Reading time: 6 – 9 minutes

As a follow up to yesterday’s post about diversifying traffic sources, I’ll share some of where my traffic to this blog comes from.  I’ve picked out the most interesting and/or top links to share here.

Top sources of traffic to my site over the past day or so, based on my stats:

Social Networks: Twitter, Facebook, and StumbleUpon are the networks I’m most active on.  I tweet and share my posts on Facebook (yes, it’s automated!), sometimes on LinkedIn, and I actively share my own content as well as other valuable content on StumbleUpon.  It does drive traffic back to my site.  I also ask and encourage my readers and friends to share any posts or pages they’ve found valuable with their social networks.

In addition to seeing Twitter, HootSuite, Facebook, NetworkedBlogs and StumbleUpon in my stats, related sites like CoTweet, HootSuite and Paper.li show up.  Watch your stats for links like:

• http://paper.li/tag/blogboost
• http://stumbleupon.com/refer.php?url=http%3A//michelleshaeffer.com/if-i-were-brave/2010/11/20/
• http://networkedblogs.com/aP1rX
• http://facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fmichelleshaeffer.com%2Fare-you-a-fish-climbing-a-tree%2F2010%2F11%2F16%2F&h=3eb90

Articles I’ve Written: This morning, these four articles have sent traffic my way so far from Ezine Articles.   In a typical day I see a dozen or so different articles sending traffic to my site.

• http://ezinearticles.com/?Schedule-a-Business-Strategy-Day-and-Plan-Your-Way-to-Success&id=2758964
• http://ezinearticles.com/?Twitter-Tips—How-to-Add-a-Link-to-Your-Tweet&id=5089094
• http://ezinearticles.com/?Domain-Registration-Privacy-Protection—Do-You-Need-It?&id=1978838
• http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Promote-Your-Business-With-a-Customer-Welcome-Kit&id=1838347

Articles I’ve written and submitted for publication at other websites also send traffic daily.  Some I submitted directly to the website and others picked up my articles from EzineArticles.com or WAHM-Articles.com.

Guest Blogging Posts: My guest blog posts send traffic back daily.  I’m currently guest blogging regularly on three websites.  But even an occassional guest post can help you build good traffic.

• http://cwahm.com/wordpress/2010/cwahm-blogs/jills-blog/how-30-minutes-of-meal-planning-can-save-you-hours-of-frustration/
• http://sophiezo.com/exciting-news-introducing-michelle-shaeffer-michelleshaeffr-my-newest-guest-blogger/
• http://wahm-articles.com/blog/2010/11/guest-post-making-connections-finding-support-when-you-work-from-home/

Comments on Other Blogs: I have quite a few blogs in my reader and while I never try to read every single one of them every day (that’d be like trying to keep up with the 6,000+ people I’m following on Twitter–an impossible task!) I do watch for interesting posts and comment on several most days.  Here are some that sent traffic back to my site this week:

• http://authenticlifeempowerment.com/empowerment/empowering-women-do-you-ever-feel-like-quitting-dont-quit/
• http://www.yourwordsyourvoice.com/sometimes-making-the-sale-is-the-worst-thing-you-could-do/
• http://communicatevalue.com/blogging/5-reasons-wordpress-super-simple-headachefree-site/
• http://www.newbielifeline.com/ (I think I was showing up in the recent comments list on this page)
• http://www.melaniekissell.com/2010/11/why-blog-if-your-niche-is-already-stuffed-to-the-gills/ (another one I was showing up in the commenters list)
• http://www.building-blocks-coaching.com/teamwork-quotes.html
• http://coachingbytambre.com/life-coaching/after-before-blog-if-today-was-the-day

RSS Readers: I use Feedburner to manage my RSS subscribers and offer subscribe by email options. But I can also see stats showing Feedly and Google Reader click throughs. RSS Readers are a source of traffic to really appreciate because they’re returning readers!  :)

Testimonials: Testimonials I’ve shared show up frequently, almost daily, in my stats as driving traffic to my website.  Here are a couple:

• http://takechargesolutions.org/organise-your-home
• http://myfabulousva.com/about-2/

My Affiliates: I offer an affiliate program for my ebooks and classes, and my affiliates do a great job of promotion.  I encourage them to also promote the free ecourses and gifts I offer since if someone signs up then purchases later the affiliate will get credit for that sale.  A great example of this is: http://melaniekissell.com/free-treasure-chest-2/ (and it shows up frequently in my stats, thank you, Melanie!)

Search Engines: Despite my lack of focus on them, search engines do send traffic to my site.  Write good content, build links to your website, and they’ll send traffic your way.  Here are some of the search terms people used this week to end up at my blog:

• blog without writing
• fivver guide
• long term clients
• wordpress regular website
• small business minimize distractions
• widgets + subscribe to blog via email
• michelle shaeffer
• marketing plan template
• how to put together a marketing plan
• business goals
• how to make your tweets retweetable
• putting together a marketing plan
• do vision boards work
• free professional fonts
• tips for following on twitter
• staying organized in business
• free marketing plan template
• speed up wordpress
• michelle shaeffer blog
• how to identify ideal client
• life is like a cup of coffee

Other Regular Sources of Traffic: Traffic also comes from fun things like the Ultimate Blog Challenge, 31 Days Blog Challenge, telesummits or teleseminars I participate in, and seasonal promotions.  I also post on forums from time to time which sends traffic my way.  When I send out my ezine on Tuesday traffic jumps as well and I get about twice as many page views as the other days of the week.