This post has been guest blogged by Shaun Low from Shaunlow.com, a blog about blogging!

Blogging is all about communication. If you are a shy person in the internet world then blogging might not be your cup of tea. You have to be able to communicate a valuable point to your readers, read other blogs and participate in online discussions. If you expect any form of traffic to your site your going to have to do a bit of blog promotion. Here are some important tips that will help drive some traffic to your site!

1. Create quality and meaningful content

Everyone always says backlinks are queen but quality content is king. You should provide useful information which will cause your readers to return to your blog. No matter what niche you cover you will have something to say but make sure you present your information well to your readers.

2. Visit other blogs in the same niche

Reading other blogs in your niche will not only give you extra knowledge and experience, but you should comment on articles that interest you. If you say something interesting in the comments section on other blogs your readers might want to check out your blog to see what else you have to offer. Also signing up with MyBlogLog and visiting other blogs will leave your picture left in the MyBlogLog space that is on the blog you are visiting. This will bring in a few extra visitors.

3. Use Google analytics

You can actually use any stat tracking system but I recommend using Google Analytics. Using a stat tracking system will tell you which keywords and posts are most popular. Having tracking system and using it effectively to determine which traffic boosting methods work best for your site is key for properly growing your readership.

4. Offer full Feed RSS

Always make sure your readers can easily locate your RSS subscribtion button. Not having a full feed will often turn off many readers and you will not be able to grow your blog as effectivly. P.S if you like this post I highly recommend signing up for this feed :) .

5. Ping your site

You should submit your site to all of the search engines you can as well as constantly pinging your site. It’s a good idea to ping your site every time you update your blog. There are free pinging services that allow you to submit your site such as Pingomatic and Pingoat. By pinging your site you are notifying a bunch of blogging services that you have updated your site.

6. Use Google Site Map Generator

Google Site Map Generator is an excellent plugin that makes it easy for Google to crawl your site every time they send over a spider bot. You will get better seach engine rankings and Google will be able to access your site better. Feel free to download this plugin here.

7. Use Technoarti

If you have a blog you should have claimed it with the using Technorati. When you claim a blog using Technorati you make your site available to others. If you post frequently with quality content you will gain higher rankings in Technorati’s system therefor making it easier for others to find your site while searching.

8. Link to other blogs (give some link love)

Linking to relevant blogs on your site not only increases the quality of your blog’s content, but you might also get a reciprocal link from some of the blogs you linked to. This will give you a boost in traffic and also give you a better search engine ranking.

9. Actively participate in forums

Visiting forums in your niche will give your blog an extra boost of traffic if you post meaningful comments. Don’t be silly and make comments such as “Come visit my blog”, stay on topic and provide the other readers with something of value to read and you will see traffic coming from those forums.

10. Post! Post! Post!

The more you write the more information your blog has and the more traffic you will get. If you keep pumping out quality information you will get return visitors. If your site is not updated on a frequent basis there is no reason for readers to return.

Always research and find other ways to start your traffic building. There are many other ways to help promote your site, some are free tactics and some require a cash investment. Find out what works best for you and don’t give up. Time and patience are the key to a successful blog.