Robbie Richards

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Case Study: How I Increased Traffic 272% In 30 Days (Without Spending A Penny)

September 30, 2014 by Robbie 151 Comments

Have you ever written (what you thought) was an epic piece of content only to see it sink into oblivion.

No social engagement. No backlinks. No email signups. No traffic. Nothing!

It’s a common story. In fact, there are 2 million new blog posts published everyday. 

With all this noise and competition floating around, how do you craft a piece of content that stands out from the crowd and drives serious traffic to your site?

Today, I’m going to show how to produce and promote a piece of content that will attract 10,199 visits to your blog in 30 days.

10,000visits

Better still, I’m going to show you how I did it despite having:

Zero marketing budget.

Zero connections.

A blog that was only a month old.

A mere handful of Twitter followers.

A full-time job.

This ONE post got my name on the front page of Inbound.org for a week, was included as a top weekly submission in the Moz monthly newsletter, generated several business leads and netted me a handful of guest post opportunities and free affiliate licenses.

I’m going to walk you step-by-step through the exact process I used.

Grab a coffee, sit back and let’s get started.

What You Will Learn

  • How to find proven content ideas
  • How to identify (and leverage) content weaknesses
  • How to drive thousands of people to your site without spending a penny

The Skyscraper Technique

A few months ago I stumbled across a post by Brian Dean that would change the way I approach SEO and content marketing.

The post highlighted a fundamental floor in many content marketing strategies – the idea that if I publish great content, people will naturally link to it and share it.

This approach couldn’t be more WRONG. In fact, writing “quality” content is less than half the battle.

In order to produce content that earns hundreds of social shares, attracts quality links, drives thousands of visitors to your site, and catches the attention of big brands such as Moz you need to have a systematic approach.

There are three basic steps to the Skyscraper approach:

Step 1: Find proven content
Step 2: Make it better
Step 3: Promote it like your blog depends on it

Why does this approach work so well?

Because you’re finding proven content – that people have already linked to and shared – and making it better.

It’s human nature to be attracted to the best.

You’re taking something that is great and slapping another 20 layers of “awesomeness”  on top of it.

All of a sudden you have the content that everyone is talking about, sharing and linking to.

Post In Point

On August 19 I published 16 Explosive Content Promotion Strategies.

In 30 days the post has collected 233 backlinks from 30 referring domains –

233 backlinks

…and currently ranks #4 in Google for the search term “content promotion strategies”.

organicranking

More importantly, traffic to the entire site almost tripled in just 30 days –

tripledtraffic

And, the post continues  to send a steady stream of traffic to the site.

It even got featured in the Moz Top 10 monthly email digest –

mozdigest

On September 3 (the day it was featured in the Moz newsletter) that post alone generated over 2,000 pageviews.

september3

You know the best  part about all this?

You can do it too….with zero budget, zero influential connections, zero street cred, and a brand spankin’ new blog.

Step #1: Find Proven Content

Posts that are linkable and shareworthy form the foundation of any successful content marketing strategy.

But, in order to meet this criteria the content needs to be useful and actionable – provide instant value. The type of content people can’t help but share and link to.

The trick is finding content ideas that are proven. Content that has already received boat loads of social engagement and tons of quality links.

Here’s how to do it –

Buzzsumo

Buzzsumo is a great tool for finding the most shared content for any topic or domain.

First, head over to  Buzzsumo and login.

Next, click the “top content” tab and enter a keyword related to your topic –

buzzsumo1

Make sure you have the settings set to include “articles” over the last 6 months.

Hit search.

You will then see a list of posts along with the number of social shares broken down by individual channels –

buzzsumo2

Make a list of the top 10 posts according to level of social engagement.

Topsy

Topsy is a great tool for finding content that has received a lot of links.

Head over to Topsy and enter a keyword related to your niche –

topsy1

Select “all time” and sort by “links” –

topsy2

Remember, we want to find content that receives a high level of social engagement and backlinks.

Quicksprout Tool

When it comes to identifying the most socially engaged content on a site, Neil Patel has delivered an absolute gem.

Head over to Quicksprout and enter the domain name of a competitor in your niche –

qs1

Wait a minute for the tool to crawl your site.

The tool will provide you with a high-level SEO audit. But, for the purpose of this post we will want to click on the social media analysis tab –

qs2

This report will highlight the site’s most engaged social channels –

qs3

…and identify the individual pages that have received the most social shares broken down by channel –

QS4

This is not only great for identifying proven content,  but it’s also an effective tool for performing competitor analysis. Uncover which channels are providing the biggest payoff for your competitors and shift your own promotional efforts in that direction (if they aren’t already).

Open Site Explorer

Another way to find content that attracts quality content is to use Open Site Explorer’s “top pages” functionality.

First, head over to Open Site Explorer and enter the domain of of one of your top competitors –

Click on the “top pages”  tab –

OSE2

Now, sort the content by number of referring domains.

Make a list of the top performing pages.

Repeat this for a few of your top competitors.

Google Search

When it comes to uncovering proven content, you can’t go past Google.

The logic here is simple. Enter a keyword related to your industry –

Scroll through and look at all the sites ranking for that competitive search term. These are probably ranking highly because they have a lot of quality links pointing to them –

serpsnapshot

To confirm, head over to open site explorer and see which pages have the highest number of referring domains. The pages with the highest number of quality inbound links are going to be your top link poaching targets (more on that later).

On my travels, I came a across a number of posts that listed a few content promotion strategies, but never really got into much detail on the implementation side of things.

There was a lot of the what, but not much of the how. 

Despite this, many of the pages were earning hunderds of quality backlinks –

huffingtonbacklinks

…from trusted domains –

competitor referring domains

When I saw this alarm bells started ringing!

I knew I could create a piece of content that would add 20 layers of awesomeness to the majority of the content already floating around online.

Bring on step #2…

Step #2: Make It Better On Three Levels

This is where we take the proven content and make it even better. 

There are a number of ways you can improve content. I chose to:

  • Make it longer
  • Make it more in-depth
  • Make it immediately actionable

All three elements combine to deliver instant value to the reader. Not only are they receiving information that will make them a more efficient content marketer, anyone can follow along and start implementing the strategies immediately.

Here’s how to do it…

Make It Longer

The simple truth is: longer content has higher perceived value.

Think about it, would you rather read an article titled “5 content promotion strategies”, or “16 Explosive Content Promotion Strategies”?

I’ll go out on a limb here and assume most of you would click on option B first.

When I was researching proven content I came across an article published on The Huffington Post that was titled “5 Steps to Creating a Powerful Content Marketing Strategy”…

…and needless to say, it attracted a few hundred backlinks –

huffingtonbacklinks

There were a bunch of posts out there listing 5,6,7…up to 11 content promotion strategies.

nomeat

I decided I was going to write a monster post that covered 17 (get the free 6,000 word ebook) actionable content promotion strategies.

This would help imply a higher level of perceived value.

So, I sat down and made a list of 17 content promotion strategies that met four criteria:

  1. Applicable in any vertical
  2. Anyone could implement them
  3. There were zero barriers to entry (no budget needed….no expensive tools required)
  4. The strategies could be implemented immediately

After an hour or so I emerged with 17 strategies that met all the criteria listed above.

It was time to add the meat to the bones (so to speak)…

Make It More In-Depth

Another thing I noticed when I was research the existing content out there was that most posts that provided lists of different strategies were just that…

…bulleted lists with very little actionable content –

whatnothow

A lot of the what, but very little of the how.

I set out on a mission to make each strategy a step-by-step implementation guide that any person with any level of online marketing experience could follow and implement.

Doing this will differentiates your post and provides maximum value to your readers.

Heck, it’ll even get you a few pats on the back –

rrcomment

It’s clear that you have a piece of content offers superior value.

This is critical when you begin spreading the word…

Step #3: Promote It Like Your Blog Depends On It

This is the most important step in the entire process.

There are a number of different content strategies I use to promote my posts, which I cover in great detail in this post.

Today, I’m going to touch on a several strategies that helped rocket the post over 10,000 visits in 30 days.

Buzzbundle

When it comes to content promotion, Buzzbundle is my secret weapon.

