Matt Cutts: Real interesting question.  I think it probably is not all that much and I’ll give you a reason or two for that.

Number one, take a look at how many people follow me or Danny Sullivan on Twitter or people that subscribe to my blog; the numbers that you end up with are about 50,000. So 50,000 people follow Danny, about 50,000 people follow me, about 50,000 people read my blog.

So what’s that telling me is whether you look at any popular blog, SEO related there are 50, maybe 100,000 people that are interested in the SEO aspect of things, but compared to the millions and millions and millions of people who are searching every day that’s still a relatively small percentage.

The other thing is that the AdWords keyword tool and I think a lot of the tools within Google can do a pretty good job of stripping out queries that look sort of artificial, that are repeated, or come too fast or for whatever reason looks like bots.

I think that even if we don’t strip those out, it’s relatively minor effect, but I think that we do strip those out relatively well. Now, in certain fields like the query search engine optimization may be a little bit skewed by people checking the rankings or various things like that.

But as soon as you get away from those head queries, more towards the tail, I think that they’re relatively accurate and I don’t think that they’re that skewed by the various search marketers and SEO’s and rank checkers and bots and all that sort of stuff.

So it might not be perfect but I think to within a relatively good percentage that stuff should be quite accurate.

1. Be specialized! Find a niche and deliver great content.  Don’t try to write about everything because this will just put people off.  Choose something you know a lot about, for example dog training, how to build a shed, acrylic nails or how to customize vintage clothes.  If you specialize you can focus your promotional efforts on your exact target market and pull in a larger segment of that specific market.
2. Post on other forums: find forums in your niche area and use your writing to develop a following that will lead them back to your website.
3. Cross-promotion: find a blog with related content that’s not in direct competition with your own.  You can then agree to cross promote each other using RSS feeds, again supported with the Feedvertising plug-in.
4. Invite readers to subscribe: this may sound obvious, but it’s okay to ask!  At the end of your posts, add a line recommending people subscribe for more of the same great content.  Don’t forget a link to your subscription page too!
5. Show how popular you are: if people see that over 500 people are already subscribing, it’s good sign that there’s something worth coming back for.
6. Keep your blog active: you need to keep updating your content to make readers want to come back again.   You should be adding fresh content 3 to 5 times per week to keep your blog’s traffic growing and your visitors happy.
7. Feed to Twitter: some people like receiving their feeds direct to Twitter.  You can also use Twitter and other social sites to publicize your blog and spread links to your network and beyond. Twitter Feed, ShareThis and Sociable are really useful WordPress plug-ins to do this and are available on our resources and plug ins page.
8. Content is King! Finally don’t forget without great content that’s meaningful to your subscribers, they simply won’t come back for more.  It’s easy to create great content using a free website builder.  Just choose your niche, do your research and find out what people what to read about.

Here’s everything you need to know about 11 of the best plug ins to boost your website traffic, all of which are available on our resources page completely free:

1. Target Visitors:  make your website visitors feel special by giving them a personalized greeting when they enter your site using this plug in.  It allows you to create different welcome messages for different visitors, depending on which search engine they have come from.  This increases your reader loyalty and makes your posts look more relevant.  It also helps create external links, free publicity and allows you to invite them to subscribe.  For example, you could say, “like this post, follow my blog!” adding your RSS URL on the end.  Or you can ask them to Digg, StumbleUpon or tell their Facebook friends about you.
2. Search Meter: if you have a search box on your WordPress website, this plug in records all the words your visitors are looking for.  This is great because you can then provide the content people want to see, fill any gaps that might be missing and in turn bring your readers back for more.
3. YARPP (Yet Another Related Posts Plug In): if you want to create a loyal set of visitors who keep coming back for more you need to make it easy for them to navigate through your great content.  This plug in places links at the end of each post to other relevant links on your website.
4. WP Email: this plug in makes it easy for visitors to recommend your posts to their friends.  It adds a link at the end of each post that says, “Email this Page”, which they simply click and send your post to all of their mates.
5. StatPress: if you want to drive more traffic to your site, you need to understand what brings the visitors you already have and what they particularly enjoy.  Then you can focus on getting more of the same quality traffic.  This plug in allows you to collect valuable information about your visitors, which search keywords they use, how they arrive at your site and how spiders search your site.  You can also see visitor activity and see which posts they liked best and what they searched for.
6. Sociable: WordPress blog success depends on publicity.  Tapping into the millions of people who use social bookmarking sites is a free way to get the word out about your site.  Within a very short space of time your traffic can literally snowball, as friends recommend you to their network of friends, and so on.  This plug in makes it easy, by adding links to up to 99 different social sites at the end of each post, page and RSS feed.
7. ShareThis: another great social networking plug in that does the same job as Sociable, but also allows you to track where, how and when your pages are being shared on the internet.  Then you can focus on which sites are working best for you.
8. WP Comment Auto Responder: every time a visitor leaves a comment on your website they will be emailed to let them know the comment has been posted.  This is a great opportunity to send them a personalized message of thanks and encourage them to keep coming back.
9. TweetThis: this plug in allows you to automatically tweet every new post you add to your website.  This saves you loads of time so that you don’t have to copy the long URL of your post, shorten it, and then tweet from your account.  It also puts a link to every post saying, “Tweet this Post” making it easy for your visitors to give you extra free publicity on their Twitter accounts.
10. Subscribe to Comments:  this allows your visitors to sign up for email notification every time someone replies to their comments.  This is great for increasing interactivity on your WordPress site and encourages people to keep coming back to join in the debate.  Very simple, very effective.
11. LinkToThisPage: this plug in makes it easy for other websites to link to yours.  This is great for search engine ranking because the number of external links you have can push you up the search engine results page, as well as publicizing your content.  Another way to use this plug in is to find a website that has relevant content but is not in direct competition with yours, and mutually publicize each other.

