genuinely like, leave a thoughtful comment, and follow them without any expectation. The blog owner (and/or their readers) may visit your blog in return, and leave their own comment, which will hopefully begin a more meaningful exchange.

For a blogger who has yet to establish their own following, blog hops is an easy way to get their blog known. For those with more established blogs, blog hops are another way to break through plateaus in their readerships. In any case, consider Blog Hops as a marketing tool for your blog.