Part of the reason the Skyscraper Technique works so well is because you are able to identify the people that have already shared and linked to inferior content in the past…..and then target them.

Instead of trying to engaged a fresh audience, you are engaging with people that have already linked to and shared similar content.

Buzzbundle allows you to monitor and track conversations related to specific keywords and brand mentions across a number of channels, including –

  • Blogs
  • Social networks
  • Forums
  • Q&A sites

It allows you to quickly find your target audience and engage in the conversations related to your content…as they are happening (I’m putting together a 30 day case study on the tool…stay tuned for that!).

Your reputation in social media

Here’s how to do it –

Once you have installed Buzzbundle, open it up and hit “create new project.

Next, click “create new stream” and enter the keywords and URLs you want to track. For this example we’ll use “content marketing” as our seed keyword target (add as many as you want) –

bb1

Wait a few minutes for the tool to load.

You will then see a list of streams (social media, Q&A sites, forums, video sharing sites) highlighting content and active online conversations related to your target keyword group –

bb2

There is a free version of the tool available. The free account currently gives you access to 30% of the threads, which is still plenty to engage and promote your content to the right people.

If you want to take it to another level check out the PRO package. I just signed up for it. It gives you thousands of relevant streams to target…in minutes. Case study to come 🙂

Create A Persona

After you’ve selected the keywords and URLs you want to track, it’s time to create your persona. This is the identity you will be using to engage in conversations online –

bb6

Type in your username, password, email and email password. BuzzBundle requests the password to your email account in order for verification purposes.

Then, you can add your social media profiles –

bb9

Now you’re ready to start buzzing!

Get Your Buzz On

Once you have your persona completed and keywords added click the “Find Buzz” button. You can also filter the types of websites you want to monitor –

bb10

BuzzBundle will go out and scrape all the content listed on social media sites, forums, blogs and Q&A sites related to your keywords.

Once you find a post that you like start engaging. I look for people asking questions related to the content I have already written.

For example, this person is asking about different link building techniques on Twitter. You would engage this person –

BB17

And provide him with a link to your post –

BB16

Or, you might find a question in a forum that you can drop your link in –

BB13

BuzzBundle provides you with the ability to filter social media conversations. This is great if you find a piece of content similar to what you have written that has gained a lot of social engagement –

BB15

Enter the post’s URL into the search filter and look through all the people that engaged with that post.

Your reputation in social media

This functionality feeds into the hear of the Skyscraper Technique, promoting content to the right people.

LinkedIn Groups

LinkedIn groups are one of the most powerful, yet underrated content marketing channels.

It accounts for 64% of all corporate websites traffic that comes via social media channels.

LinkedIn groups  provide the following opportunities –

  • Targeted content promotion
  • Direct line of communication with industry influencers
  • Relationship building

On August 1, I launched my “killer link building guide“. I shared this post in 5 targeted LinkedIn Groups.

The post has received over 4,500 visits in that last 7 weeks…

linkedintraffic

…and 629 of those visits (13%) came from LinkedIn. Not bad for taking 5 minutes to share the post in a handful of groups.

Head over to LinkedIn and select “groups” from the dropdown next to the search bar. Enter a keyword related to your niche –

linkedingroups2

You  will see a list of groups related to the keyword you entered.

Some of these groups have tens of thousands of members –

linkedingroups

These are people that have an expressed interest in that topic….people who are much more likely to engage with your content.

Request to join any groups related to your content and blog.

Submit your post within the group.

Last time I checked, you could join up to 50 groups.

Take it to another level…

LinkedIn groups are the perfect platform to build relationships with other professionals and influencers in your industry.

Take the opportunity to get granular with your content promotion strategy. For example, let’s assume you’re trying to get your content in front of the decision makers of startups.

I’d head over to LinkedIn and look for a group such as Business Owners, Entrepreneurs and Start-Ups –

linkedin3

Then, I’d hit the “members” tab and do a search for CEO –

linkedinsearch

This will bring up a list of start-up CEOs. These are ready-made business prospects –

linkedin4

You can use a similar approach for almost any industry.

Make sure you engage with other content and members within the community. This is a fantastic way to build connections with influencers in your industry and build your personal brand.

But wait, there’s more…

LinkedIn Groups also provide the opportunity to get inside an influencer’s inbox without even having their email address.

This opens pandora’s box when it comes to content amplification. Just think, get an influencer such as Brian Dean to link to your content and you could get hundreds of new eyes on your content immediately –

LinkedIn4

However, you do need to have a connection with them.

One way to build connections with influencers is to build connections with their connections (become a 2nd degree connection).

However, the quickest way to build a connection with an influencer on LinkedIn is to look at their profile and identify the groups they members of.

Join any groups the influencer is a member of.

As a member of a shared group, you’ll be able to send a connection request.

Once the influencer accepts your invitation to connect, you’ll be able to send them a direct message.

Your connection will then receive a notification in their email inbox.

Here is a sample message you could use –

linkedin5

Weekly Roundups

Weekly link roundups are another grossly underrated content promotion strategy. Where else can you find people that are actively looking to link (and send targeted traffic) to your content?

If you’re not familiar with roundups, they are simply blog posts that link out to the week’s best content.

The key here is to find roundups that have a large readership and receive a ton of social engagement.

When done right, you could land your content on reputable roundups such as this one from Matthew Woodward…

mwroundup

….. or Buffer –

bufferroundup

….. or Linkarati –

linkaratiroundup

Two of these roundups sent 786 hits to my content promotion post –

roundupreferral

Here’s how to do it –

Enter the following search strings into Google:

“link roundup” + your industry

“weekly link roundup” + your industry

~KW + “link roundup”

searchroundup

~KW + “best articles of the week”

“KW” + inurl:roundup

“KW” + intitle:roundup

If there is a particular site that you would like to see if they publish a link roundup, type the following search string –

site:domain.com +”roundup”

Make sure you set it so Google is only returning search results for the past month –

searchscreenshot

Next, head over to Twitter and run the queries in the search bar –

tw

Make a list of the sites publishing roundups on a regular basis and take note of their contact information.

Now it’s a matter of reaching out to the bloggers and suggesting your content.

Here is the exact template I use –

Hey NAME,
First, I just want to say thanks for the great weekly roundups you’ve been putting together over at the BLOG NAME. I’ve been getting a ton of value from them.
I’m writing to let you know about a new piece of content I published that shows business owners YOUR BLOG TITLE.
I’ve found this strategy particularly effective for building links for local SEO. You can read the post here: BLOG URL
I thought you might like to add it to your weekly roundup.
Either way, keep up the great work!
Cheers,
Robbie.

P.S. Would love to know what you think about the post?

This strategy is extremely effective for three reasons:

  • prospects are actively looking for great content to promote to their readers
  • you can leverage the audiences of influencers and tap into a new audience
  • scalable in virtually any niche

Tip: when pitching content for weekly roundups make sure it is your absolute best content.

Forum Marketing

Forum marketing is a powerhouse when it comes to content promotion. Let me show you what I mean.

Take a look at the referral traffic report in my Google Analytics account below and you will see that Inbound.org (online marketing forum) has sent my blog almost 2,000 visits in the 60 days since launch –

inboundreferraltraffic

In fact, it is my #1 source of referral traffic –

referraltraffic

So, how do you identify relevant niche forums that can drive serious traffic to your site?

Keep reading…

Head over to Google and enter the following search strings –

“keyword” + “forum” 

“keyword” + “forums” 

“keyword” + “powered by vbulletin” (vbulletin is a software used to create and manage forums)

“keyword” + “hot thread with new posts”

“keyword” + “board”

These search strings should give you a bunch of relevant niche forums to investigate.

But, if you don’t find any relevant forums using those search strings, you can try using Boardreader, a search engine for forums.

Here’s how to do it –

First, head over to Boardreader.com and enter a term related to your niche. Make sure you select forums in the top left of the page –

BR1

Next, find forums that your target audience would hang out on. This one looks promising –

br2

Now, head over to the forum and assess whether or not it is an active/ quality forum worth targeting –

br3

Since there is no active user metric you will want to pay close attention to the date since last post as well as the engagement level. The Higher Rankings forum meets both criteria (fresh and active).

Warrior Forum would be another one that might be worth adding to your list of forums to target.

