Get traffic for your website - episode 3 - get more traffic from niche news sites
Welcome to episode 3 in my series on how to get more traffic for your website. This time we're looking at how to use (and abuse) news sites within your niche to obtain decent exposure and traffic.
The main problem with mainstream sites like Digg and Reddit are that they don't care about niche topics too much. Websites that discuss politics, archive amusing pictures or make strong technological statements tend to do rather well but if your website falls into a less mainstream genre, then niche news sites are a good way to go.
Why niche news coverage would be good
Getting vast amounts of users from places like Digg is excellent; it feels good, it looks good and it sounds good. Unfortunately most of them were led to you through a sensationalist title and 99% of them won't read your normal content. Getting users from within your niche offers a much better chance for meaningful conversion - and that's what you're after.
Example
If you run a web development blog, showcasing new techniques, widgets (and so forth) then a site like Dzone is perfect. Dzone is a perfect example of what I'm talking about - it's user generated content (like Digg/Reddit) yet targetted towards a specific demographic.
Why this is a great thing for your blog
Irrespective of the traffic it sends, think of the backlinks. When you're targetting users within a specific niche you get better feedback, more constructive comments, relevant backlinks (which are better for your SEO and PageRank) and more exposure within that given field. If people within your field know your name you instantly become an authority on the topic. With a few decent submissions to a niche news site under your belt you should have converted a few regular readers (your own site's optimisation not withstanding).
How can I find a niche news site for my blog?
The big downside is that there isn't one for every topic available on the Internet. Major sites like Digg/Reddit have quite mainstream audiences and are unlikely to be attracted by your normal content (although sensationalist ones can work quite nicely, see one of my later episodes for information on this). Most of the major Internet topics are covered though, but it could take some digging. It's time well spent - especially if you can get on good terms with the operator.
Get on good terms with the operator, sit back and win
It's a common fact of life that it's often "who you know" rather than "what you know" and that's applicable here too. If you can find a niche news site it's worthwhile making an effort to befriend the owner - this can give you fast-track to the front page. While most other users will have their content at the scrutiny of the webmaster you could bipass all that and have your own distribution method. This is a great way to grow your site quickly.
Niche news sites are a great way to improve your SEO and reach the right users in one step. Unfortunately it's not a guaranteed thing because of the diversity of the Internet; not every topic is covered in this way. If your genre is covered, hopefully the tips above are enough to prompt you into leveraging the news site for exposure.
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