I recently saw a very interesting parody about those people who call themselves digital nomads (people who work remotely and can travel the world as a result of their remote work). It was quite funny to say the least because it highlighted the plight of these so-called digital nomads in that their lives are not as perfect as they may make them out to be. Anyway, that’s perhaps a discussion for another day if we’re to explore it deeper – what I’m interested in today is how some of these digital nomads and any other travel bloggers should market their blogs if they want the best results and of course to make money by blogging.
Content First
Content is the holy grail of effectively marketing your travel blog. You need to feature authentic and valuable content which really helps your readers, even if only through offering entertainment value. Some good ways of ensuring your site has high quality content are to mix it up. Don’t just churn out words and words of stuff, look at maybe producing more image posts as it’s important to keep your content fresh and unique.
Tweaking the Blog
Using tools such as Google Analytics (available for free) you can start to see just how everything shapes up with regards to how your travel blog relates to your audience and how they interact with it. Structural tweaks may be required here and there, such as perhaps putting a particularly popular feature towards the top of the page or just within the eye-line of your visitors to in order to be seen as soon as the page loads. Content tweaking is also key in that you should try to gauge which type of content proves to be the most popular, i.e. numbered lists, first-person accounts of travel adventures, etc.
Rope in the Big Boys (SEO Specialists)
This is something bloggers tend to overlook, particularly travel bloggers because they often feel that the touch of a Search Engine Optimisation specialist may eat into the authenticity of their blog. Never underestimate the value a good SEO campaign can add to the overall marketability of your blog, for example if only one of your posts covers a list of some things to do in Manchester for instance, the SEO Manchester specialists will likely offer some great SEO services that wouldn’t be wasted if those SEO services were aimed exclusively at that specific post and not the entire blog.
That’s basically the gist of marketing your travel blog effectively — each post naturally addresses something different and something specific, so don’t be afraid to tailor the SEO for each post individually.
Remember that you are not alone in the SEO journey. There are a lot of bloggers and companies that are known to opt for the help of SEO firms. For instance, SaaS companies are often known to avail the assistance of a SaaS SEO agency for driving consistent traffic and exponential organic growth. That is why, as a travel blogger, you should not also consider seeking help.
Boost Traffic
Otherwise there are many other ways to market your travel blog and boost the incoming traffic, like putting word out that you accept guest posts (whether paid or not) or joining a network of bloggers who discuss topics which are similar, or even totally different topics.
Ultimately though, like I mentioned at the start of the post, it’s about the content you generate. Keep it engaging, entertaining and authentic and you’ll eventually not even have to lift a finger to get it out there, beyond producing content of course.