First, register for the forum. It’s very important to use your brand or personal name as your username.

Then, add your forum signature. This is the piece that is going to drive the traffic to your site. Make sure you include a ‘benefit-driven’ CTA signature to entice people to click through to your site –

br4

If you want to real clever, make your signature link through to a squeeze page to quickly build your email list.

*Tip: Do NOT use exact match anchor text in forum links. This can end up triggering a Penguin penalty.

Once you’ve completed your signature, head back over to forum home page and find an active thread related to your area of expertise –

br5

Click a relevant thread and identify a discussion topic to start engaging in. I know quite a lot about backlinks so this topic from yesterday with 422 views looks like one that is worth exploring –

BR6

Simply adding one or two valuable comments a day can send hundreds of new visitors to your site.

Take it further…

Now, if you want to ramp up the forum traffic strategy, start submitting your own threads.

The great thing about this strategy is you can re-purpose your content. For example, I can simply copy and paste my link building strategies post and add it as a text post –

br7

THEN….

Head over to one of the niche forums and identify a handful of members that regularly curate content. Pay close attention to the number of shares and ratings for that particular member.

Engage with the content they post, and then make an effort to connect with them on Twitter, Google Plus or LinkedIn.

A good way to initiate this connection is to share a piece of their own content and then mention their handle. This will alert them and immediately put you on their radar.

Once you have built a relationship with these forum influencers, give them a heads up every time you post an epic piece of content. Better still, feature them in an expert roundup or reference their work in a post. This will dramatically increase the chances of them sharing your content in the forums.

Here’s an example –

I was fortunate to have Umar Khan, a prominent curator on the Inbound.org forum share my content promotion post –

umarkhan

The post got upvoted 119 times and was featured at the top of Inbound for a week –

upvotes

…and sent 1,324 people to the post –

inboundreferral

….which was eventually picked up and featured as a top 10 submission in the Moz monthly Digest –

MozDigest

This sent a ton of traffic to my site –

GA1

Getting featured on prominent industry forums can open the traffic floodgates and even land you guest post opportunities.

And….business leads –

noodlewave

Bonus Tip: Don’t be afraid to submit your own awesome content to forums. When you do this, reach out to a handful of your twitter friends and ask them to upvote your content.

A quick initial surge in upvotes can get your content in “trending” categories. This instantly exposes your content to a HUGE audience.

Link Poaching

The best way to build links to (and promote) your content is to find people that have already linked to similar content and introduce them to your new (and improved) content.

The Skyscraper Technique is built to exploit this powerful promotion technique.

There are a number of great backlink checkers out there. Two of my favorites are Ahrefs and Open Site Explorer.

First, do a quick search in Google to identify topics similar to yours (use your research from step #1) –

serpsnapshot

Next, copy the URL of the top result. This piece of content likely has a large number of quality links pointing to it.

Enter the URL into your backlink checker of choice –

ahrefs1

Navigate over to the “inbound links” section and select the “links” option –

ahrefs2

This will give you a list of all the pages linking to the URL –

ahrefs3

Now, if you don’t have a paid subscription to any of the backlink checkers you’re going to have to do a little more legwork to extract a large number of link prospects….but, it’s still very doable.

There are two other link checkers I recommend. Both tools offer free versions that will give you a ton of link prospects.

SEO Spyglass

SEO Spyglass is part of the SEO Powersuite and is one of my absolute favorite backlink checkers.

It runs as a piece of desktop software.

Recent updates have it pulling more backlinks than Ahrefs and Majestic SEO combined.

The best feature of this tool is the analysis you can do for each backlink prospect. The free version will check if the links are live, display anchor text, page rank scores, social shares and alexa rank. All of this information is real-time fresh data.

sg2

The “linked-to page” analysis is my favorite piece of data. This shows which content your competitors are using to attract backlinks. This saves you a lot of guess work when tweaking your own content strategy.

The tool also allows you to toggle between the different types of backlinks, including links from blogs, forums and directories.

sg1

If you are using the free version of SEO Spyglass you will be limited to 1,100 backlinks for each URL, and you won’t be able to export the results. My advice, focus on the backlinks that have a PR of two or above.

Open Site Explorer

Open Site Explorer is part of the Moz SEO tool suite.

The free account will give you a list of 50 backlinks for each URL.

By default, Open Site Explorer provides a list of both internal and external links. In order to filter the list so that you only get external backlinks, select “external only” from the “links from” dropdown.

ose1

Pay close attention to the page and domain authority for each backlink. The higher the authority the more page rank (link juice) the URL will pass onto your site.

You can also filter out the “top pages” to get a quick look at the most “link-worthy” content on the site –

OSE3

Copy all the email addresses from the different backlink checkers and add them to a master excel spreadsheet.

Head over to each site and copy the contact email address.

Reach out to the webmaster with this template –

Hey NAME, 

I just wanted to say that I’m loving the blog. I actually came across a great post of yours today, POST NAME. 
 
As always, great stuff!
 
I noticed that you have a link to POST NAME
 
I really like this resource, some very valuable content in there. In fact, it inspired me to write an updated version called ENTER YOUR POST NAME. You can check it out here: POST URL. Might be worth adding to your article. 
 
Either way, keep up the great work!
 
Cheers, 
YOUR NAME
Rinse and repeat this technique for the top 10 search results and you’ll have a solid list of link prospects.

Google Plus Communities

Google Plus communities provide a targeted channel to promote your content.

As the name implies, Google Plus communities are online groups where like-minded individuals interact and share content.

There are thousands of communities targeting almost every industry and topic under the sun.

Once you have written your piece of content, head over to Google Plus and select “communities” from the left navigation –

google plus

In the top search bar enter a keyword related to your industry or the topic of your content. Scroll through and join all the communities related to your niche –

googleplus2

Next, copy the URL of your content and head back over to your Google Plus profile.

Paste the URL into the “link” box and add an attention-grabbing message –

g3

When posting your content be sure to mention others you have referenced in your work (where applicable) and select the relevant community you want to post the content.

This is a particularly effective tactic if you have written an expert roundup.

Pick a Google Plus community that is related to your content and has a large number of members.

Like you did above, add a link to your post and add an attention-grabbing message.

However, this time you are going to mention every influencer from your roundup –

g4

This will send them a notification that you have mentioned them in your post…

….and many of them will plus one or share your content –

g6

This is powerful as many of the influencers in your post will have a large number of Google Plus followers  –

googleplusreferral mwg+

When possible, mention brands and influencers in your Google Plus posts and you’re content will get amplified and send a nice stream of traffic your way –

googleplusreferral

Time It Just Right

When promoting your content on social media, timing is everything.

Every day millions of blog posts are shared across social media channels, so it’s critical you’re posting content when your audience is online. 

Here’s how to do it –

Tweriod is a free tool that tells you when the largest number of your followers are online and engaging with content –

Tweriod1

Hit the “go to dashboard” button on the homepage and then sign in with your Twitter account.

Next, click the “my analysis” tab.

Now, you can see the times when the largest number of your Twitter followers are online,  as well as the times when your content is likely to get the most exposure –

Tweriod3

Take this insight and optimize the times at which you are scheduling your content to go out on Twitter.

Facebook Insights

The facebook insights tool is great for identifying when your fans are online.

Log into your facebook account and click the “insights” tab –

facebook insights

Then, hit the “posts” tab –

fb2

Now you can see which days, and at what times, your fans are on facebook –

fb3

Timing +

Timing + is a free tool that will give you a quick snapshot of the best times to post on Google Plus.

Head over to Timing + and sign in with your Google account.

You will then be able to see which posts have performed that best and which time of the day posts get the most engagement –

timingplus

Now, head over to Buffer and begin scheduling your content when people are online –

buffer

Bonus Tip: I see many bloggers fall victim to what I call “set it- forget it” syndrome. A person will write an epic piece of content, identify optimal posting time, and then post the content once, usually right after it gets published.

This is a HUGE waste.

What happens if your readers aren’t online at the time you post?

Your content never gets read, which means it never gets shared or linked to, which means you get zero traffic.

Ouch!

That doesn’t mean you should go back over to Buffer and start scheduling the content to go out every day for the next month using the same headline. You’ll just piss people off.