Here are five of the most common reasons why websites lose traffic and the most effective solutions.

1.  Seasonal Rises and Falls

Seasonality is one of the most common reasons why websites see a rise and fall throughout the year.  Every niche has a natural traffic trend, with increased popularity at certain times of the year.  For example, a gadget blog is likely to get more traffic in November and December, as people search for Christmas presents.  However January and February may be much quieter. 

The Solution:

If your website is fairly new you might not have enough visitor data to understand the seasonality of your niche.  So it’s important to install an analysis plug in as soon as you create your website, such as Google Analytics for WordPress, which allows you to monitor your traffic.  Also you can use websites such as Google Trends, which show you the keywords most searched for on the web and the trends for any keyword.  This may give you an idea of when to expect traffic highs and lows. 

If you think your website is being affected by seasonality, don’t panic!  Simply try to maximize the opportunities that seasonality brings.  Tailor your content to the different times of the year and make a note of what works.  For example, if you have a blog about digital cameras, in November and December it’s important to maximize the Christmas traffic.  Make top 10 lists of The Best Point and Shoot Digital Cameras, How to Buy a Digital Camera, or The Top 10 Online Digital Camera Retailers. 

Naturally you may see a decline in traffic in January, so think of content that people may need.  Articles such as, How to Use Your New Digital Camera or Tips for Taking the Best Digital Photo take advantage of website visitors looking for tips on how to use their new digital camera.  You might even run a photograph competition for the best amateur digital photo.  Think outside the box and get creative!

2.  How Often Are you Posting?

This is a very common reason why website traffic declines.  You need to keep your content fresh and current.  You can’t simply leave a site without putting new content onto it regularly.  

The Solution:  

It really depends on your niche how often you need to post.  However a good rule of thumb is at least three times per week, up to maximum a few times per day.   More importantly is to get a regular rhythm, posting at roughly the same time each day with the same frequency.  This can help to create a loyal readership.

3.  Content Quality

Now of course not all of us are natural writers.  That’s why when you create a website it’s important to find a topic you enjoy, are passionate about and have good knowledge of.  This will make it much easier to create quality posts.  If you’re not creating good content that people want to read, of course your traffic will decline.

The Solution: 

Take a look at other websites in your niche and see what’s popular out there.  What style of writing do people like?  Ask yourself, are you being relevant to your bloggers?  Are you providing them something of value?  Are you answering their questions and providing solutions?

Also check your grammar and spelling.  People hate blogs that are difficult to read and have poor spelling.  For more ideas on how to create good quality content, read our tips on How to Engage and Grow your WordPress Blog Readership.  

4.  Are You Promoting Your Content?

This may sound obvious but after you create a website, even with the best quality content you need to let people know you’re there and what you are about.  Effective promotional activity depends on your niche and the style of your website, but it’s important to get your message heard. 

The Solution:

One of the most effective ways of promoting your website is through social networking sites, such as Facebook, Linkedin, Digg, Twitter and Stumbleupon.  Here are some ideas:

• Make it easy for people to share your content.  Sociable is one of the best social networking plug ins, putting a drop down menu of up to 99 different sites at the bottom of each post, making it very simple for people to spread the word about your site.
• Directly connect to Facebook and Twitter:  once you’ve built up a good network of contacts on Twitter and Facebook, using the Gigya Socialize plug in your visitors can directly connect to your website from Facebook and Twitter.  They can also bring all their friends with them!  This is one of the best ways to keep in touch with thousands of people all at the same time, alerting them of when you have new content or special offers on your site. 
• Twitter Feed: another really simple plug in that allows you to connect directly with Twitter, putting your latest posts as RSS feeds on Twitter and updating your blog with tweets.  This saves you time and effort and can be really effective at driving traffic to your site.  All of these social networking plug ins are available for free on our resources page.
• Linkedin: another great social networking site to promote your content is Linkedin.  For more information on how to tap into Linkedin traffic and networking, read this article on 5 Secrets to Using Linkedin to Boost Quality Blog Traffic.

