It's Not About the Traffic!

Arrrgggh! Copyblogger is propagating the whole school of thought that blogging is just about getting more traffic. They have even published a how-to guide. Well, I am here to tell you, it's not.

Blogging is about a desire to be part of a community of like-minded individuals. Traffic is its byproduct. You can choose to be an active member or a passive one. It's your call. However, I guarantee if you regularly add value to the community, your traffic will grow. That's why earlier today I suggested using tags. But don't get into blogging just for the traffic and, going a step further, don't pay a lot of attention to your traffic data. I don't nearly as much as I used to. This was one of my key learnings over the past year.

See, anytime a blogger thinks blogging is just about getting more traffic then I really question why they're in it. I lose my trust in them because I think they're baiting me (which in this case, Copyblogger did). What's more, I certainly don't see any need to establish a closer bond by opting into their feed.

My suggestion is that if you're blogging solely for building Web traffic and Google Juice, go build a Web site and advertise it on Google instead. Blogs are about being part of a community. Join it, add value to it, but don't focus on the traffic.