Instead, use snippets.

Here is a general rule for posting snippets that has served me well in the past:

  • Post once a day to Twitter the first week after publishing. Then, post twice a week for the next three weeks.
  • Post twice to facebook in the month after publishing.
  • Post to a different Google Plus community each week for four weeks after publishing.

Identifying optimal post times while leveraging snippets can send a nice stream of traffic to your site….

socialtraffic

…and increase the level of social engagement –

social engagement

 

That’s A Wrap

As you can see, the Skyscraper Technique is a powerful weapon to have in your arsenal. A big thanks to Brian Dean for sharing this gem.

I used this exact approach to write and promote a post that generated over 10,000 visits in 30 days, without spending a single penny.

And, you can too.

The beauty of this approach is that it removes a lot of the guess work from your content marketing efforts. No more spray and pray.

Instead, find a piece of proven content, make it better and then promote it like crazy. The result, a post people can’t help but share and link to.

If you found this post helpful, please feel free to share it with your friends or subscribe to my newsletter.

Give the Skyscraper technique a try for yourself. Just follow the steps listed above and you’ll be on your way to opening the traffic floodgates.

Leave a comment below and let me know how you go!

Filed Under: SEO

Comments

  1. Derek Miller says

    September 30, 2014 at 7:34 pm

    Absolutely incredible post! You are exactly right, aside from great content an almost more influential component is the outreach and promotion! I know you said you’ve received several guest posting opportunities, but if you’d be interested in one more CopyPress would definitely love to have your insight on our blog.

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      October 1, 2014 at 12:49 am

      Hey, thanks Derek. Content is queen, promotion is king 🙂

      I’m swamped right now, but I’ll definitely keep you in mind. Thanks for reaching out!

      Reply
  2. Gabby says

    September 30, 2014 at 9:37 pm

    The most helpful article I’ve read in a long time. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      October 1, 2014 at 12:50 am

      Thanks Gabby, glad you liked it!

      Any chance for an upvote? 🙂 http://inbound.org/articles/view/case-study-how-i-increased-traffic-272-in-30-days-without-spending-a-penny

      Cheers.

      Reply
  3. Caitlin Dodds says

    October 1, 2014 at 1:18 am

    Hi Robbie, I stumbled upon this on Google+ this evening and seriously – this is hands-down the MOST helpful article I’ve read on link-building in a long, long time. Content promotion is the #1 thing I struggle with and I am so excited to check out a bunch of the tools and tactics you mentioned. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      October 2, 2014 at 4:38 am

      Awesome, glad you’ve found it helpful Caitlin. So many people say content it king. Not true! Content promotion is the real big kid on the block. Since I’ve started focusing more on the content promotion side of things, I’ve seen dramatic improvements in both traffic generation and link building….across every kind of vertical, from marine electronics to agriculture to real estate. A solid content promotion strategy is gold 😉

      Reply
  4. Abdul says

    October 1, 2014 at 5:12 am

    You Crushed it in this post Rob.i am thinking to take some time and read all of your other posts as well.

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      October 2, 2014 at 4:35 am

      Thanks Abdul! I’d love to hear what you think of my other posts.

      Always appreciate the positive feedback….and constructive criticism 😉

      Reply
  5. Mark Deakin says

    October 1, 2014 at 9:52 am

    As always brilliant, you make it all make sense!!

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      October 2, 2014 at 4:33 am

      Thanks Mark, appreciate the feedback, and glad you found it helpful.

      Reply
  6. hannah says

    October 1, 2014 at 10:10 am

    This builds on the 16 explosive post perfectly. A pleasure to read as always x

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      October 2, 2014 at 4:32 am

      Thanks Hannah, glad you enjoyed it!

      Always good to back up the strategies with some data 🙂

      Reply
  7. Brian says

    October 1, 2014 at 1:08 pm

    Hi Robbie – congrats on your success and nice post. I think you can actually join more than 50 groups now on LinkedIn. I had read that 50 was the limit, but people kept inviting me to their groups and now I’m at 53.

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      October 2, 2014 at 4:31 am

      Sweet, thanks for the heads up! Might be a loop hole on the limit if you’re invited. I’ll have to check it out.

      Cheers!

      Reply
  8. Kane says

    October 1, 2014 at 3:54 pm

    Do you still use BuzzBundle? My VA and I both tried the free version and came to the conclusion that it was a POS 😉 It seemed super buggy. We couldn’t even get it to log into a Gmail account.

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      October 2, 2014 at 4:30 am

      Hey Kane,

      I love Buzzbundle 🙂 I’m just about to start a 30 day case study outlining how I use the tool to drive traffic to my site.

      In fact, I just upgraded to the PRO account. Haven’t had any bug issues on my end.

      Reply
  9. SeoProfy says

    October 1, 2014 at 9:39 pm

    This realy good post-case study. Havent seen so detailed posts for a long time. Good job Robbie! Shared it in Facebook and Twitter

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      October 2, 2014 at 4:28 am

      Awesome! Glad you enjoyed the post 😉

      Reply
  10. Sean Lightheart says

    October 2, 2014 at 7:58 am

    Hi Robbie, wow! what a perfect example of the Skyscraper technique right here in this post! So comprehensive.

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      October 3, 2014 at 1:18 am

      Thanks Sean! It’s a great strategy, for both link building and content promotion.

      Reply
  11. Boni Satani says

    October 2, 2014 at 9:09 am

    Absolute Delight!

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      October 3, 2014 at 1:17 am

      Thanks Boni!

      Reply
  12. Andy Gibson says

    October 2, 2014 at 7:43 pm

    Hey Robbie, really thorough post with great info. Serious question: How long did it take you to write all this?

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      October 3, 2014 at 1:15 am

      Thanks Andy! This post took me about 20hrs to put together.

      Reply
  13. Ilman Akbar says

    October 2, 2014 at 10:35 pm

    Hey, I love it very much!
    Very-very-very-very great idea! ^^
    I’m a blogger that love creating content, but failing at spreading it LOL

    I just know about BuzzBundle and I definitely will use it.

    I have only one question. My blog is non-english (Bahasa Indonesia). Any strategy adjustment for it? Can I use Buzzsumo & BuzzBundle for non-english keywords? I tried boardreader yes they have settings for displaying Bahasa Indonesia post content.

    Well that wasn’t one question LOL

    thanks for your reply

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      October 3, 2014 at 1:21 am

      Thanks Ilman!

      Buzzbundle does cater to other languages. Here is an excerpt from a customer support rep:

      To filter posts by language, please go to ‘Keyword Groups’ – click ‘Edit’ (in case you want to edit language preferences for the existing keyword group) or ‘Add’ (if you want to create a new group for a particular language) – next click the ‘Languages’ drop-down menu in the window that opens. There you can select any language you need.
      When done, jump to the ‘Streams’ tab click the ‘Edit Stream’ button (at the top of the stream)– select the needed keyword group – and hit the ‘Find Buzz’ button/ or update this particular stream only.
      NB! Please only note that not all social media sites support language filters, so your preferences will apply only to those that do.
      Vitaly
      Link-Assistant.Com Team

      Hope that helps 😉

      Reply
  14. Bilal says

    October 3, 2014 at 8:04 am

    Hi Robbie,
    super post,Currently am working on skyscraper technique and now this is one the best post to provide me a lot of help.I have one question can i use this technique for furniture industry? and How? please give some hints..

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      October 7, 2014 at 3:45 am

      Bilal,

      Yes, you can use this technique in any industry. I’m going to assume you’re referring to house furniture. After a couple minutes of looking through Buzzsumo, it appears that lists of furniture designs receive a TON of social engagement. Topsy showed that people are interested in ideal furniture sets/ designs for studio and small apartments. Outdoor furniture ideas? DIY furniture designs? That’s after a few minutes on those two sites. Is that something you were looking at? I’d incorporate as much visual product imagery as possible within the post. Sell the design/ options of your product set.

      Reply
  15. Alex Wise says

    October 5, 2014 at 9:15 pm

    Fantastic post Robbie. So much go take in!

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      October 7, 2014 at 3:33 am

      Cheers Alex! Bite sizes 😉 Let me know how it goes.