5.  Don’t Give Up!

This is one of the best pieces of advice you’ll hear when you create a website.  It takes time to build up blog traffic and it’s not going to happen overnight.  Don’t expect your content to suddenly take off.  You need to put in time, effort and some creative promotional thinking in order to bring in traffic that will enable you to monetize your blog.  The most important thing is to keep on top of what’s going on with your blog.  Use plug ins such as Google Analytics for WordPress and understand where your visitors are coming from and what they like and don’t like.  Then you’ll know how to make your blog a real success. 

People lead busy and stressful lives, so you need to give them something that adds value to them personally. If you can make them feel engaged on an individual level, this will help keep them on your site, encourage them to recommend you to their friends as well as coming back time and time again.  This is the key to WordPress blog success and this article tells you exactly how to do it.

Offer Advice

This is one of the best ways to keep your visitors loyal.  If you’re writing a WordPress blog, you must already be an expert on something.  Share your knowledge with practical tips they can use in their own lives right away, whatever is relevant to your site, whether it’s gardening tips, business growth advice or baby care.  Encourage them to come back and share their stories and use the Comments Section to give advice to individual regular visitors.

Appeal to Your Readers

Your website traffic is coming to you for specific information on your niche.  So it’s important you get to know them and understand what they really like.  Read the comments section, look at feedback about your site in other forums and social networks.  Plus you can use plug ins such as Google Analytics and StatPress to really understand your visitors, find out which sites they’re being referred from, which keywords work best and which pages they most enjoy.

Share Your Personal Experience

If you let people know the person behind the blog, they’re more likely to connect and engage with your site.  You can also bring your ideas and advice to life using real examples and stories you’ve come across.  Adding a simple photo of yourself can also increase reader engagement.  WP Photo Album is a great WordPress plug in for adding a visual edge to your blog with photos.

Try Something Unique

Every once in a while add a post which is completely different, unique and even wacky.  It might draw in some new traffic and provide some fun for your readers.  It’s like the “and finally” story at the end of a new broadcast.  They always have some quirky feature to lift viewers and allow them to leave the programme feeling happy.

Get To The Point

No one wants to read long ramblings that go on and on.  Keep your posts short and sweet so they’re easy to understand and free from pointless waffle.  Or if you have a long topic to explain, use a multi-part series to keep your readers coming back to your WordPress blog for more.

Encourage Comments

At the end of each post, ask specific and direct questions to encourage comments.  This increases the interactivity of your WordPress blog and keeps readers coming back to find out the latest comments.  A really useful plug in is Subscribe to Comments, that allows visitors to sign up for email notification of when someone has replied to their comments.

As a website builder, I know for a fact that one of the most common headaches that a lot of website builders have to deal with are broken links.  Broken links are not necessarily out of carelessness as most of the time, they are a result of editing your site’s page file names which in turn changes that file name’s URL. If the previous URL has already been indexed by search engines, it may show up in search results and clicking it will lead to a blank page or 404 (page cannot be found) errors.

A common example is when you change a page URL for search engine optimization (SEO) purposes. Once you change a page URL, the old URL will now lead to a blank page. If taken to a certain degree, these mishaps could even get your site blacklisted in the minds of your followers, leading to the demise of your site’s reason for existence. Search Engines do not like broken links too, and this could hurt your rankings.

Fixing Broken Links The Painful Way

If you built your site the conventional way, ie with an HTML editor like Dreamweaver, the usual approach to fixing broken links is editing the .htaccess file. If you’re not a web developer, I can totally forgive you for not knowing what that is. As a matter of fact, not all website builders even know what that is! And even if you can locate the .htaccess file, the text in there would look so gibberish you wouldn’t understand what’s going on in there and even if you manage to know how to edit it, manually editing each and every broken link is not a pleasant experience.

A WordPress Plugin To Save The Day: The Redirection Plugin

The major advantage of using the free website builder WordPress to create a website is that it allows us to install plugins. These plugins can be used to increase the functionality of WordPress, making it a more effective, reliable and easy to use website builder.

The Redirection plugin comes in handy when it comes to transferring pages from an old site, editing page names and URLs, or deleting pages as all these can lead to broken links. It’s so easy to use and you don’t have to deal with incomprehensible codes. It also allows you to effectively manage their permanent redirections, follow their 404 errors (“File not found” page), and tie up loose ends in general. This plugin can also provide logs of all redirected URLs, enable you to choose redirection methods such as redirect based upon login status, redirect to some random pages in your site, or redirect based on the referrer! Another feature I like a lot about it is it allows you to remove or add www to all your WordPress pages. In my case, I like to remove it.

If you would like to get the redirection plugin, you can download it from our plugin resource page. Once installed and set-up, you can sit back and relax. Your broken links will be taken care of.