Increasing Site Traffic Strategey Update #1

I just wanted to make a quick strategy update:

• Design changes to the main content area and sidebar
• Adding Top Commentators to the sidebar

  This is still to do. Will probably get done this week.

• Adding MyBlogLog to the sidebar Done
• Adding a rating system for posts

  The rating system code I'm using doesn't seem to work with this version of WordPress. So, now there is another thing on the list.

• Adding a view count for posts Done
• Removing nofollow from comments Done!

  So now you can comment and have a full link to your site!! I know this site has no page rank right now but you never know how high it will get.

• Condensing the sidebar to be 300px wide, and rearranging items Done
• Dropping categories for a tag system (I think this will be the final decision :) ) Done, but I decided to leave the categories in the sidebar - I like how it displays how many posts there are.
• And adding a top secret thing I can't talk about to the sidebar that will drive massive traffic to the site
• Update WordPress

New traffic builders:

• A development in my overall strategy for new traffic has been to develop more snippets for the MODx CMS. While this is something that I really like to do, it does impact my strategy because at the moment, the modxcms.com is the top referrer of traffic to this site.
• Someone has been submitting my posts to Digg, Del.ic.ious, and StumbleUpon, and that has helped with traffic.
• Posting and commenting on blogs and forums has helped my traffic grow. I use a footer that links back to this blog in all my forum posts.

New Ads

• After being rejected for Text Link Ads, I decided to sign up for Kontera through John Chow, and I got in! Thanks to John for making this deal so that growing blogs can get the same benefits as popular ones :)

What does this mean for you? 5 things you can do to increase traffic.

All of these things are my own strategies. You should be seeking out strategies that work with your site/blog. Hear are some tips:

• Keep your blogging/cms software updated. This will help to keep your blog as secure as it can be from hackers. It also keeps you up to date with new features.
• Monetize in more than one way. This is the advice I read over and over again on blogs that make big $$
• Create something others want, and give it away for free. This is a cornerstone of high traffic. The better quality the free stuff the more traffic it will generate. The idea here is to gain ad revenue from increased traffic.
• Use community building plugins and sites. Using sites like Digg, StumbleUpon, MyBlogLog, etc, and doing things like removing nofollow on links, are things that help build community.
• Be Unique. This has got to be the hardest of them all and relates to the overall strategy of your site. Simply put - if want a chance at getting a lot of traffic you need to separate yourself from the pack. Be a leader, be opinionated, be first, be unique.