      Reply
  16. Andreas says

    October 6, 2014 at 2:14 pm

    Hi Robbie,

    great tips, thanks for putting this case study together. But this was the last article I’ve read on this site? You know why? Because your sites is incredibly slow, it takes almost 6 seconds to load and scrolling down this page took me 2 minutes. You should switch to a better host asap Sorry for being rude but thats the truth and I think I am not the only one who noticed this.

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      October 11, 2014 at 2:50 pm

      Hey Andreas, thanks so much for reaching out. I did some testing and the site is definitely running slower than I would like. It doesn’t appear to be any type of hosting issue. It’s the image file size. I need to go through and batch compress the images to reduce the file size. So, that’s what I’ll be tackling this weekend. Again, thanks for bringing this to my attention 🙂

      Reply
  17. Doug K. McClellan says

    October 8, 2014 at 10:51 pm

    Robbie,

    An absolute gem of an article!

    Thank you for putting it together and sharing it with us.

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      October 9, 2014 at 2:23 pm

      Cheers Doug! Any strategies you’re going to take and implement on your website?

      Reply
  18. Shubh says

    October 9, 2014 at 4:11 pm

    Such a pleasure to read a valuable information. Hope it will me .

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      October 11, 2014 at 2:08 pm

      Appreciate it! Please let me know if you have any questions.

      Cheers!

      Reply
  19. Oloyede Jamiu says

    October 14, 2014 at 6:37 am

    Hey Robbie,

    Here are nice tips on how to triple a blog traffic in 30 days.

    I will try out some of these strategies on my blog.

    Thanks

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      October 14, 2014 at 2:44 pm

      Awesome, let me know how you go, and if you have any questions.

      Cheers 😉

      Reply
  20. Akshay says

    November 4, 2014 at 3:22 pm

    Robbie! All I can say is that’s whopping.

    Pocketted and bookmarked the blog post for future reference. I did’nt even read the whole blog post but I counted the word count 5563. I just scrolled down to scan it.
    Excellent work!

    SkyScraper Technique, BuzzSumo, BuzzBundle. Wow, awesome.
    Ihave used BuzzSumo, it worked like a charm to find topic to blog upon.

    Tweeting this now, instantly!
    Already subsribed for the newsletter.

    I will be linking to this post in one of my blog post and then I will ping you.

    That’s all I can do it, as a damn reader!!

    Cheers,
    Akshay Hallur.

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      November 6, 2014 at 12:32 am

      Cheers Akshay!

      That case study was a beast for sure 🙂

      Let me know if you have any questions about the tools in the post. Buzzbundle is awesome too. Should give the free trial a spin!

      Reply
  21. Avinash Pathak says

    November 7, 2014 at 5:44 am

    Hi Robbie,

    Can’t believe! How it is easy to get a traffic in a site. Really you have done a great job. I will also follow the same steps to get a traffic. Really awesome post…..

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      November 11, 2014 at 10:41 pm

      Cheers Avanash! Appreciate your feedback 😉

      Reply
  22. Phil Eugene says

    November 27, 2014 at 1:39 pm

    Hi Robbie

    Wow a staggering tour de force of traffic information – I have paid more on the warrior forum for much less information. One of the few sites I have bookmarked,downloaded and placed on my ipad to re-read. A great piece of informative writing. Congrats!

    Regards
    Phil

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      November 28, 2014 at 4:33 pm

      Awesome, thanks Phil! Glad you found the post valuable. There’s plenty more to come 😉 Cheers!

      Reply
  23. Mustafa Gaziani says

    December 31, 2014 at 9:22 pm

    Hey Robbie,

    Excellent post. What I say now? I’ve no words to praise you. This post exactly what that hooks the traffic into skyrocket.
    I had read one traffic generation case study on Backlinko. Now, I read your.. Through both case study I’ve found marvelous tricks to capture traffic.

    Thanks man for sharing.

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      January 2, 2015 at 10:26 am

      Cheers Mustafa!

      Brian’s case study was epic 🙂

      Reply
  24. Ken Shenkman says

    January 13, 2015 at 10:45 pm

    I’m a bit late to the party but I had to offer a big Thanks for this post. As you point out it’s rare to see posts today that offer the how, but boy did you come through. The information and tools listed are a great resource and I am looking forward to using your advice to increase site traffic.
    Thanks!

    Ken

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      January 14, 2015 at 12:35 am

      Hey Ken,

      Glad you found the post helpful. I’ve got plenty more case studies in the pipeline 🙂

      Reply
  25. Aly Ahmed says

    January 15, 2015 at 11:23 am

    You have extracted a lot of juice from Brian’s Skyscraper technique. Your article is simply incredible.

    Thanks,
    Aly Ahmed

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      January 16, 2015 at 3:53 am

      Cheers Aly,

      Glad you enjoyed the post. Brian’s technique is a ripper.

      Reply
  26. Michael Akinlabi says

    January 15, 2015 at 10:26 pm

    Wow! This is much more in depth than what Brian Dean published on his Backlinko blog. I thought it can’t be beat but you did it. I know long hours of research went into creating this epic post. Keep them coming.

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      January 16, 2015 at 3:55 am

      Thanks Michael!

      Not so much long hours of research as much as long hours of typing and promoting 🙂 I try to make the majority of my content case study based. I’m running a couple experiments right now that I will be providing case studies for over the next month or so….succeed or fail. Wish me luck 🙂

      Reply
  27. Nirmala says

    February 5, 2015 at 7:20 am

    I’m speechless Robbie after reading your post to improve the blog traffic. I think that I have to learn and implement so many stuff to take my blog to next level. I’m greatly inspired with your content, will often show my presence for sure. Have a great day 🙂

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      February 6, 2015 at 3:09 pm

      Hey Nirmala,

      Glad you enjoyed the post. Plenty more to come 🙂 One step at a time!

      Reply
  28. FreddyGandarilla says

    February 25, 2015 at 5:02 am

    WOW Robbie!!

    What an EPIC blog post bro!! … a long post full of valuable tips for new bloggers!!

    I have learned some new things here. 🙂

    It was very valuable and packed with powerful tips. I highly recommend other bloggers to read this!

    Thanks for sharing this knowledge man!

    Keep up the great work!

    I wish you the best!

    Cheers!

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      February 26, 2015 at 3:33 am

      Cheers Freddy! I’ll be launching a new MONSTER case study next week. Keep an eye out, I think you’ll enjoy it 🙂

      Reply
  29. Javier says

    March 4, 2015 at 9:00 am

    I’m absolutely impressed, this is not a post, this is almost an ebook. I read lots of blogs about this topic and very few push the limits so high like you have done. Not only in extension but also in actionability. Congratulations

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      March 4, 2015 at 2:59 pm

      Cheers Javier! I try to separate myself by providing long form super actionable content that people can implement immediately. Thanks for reaching out. Love hearing feedback from my readers 🙂

      Reply
  30. Muhammad ismail says

    March 12, 2015 at 10:52 pm

    hey Robbie i came toward your blog from one of the post written on metthewwooward blog.. seriously i found the content very helpful and simple. i would like to thanks to your for this . and i will also try my best to implement this strategy on my newly created blog related to blogging and affiliate marketing.
    thank you

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      March 13, 2015 at 1:36 am

      Awesome, thanks for stopping by Muhammad, plenty more to come 🙂 Let me know how the tactics are working for you!

      Reply
  31. Batas Pee says

    March 21, 2015 at 6:29 pm

    woow. what a read. I got to know about your blog from matthew woodword’s post about traffic generation.
    Thanks for the indepth analysis.

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      March 21, 2015 at 6:46 pm

      Pleasure Betas! 🙂 Let me know if you have any questions.

      Reply
  32. Alex says

    March 22, 2015 at 6:17 pm

    Wow! What a post. This is a book on content marketing. BuzzBundle is a super desktop tool like HootSuite. Stealing some ideas for my freelance job portal – http://www.surejobz.com and Sharing… 🙂

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      March 23, 2015 at 12:35 am

      Sweet, thanks Alex! Let me know if you have any questions 😉

      Reply
  33. Ryan Stewart says

    March 28, 2015 at 1:40 am

    Great post Robbie.

