I'm wondering that too.

Tips I heard are Long-tail Keyword research. That's somewhat difficult for me to use as a self-development/personal finance blog, but it works for the articles in my local language.

Social media marketing also worked for me. Facebook's paid "Boost Post" services went well too.
So far, the #1 thing that brought traffic was Stumbleupon, but it's unreliable as you need "viral" content.

I think that a combination of great content, written by someone who CARES and who knows what he's talking about, and SEO for long and short keywords, AND making viral content is the best way to go. I'm not an expert on viral content, but if you make something that people think will make them look cool and/or smart and/or caring for the others, they will link to your stuff.
A good looking blog with as less crap on it like banners and irrelevant stuff will also help.
Working on it for a long period of time without stopping will eventually pay off.

Yes you are right. Content is king. But it must be good content. You need to be seen as an authority in your niche. It takes a lot of work as good blogs are updated frequently.

Many times it's a "numbers game." For instance a crappy blog with good SEO will receive a good amount of traffic. To answer your question, a "Good Blog"" is one that provides its visitors with valuable/actionable content. These are the Blogs that last. (And ultimately make the most income.)

"What seperate a a good blog from a terrible one ?"

Quality. :-)

Frank

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Real content and genuine interest in the topic area, your idea to interview influencers or entrepreneurs​ is a great one and will be of interest to your audience. It will also be a great tool for cross promotion if your guest is an influencer in their area. I would focus on quality and regular content rather than pumping it out. I have been following startcon.com a little bit - they have some ideas for content, not sure if you have checked them out before. They have a godo following too.

Content isn't king; quality content is king!

You can have a crappy blog with a good following by adopting some sophisticated SEO techniques however that's no guarantee that the blog is having any impact on its readers which, let's face it, is the goal.

Blogs should be written from the heart and with passion and enthusiasm. I think you can even make a lightbulb sound exciting with a bit of enthusiasm behind your writing.

Blogs of all lengths should have a catchy headline, an energetic beginning, a meaty middle and a conclusion/summary (what you've learnt, what you want the reader to do next etc)

SEO is super important but being too aware of this can make your blog sound like it's been stuffed with key words which means that it won't read too well. When I write blogs, I write it naturally and then go back and see how I can add keywords rather than writing it with them in mind.

You mentioned that you're just starting out which is great, be mindful that your blogs will evolve as you do so there's no pressure to get it right first time. As you grow in your industry, your blogs will too.

Good luck

Thank you all so much for the firm advice.

thank you all so much for the firm advice.

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You should pretty much post things that most people are intrested in,because that's what in my opinion separates good blogs from bad ones and the reason is that the good stuff is separated from bad by the number of viewers or people interested for that blog.
Also,what you want to present is not as much important as how you present it.

It pains me to think about the shocking amount of content online that is both poorly written and filled with tons of spelling and grammar mistakes, and yet this sort of content gets huge traffic - that, my friend, is bizarre and I'll never get it.

Congratulations to you for looking to hone your craft and be the best blog writer you can be.

I write quite a few blogs for clients and I would say by advice would be the following:

- Choose your topic wisely and focus on one point - don't try and solve the world's problems in one epic post, a small idea, a thought or a point is plenty and if you stick to the KISS rule you will get the most out of your post.

- Set a working title to start with, once you start writng you can use this as a reference and go back to it and make it unique and eye catching later on.

- Be aware of your audience and what they want to read about, don't write selfishly as without your audience, your blog is just out in cyberspace with no followers.

- Be really clear and lay your blog out so that it is easy to read. Dot points, top ten lists and content that is clearly and easily laid out works brilliantly.

- Use infographics where you can however if you are going to use images, only use images that are relevant and try to avoid bad stock images, they make me cringe.

- Write to start a conversation and get your followers talking

- Always answer all questions, this will enhance the sense of community on your blog

- Share your blog everywhere, and I mean everywhere

- Last but not least, check your grammar and spelling and ensure that if you are writing to a UK English audience it is written in this style, or if it is US English it's written to suit.

Good luck and I wish you well in your blog

CONTENT IS KING!!!

IMO that is and has to be number one!! Once traffic comes in your content will make people stay and want to read more...

Now, how do you get traffic?

**On Page activities includes:

1. Must-have unique content
2. Updated Meta Title and Meta Tags
3. Image alt tags etc.

**Off page activities include:

1. Social bookmarking
2. Blog Submission and commenting - Disqus
3. Link Building (backlinks & relevant outgoing links)
4. Forum Commenting
5. Classifieds
6. Local Listing
7. Drive traffic on site from social media to create a Facebook Fan page including Twitter, Linked In and Google.

1) Make URL's short & Sweet
2) Use images, videos, Diagrams to decrease bounce rate
3) boost site speed
4) Post content should be around 1,900 + words

Also POST CONTENT REGULARLY

I hope this helps
Samuel

Hey there! I was able to read this read and I'm willing to help. I'd definitely agree to the fact that there are a lot of poor blog contents out there. So in order to set your blog out from this classification you need to ask these questions first:

- Are these blog contents good enough to attract readers (would you bother reading them yourself and enjoy what you're reading? Can you honestly say that what you're writing is the best quality?)
- Are these contents valuable enough to meet the needs of your audience?
- Does you blog have elements to keep the customers from being engaged in what they're reading?
- Are the contents optimized for easy access when users will search for it using Google?
- (And more important) Is your blog able to fulfil your need to passion to write and earn money at the same time?

I sincerely hope I was able to help...