    I’ve used a number of these techniques and I can say first hand, they work very well.

    One thing that you failed to mention in here is the how high the quality of content needs to be. You’ll never make it to the first page of inbound.org or on moz with anything less than amazing content. Your content promotion strategy post fucking rocked – that makes content promotion MUCH easier.

    Most marketers fail in their inability to create great content, and do so consistently for a long period of time.

    This is why I disagree skyscraper method – I hate that it’s become a quasi buzzword in our industry.

    Every halfway decent SEO knows they’ve got to create content to be successful. The days of ranking a home page for “best boner pills in the world” are over. You’ve got to have substantial content on your site that builds authority, sharing, links and trust to get substantial organic traffic.

    Because they know this, they’re pumping out a ton of regurgitated content. They use this skyscraper technique to redo content that doesn’t need to be redone. It’s jamming up the internet with garbage.

    It’s an incredible skill to be able to communicate more value in less words. People are now creating less value in more words. All in an attempt to gain traffic.

    Traffic is great – but who gives a shit if that traffic doesn’t convert. Only great content converts – it’s what separates the great from the mediocre.

    Don’t copy other people’s works and try and make it better. Be original. Share something new. Compete. Add value. Fuck, do anything but waste your time (and everyone else’s) creating shit.

    I’ll get off my soap box.

    I wanted to share a post I did about blog SEO. It’s a 5,000+ word guide on how I’ve driven over 10,000,000 organic visits for clients over the last 8 months. Just like your content, I hold nothing back. Everything I do from a – z is included in it.

    If you get a couple minutes, check it out. I respect your opinion – feedback is always appreciated.

    You can check it out here:

    http://webris.org/blog-seo-how-to-optimize-your-blog-for-google/

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      March 28, 2015 at 2:20 pm

      YES! I love it when people bring a new perspective to the table 🙂 Thanks so much for taking the time to reach out, Ryan. You make a lot of solid points in your comment. I do agree that people shouldn’t regurgitate content purely for the sake of traffic, and obviously quality traffic – content mapped to persona/ buyer cycle etc – is important. I’m not an advocate for that at all. However, I am definitely an advocate for the Skscraper technique if it is used correctly. And, for me, that means presenting popular content topics in a case study format that is SUPER actionable. I also disagree with your point about “failed to mention in here how high the quality needs to be”. That’s section #2. These days with over 2 million blog posts hitting the web every day, especially in online marketing niche, practically EVERY topic has been covered to some extent. For example, you said my content promotion article rocked. I really appreciate that. I took a topic “content promotion strategies” that has been flogged to death, and add a shit load more value to it, got it to rank #1 in Google, presented it as a case study (data backed) and made it step-by-step actionable. This is how people can and SHOULD use the skyscraper in my opinion. It adds value – look at the comments – and resulted in well over 1K engaged subscribers on this blog. A also agree quality should be very high. Without it, the post will die. I’m all for presenting a fresh (personal) perspective. I read over your article, which is AWESOME by the way. Great work, just shared it 🙂 But, once again, a topic that has been written about a million times! But, you presented it from a case study/ actionable perspective that is far more valuable 99% of the other stuff written on “blog SEO”. So, I don;t see a whole of difference in what you’ve done comapred to the skyscraper, to be honest. I also agree, the hardest part about blogging is communicating more value with less words. As I’ve found, 5000+ word articles don’t get read all the way through very often. So, I’m shifting more towards video to break it up in the future. Thanks again for your great insights Ryan, really appreciated.

      Reply
  34. Prashanth K says

    March 29, 2015 at 12:03 pm

    Thanks, Robbie!

    Your example makes it easy for us to follow through, and apply it for our gain :).

    After a while, I think everyone repurposes content. If you are writing about “how to blog”, there is only so much you originally create. You build on the older content from your posts or those from others and make the brand new content more readable, actionable, and compelling.

    You try to create the magic of words that get others to notice.

    Content upgrades can lend a new perspective, provide better ways for doing the same things mentioned earlier, or provide an enhancement that will blow-up the awesomeness (in a good way)!

    You have a good story about how content upgrade worked, and you also sold the story of creating that story in an awesome way.

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      March 29, 2015 at 11:54 pm

      Prashanth, the key to leveraging repurposed content is add value, and one of the best ways to do that is present the material in a case study format. Show people HOW you got set results and the show the DATA to prove it. More credible, more actionable, more valuable. Cheers!

      Reply
  35. Jon Ingebrigtson says

    April 7, 2015 at 4:39 am

    Great article Robby! I actually found you when peeking at Mathew Woodward’s Backlinks 🙂
    Back in 2011, I launched my website and created an authoritative document. Everyone needs at least one authoritative document on their website! Mine was a list of social bookmarking websites. You can find it at http://bluesearchmarketing.com/social-bookmarking-sites-list/
    It’s been socially shared over 800 times and has tons of natural links with very little promotion. I am really looking forward to creating more content and using the techniques that you share in this post. Great Job!

    Reply
  36. Faisal says

    May 12, 2015 at 1:33 pm

    Thanks for sharing such great case study.

    Reply
  37. Ngan Son says

    May 12, 2015 at 5:25 pm

    There are many great things about how to create and promote the content for the blog. That is a reason I share this article for my student immediately. I will apply your tips for improving my blog. Thank you very much.

    Reply
  38. Paul Sarwana says

    May 21, 2015 at 10:45 am

    “Find proven content, make it better, and promote it like your blog depends on it.” I don’t care about the name. But it’s a system to add more values to your audiences. It’s a proven system that makes our content reaches its goal.

    I once made a mistake by not following such a system. I thought creating actionable, 4000+ words content was great. But I was wrong. The result of not doing content research well was a low interest to the topic.

    Thank you Robbie for the value you add to the community.

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      May 21, 2015 at 1:59 pm

      Hey Paul,

      It really helps to find content ideas that are proven to attract a ton of engagement. Once you know what works, think about how you can turn that topic into a case study on your blog, then write that 4000+ actionable piece of content you mentioned. People like to see numbers to back up the madness 🙂

      Reply
  39. Adriano says

    May 26, 2015 at 2:02 pm

    Amazing job on this post! Congrats!

    Reply
  40. Charlie says

    June 17, 2015 at 8:25 pm

    Awesome post. Most posts on the net just tells what the problem, this post goes into intense detail about how to solve the problem

    Take a bow and I’ve shared it on my twiter feed

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      June 18, 2015 at 12:47 am

      Cheers Charlie!

      Reply
  41. kris says

    July 12, 2015 at 2:02 pm

    Wow awesome post, i’ve literately been trying to learn SEO for years, i always give up the learning because getting information is almost impossible, pretty much every post on how to do seo is always useless fluff that when you’re finished reading you realise you’ve learnt nothing.

    Anyway huge relief to finally read some one describe the process of what to do, many thanks, it’s great to learn exactly and in detail the whole process of content distribution…. ill be trying this over the next week on a few of my websites.

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      July 18, 2015 at 4:37 am

      Awesome, please stop back and let me know how you go Kris!

      Reply
  42. Julian Tai says

    July 15, 2015 at 5:57 pm

    Thanks for spoon-feeding some great strategies on how to build traffic to killer content. I spend a lot of time reading and skimming in order to find actionable content for marketing, but rarely do I see posts that feed you screenshots for every strategy!

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      July 18, 2015 at 4:36 am

      Cheers Julian! Plenty more to come 🙂

      Reply
  43. Koemsie Ly says

    July 22, 2015 at 2:07 am

    Awesome post! Thanks you so much!

    Reply
  44. Alex Zemkus says

    July 23, 2015 at 12:15 am

    Loved it Robbie; your great article as well as the comments. I actually printed this post as well as your 16 Content promotion strategies. It came to 83 page, what an epic, and what value in the information that you provided.

    I would say everyone has problems at times coming up with content. And in this day there’s not a whole lot of totally new and original topics to come up with.

    Finding proven content that you can add to in your own voice is a gem. And it’s not just a matter of adding a tonne of verbage to enlarge it, but writing it from your perspective, putting your stamp of uniqueness to it.

    Everyone has their own audience that will only respond to them rather than someone else.

    Thanks,
    Alex Z

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      July 23, 2015 at 6:49 pm

      Cheers Alex!

      Yes, you’ll be hard pressed finding a topic that has already been covered a thousands times before. But, if you can take a strategy, apply it and show the results there is a lot of value in it for the reader. Especially if you can approach it from a different angle.

      Reply
  45. Amir says

    August 5, 2015 at 6:18 am

    i am amazed on this article nice man

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      August 9, 2015 at 2:37 pm

      Cheers Amir, more to come 🙂

      Reply
  46. Phillip Lopez says

    August 6, 2015 at 10:16 pm

    Robbie, this is a phenomenal post.

    I usually don’t read long posts, but you’re right the perceived value is way higher than something that only gave me one way to do something and then not really elaborating much on the HOW.

    Well done.

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      August 9, 2015 at 2:39 pm

      Thanks mate!

      I tried to make all my posts as actionable as possible. Glad you found it helpful. More to come 🙂

      Reply
  47. Al says

    September 3, 2015 at 12:59 am

    Robbie,

    You mention that you did this on zero budget but many of the tools utilized obviously have a cost. Am I missing something here, after all the free trials last for such a short time.

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      September 4, 2015 at 5:22 pm

      Hey Al,

      You’re not missing anything. I did all that with free trials. Although the trials offer limited functionality, I was still able to get solid results. Which trials are you referencing with the restricted time periods?

      I used to aggregate data from multiple free trials like in the link analysis post: https://www.robbierichards.com/seo/steal-competitors-backlinks-rankings/.

      Reply
  48. David says

    September 7, 2015 at 10:37 pm

    Hey, thank you for putting together such an informative article.

    When it comes to forum posting and yahoo answers, dont you find you get banned for posting links?

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      September 15, 2015 at 11:54 pm

      Hey David, forums are a touchy one. But, if your links provide helpful information to the reader, you should be fine. I typically post a lengthy response and include a link as an additional resource. Always read the guidelines before dropping a link though.

      Reply
  49. Tim Mcguire says

    September 15, 2015 at 4:44 am

    A great post, no fluff just pure unadulterated actionable content. Thanks

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      September 15, 2015 at 11:50 pm

      Cheers Tim! Glad you liked the post. I try and make everything immediately actionable.

      Reply
  50. Isa says

    September 19, 2015 at 11:52 am

    Wow, what a great and epic post! Robbie. Love it!

    What else can I say as a newbie in the field. Actually I have been overwhelmed with information overload on the vexed issue of getting organic traffic especially when you consider the various Google’s heavy hand of discipline to erring marketers through Penguin and Panda releases.

    I came to this post from your mention by Neil Patel in his equally sensational post “14 Content Marketing Tools That Will Double Your Search Traffic”. I have even read Brain Dean’s Skyscrapper Technique.

    I find your post the most easy to understand and practical and actionable of of the three epic articles…maybe because I am a newbie or something.

    Now I feel myself cleared and now know exactly what to do to get organic traffic that I so much cherish to send to my website even though great work lay ahead.

    Thanks for taking the time out to create this marvelous post. It is simply awesome. Really I felt the “wow experience” when I read it. It maybe long…but who cares, after all I wanted to clear a lot of conflicting info. in the SEO space and your article gave me that.

    Nothing good comes easy. I spent close to two hours to go through the whole essay but at the end I don’t regret doing so! For my future benefit and to give compliment to you, I opted into
    your List and will very well be following you on twitter and Face Book.

    Thanks.

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      September 24, 2015 at 12:12 am

      Cheers Isa! I’m glad to have your on board 🙂

      Reply
  51. Zunair says

    October 5, 2015 at 2:52 pm

    A great post. Thanks Robbie you are the best. I will definitely apply these tips on my website.

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      October 6, 2015 at 3:39 pm

      Awesome, thanks Zunair! Let me know how you go.

      Reply
  52. Margaret M says

    October 21, 2015 at 8:16 pm

    So many awesome tips, I hardly know where to start!! I just downloaded Buzzbundle to begin with.

    I really liked the tip on LinkedIn Groups too. Most people don’t realize the many ways you can connect with prospects on LinkedIn. We did a 3 part series on growing your network and connecting with prospects on LinkedIn (http://bit.ly/1W528k5), to get people in the loop!

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      October 24, 2015 at 7:22 pm

      Thanks Margaret! Glad you enjoyed the post. I’ll have to check out your mini series.

      Reply
  53. James says

    October 29, 2015 at 8:46 pm

    Very good one with many insights, I have to think about some points-
    like the skyscraper technique that everyone doing this days.
    Thanks!

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      October 30, 2015 at 12:36 am

      You’re right James, a lot of people are doing the Skyscraper Technique these days…because it works 🙂 As long as you take a proven topic and add your own unique value and make it better, it’s one of the best strategies out there.

      Reply
  54. Mehmood says

    December 1, 2015 at 2:02 pm

    Loved it Robbie. I have just crossed through your post and its really awesome. Very simple and easy to understandable. I will definitely share it and I am gonna bookmark your page for more amazing stuff. Hope to hear from you again.

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      December 3, 2015 at 6:35 am

      Awesome, thanks Mehmood! Plenty more to come 🙂

      Reply
  55. amazon top selling skincare says

    January 10, 2016 at 3:39 pm

    Fantastic blog! Do you have any helpful hints for aspiring writers?
    I’m planning to start my own website soon but I’m a little
    lost on everything. Would you recommend starting with
    a free platform like WordPress or go for a paid option? There are so many choices out
    there that I’m completely confused .. Any recommendations?

    Cheers!

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      January 19, 2016 at 1:19 am

      I’d recommend going with wordpress.org. You can cheap hosting at Bluehost (check out my tools page), do a one-click install with a free wordpress theme and be up and running in less than an hour.

      Reply
  56. Sutopo Sasuke says

    January 22, 2016 at 1:08 am

    thanks bro …
    I like your sharing information
    regards
    sutopo

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      January 22, 2016 at 4:46 pm

      Cheers Sutopo!

      Reply
  57. Wade Cockfield says

    March 16, 2016 at 4:34 am

    Great stuff Robbie,

    I’ve learnt some new tricks here and I am sure they will help

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      March 25, 2016 at 2:32 pm

      Awesome, glad to hear it Wade! Let me know how you fare with the tactics.

      Reply
  58. James Zumakir says

    March 19, 2016 at 12:25 am

    This is very helpful, tips given will we try one by one to increase the traffic to our website, thank you for the kindness you have shared something like this

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      March 25, 2016 at 2:29 pm

      Thanks James! Let me know how you go 🙂

      Reply
  59. John says

    April 26, 2016 at 10:08 am

    Hey Robbie,

    I’ve read this article before but it dropped in my inbox again this morning so I read it again! It’s a great article, really great information and tips.

    I’m using the Skyscraper Technique with one of my clients at the moment and I freely admit I’m finding it difficult to get as many responses to my outreach emails then I’d like.

    I think it’s down to the fact that people in my client’s industry (kitchen worktops) perhaps aren’t used to receiving many cold emails asking to check out content so what I’m doing is trying to interact with them on social media, blog posts etc before performing my outreach in the hope that it’ll warm them to me a little bit before I reach out for something.

    I’d definitely recommend using the Skyscraper Technique though, it’s a great strategy and makes content and inbound marketing a lot easier – even in difficult or ‘boring’ niches.

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      April 29, 2016 at 12:40 am

      Hey John,

      Good idea on the pre-engagement approach. I haven’t worked in the kitchen worktops space, but I can imagine the reception is lower. Curious, what type of content are pitching? I’m guessing the success rate is going to heavily tied to content format. I’d think a “checklist” style infographic would work well. Something that educate their target audience on making smart purchase decisions, different style of kitchen tops, pros/ cons, earth-friendly(?), materials comparison, best kitchens in america, most expensive kitchens, budget remodels, etc etc 🙂

      Reply
  60. Cari genset says

    May 6, 2016 at 7:46 am

    Hi Robbie,
    Amazing analysis, it very useful for me..

    Reply
  61. mp3juice says

    June 4, 2016 at 4:55 pm

    First off I want to say great blog! I had a quick question in which I’d like
    to ask if you don’t mind. I was curious to know how
    you center yourself and clear your head prior to writing.
    I’ve had a difficult time clearing my mind in getting
    my thoughts out there. I truly do enjoy writing but it just seems like the first 10 to 15 minutes are wasted just trying to figure
    out how to begin. Any ideas or hints? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      June 9, 2016 at 4:54 am

      It all depends on the person. I like to listen to music and lock myself in the home office 🙂 Other people like silence.

      One thing I will mention is to limit distractions. Only have one tab open, turn off your cell phone, have a solid post outline put together before you write, and reward yourself with 5 min breaks every hour or so. Simple stuff, but very few people commit to it.

      Reply
  62. Kenn says

    June 28, 2016 at 9:34 pm

    Fantastic post, first time I’ve ever fully agreed with the entire content marketing strategy – well done. One question, in a society with an overabundance of information and users short attention spans I’m challenged by your statement on a longer content piece. I get the argument that users may feel its more authoritative, but lots of users just dont have the time to read a 3000 word piece and may then not share because they don’t fully know what the whole article says vs say a 500-800 word piece. I’d love to get more insight on what made that conclusive for you from your data?

    Cheers,

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      July 17, 2016 at 8:57 pm

      Hey Kenn, extremely valid point. A lot of people will not read word for worth over a 3000 word article, at least in a single sitting. For most of my article I try to offer the content as a downloadable PDF aswell so people can revisit the content and consume it more manageable chunks. Also, with solid formatting you can make the article easily scannable so people can jump to sections of interest. Sometimes people are only interested in a specific piece of the article. From a strategic standpoint, I aim for super in-depth articles when it comes to ranking for competitive keywords. I’ve found this to provide the greatest long term benefit. Even if the reader does not scroll through the entire article, use a content upgrade triggered 10-15 secs after page load to convert the traffic into subscribers. Also, consider using video and infographics in content to keep the viewer on page longer. This is something I need to do more of.

      Reply
  63. Saudavelmente says

    July 30, 2016 at 1:58 am

    Amazing post 🙂

    Reply
  64. franksmith says

    July 31, 2016 at 5:25 pm

    Hey Robbie, Thanks for taking some time and posting this great and useful article. I have bookmarked your site and worth visiting it again.

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      August 30, 2016 at 4:13 am

      Cheers Frank!

      Reply
  65. Sachin says

    November 4, 2016 at 10:11 am

    Really Great Piece of Content, Linkedin Groups really Create a huge amount of traffic and buzz sumo is great through which you can find good content.

    Thanks for writing great post.

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      November 21, 2016 at 2:50 am

      Thanks Sachin! Yes, Buzzsumo is a great tool. Very versatile.

      Reply
  66. kapush says

    November 7, 2016 at 5:44 pm

    Okay, all I really need to write was one word:

    WOW

    With this appended: !!!!!

    But my comment might have been flagged as spam, so …

    Anyway, thank you so much for publishing exactly what I need to promote my new blog. I’ve sort of skimmed through it once, will clip it into Evernote now, and then, yes, put it to good use.

    Thanks again 🙂

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      November 21, 2016 at 2:48 am

      Glad you found it useful, Kapush! Check out my blog promo guide to on the blog main page. There are 32 super helpful promo tactics in there I used to generate over 20,000 social shares!

      Reply
  67. kapush says

    November 7, 2016 at 5:49 pm

    I thought you’d want to know that the exit pop is showing a bit of a problem in Chrome, at least. Couldn’t type my email in, kept ignoring ‘a’ and ‘p’ and accepted only ‘ku’. Chrome stores my email, so inserting wasn’t a problem.

    Also, backspacing wasn’t working, I had to select and delete.

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      November 21, 2016 at 2:47 am

      Thanks Kapush! I’ll check it out.

      Reply
  68. Kelambit says

    November 9, 2016 at 12:15 am

    Hello Robbie, thank you for sharing this great post! You are the best. I will try to apply these tips.

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      November 21, 2016 at 2:46 am

      Welcome! Let me know how you go with it all.

      Reply
  69. Joshua says

    December 21, 2016 at 4:15 pm

    Wow! That is so much info. Also, somewhat of a Skyscraper with Brian Dean’s op! I couldn’t make the strategy work before, but now I think I got it! Thanks.

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      December 27, 2016 at 3:32 pm

      Awesome – let me know how it goes Joshua!

      Reply
  70. Cricket Highlights says

    December 27, 2016 at 4:38 pm

    I am using MOZ and it is working for me. thanks for sharing valuable information

    Reply
  71. Woorke says

    January 10, 2017 at 6:48 pm

    Great stuff hope to apply it on websites 🙂 and see what i get 🙂

    Reply
  72. Ryan says

    May 16, 2017 at 11:47 pm

    Was surprised this was so old. The topsy link doesn’t work as they are no longer in business. I haven’t read the whole post yet, but what I have has been beneficial and will finish. And, I have discovered an easy way to lengthen a blog post…create a narrow width.

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      May 21, 2017 at 11:56 pm

      Cheers Ryan! Yes – I have several posts on the site now that need to be updated. Relaunching older content is definitely a part of the ongoing strategy.

      Reply
  73. Ashok says

    June 5, 2017 at 12:38 pm

    Hey Robbie

    Great write ups… Really impressed with the ideas for improving the traffic. I never worked on LinkedIn Groups, definitely give a try to this.
    What are your views on popular social sharing sites
    Stumbleupon | Sharing on GrowthHackers| medium.com | Elearningtags | Hubpages |Flipboard |Slashdot | Designer News | Voat
    are they good for link building.

    Also I wanted to share a post I did about “9 Strategic Tips for Beating Out Your Big Competitors”
    If you get a couple minutes, check it out. I would love to hear your opinion and feedback is always appreciated

    https://medium.com/@Ashok83/9-strategic-tips-for-beating-out-your-big-competitors-1dfb295d6e20

    Thanks

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      June 18, 2017 at 2:00 am

      Thanks Ashok. I have had great success with niche specific forums when it comes to leveraging links for referral traffic. My biggest referral sources are now Inbound and Growth Hackers.

      Reply
  74. Johnny says

    June 15, 2017 at 9:05 am

    I would reallly love to attain these kind of results in the near future.

    Reply
  75. Kishan Prajapati says

    June 30, 2017 at 11:36 am

    Hey!
    This something Great for beginners. yes i’m totally newbie for this industry i just know about WordPress and how to build site,I haven’t build my site yet Lol . because i getting information about everything before starting it. one thing i want to ask what skyscraper technique? i mean is it ok for any niche?

    Thanks in advance 🙂

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      July 3, 2017 at 3:47 am

      Hey Kishan,

      My best piece of advice to you is to not get bogged down in the details. Just get started 🙂 I made that mistake when I started the blog. It took me 5 months to write a single post once I got the blog live. I read waaaayyy too much, and wanted it all to be perfect before hitting publish. Learn as you go 🙂 The skyscraper can be used in some way shape or form in pretty much any niche.

      Reply
  76. Shashank says

    July 1, 2017 at 7:04 am

    thanks a lot man, this was really a detailed and well explained article. I enjoyed reading it and it is helpful too. keep writing and teaching us. 🙂

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      July 3, 2017 at 3:37 am

      Cheers mate!

      Reply
  77. kieraberry says

    November 30, 2017 at 11:19 am

    Hey Robbie,
    Thanks for this great article many bloggers and marketers would really get a great amount of priceless information from this post. Bless you.

    Reply
  78. mohamed says

    December 9, 2017 at 12:35 pm

    thanks a lot man, this was really a detailed and well explained article. I enjoyed reading it and it is helpful too. keep writing and teaching us. 🙂

    Reply
  79. Shashank says

    November 9, 2018 at 8:32 am

    Thats some amazing work robbie…. 5500+ words is such a difficult task to do…. Case study was really helpful. Keep writing posts like these, it is really helpful and contributing in learnings…. Thanks….

    Reply
    • Robbie says

      November 14, 2018 at 12:19 am

      Thanks Shashank!

      Reply
  80. Amna Sheikh says

    December 3, 2018 at 10:35 am

    I don’t know if it is possible anymore but the results you have achieved will always help you with business growth.

    Reply

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