How to Increase Traffic to Your Food Blog

Disclosure:  I am NOT being paid to share this info with you, but I am sharing because I have received tons of blog traffic from Yummly and thought others could benefit too.  Plus, I want you to Yum my recipes because more yums = more traffic.  

Once you have written your out of this world fantastic food blog post and edited your award worthy photos that you know everyone would love if they just knew about it ... the tricky part comes.  How do you get it in front of an audience, preferably a food loving audience?  Of course you plaster your link all over social media, maybe put it on some blog link ups, but how do you get serious traffic? There are actually lots of places to share your food blog posts, but how do you know which ones will bring the most traffic for a small investment of your time? I have been posting to several food sites for a couple of months and hands down, yummly has brought the most traffic.  Plus it is really easy to add your recipe posts to yummly.  

It is no secret that bloggers want more blog traffic.  After all a blog is a lot of work and it's nice to get paid for all of that work through advertising revenues, affiliate links, and sponsored posts.  The tricky part is getting people to come to your site and see your amazing brownie recipe because there are about a gazillion other amazing brownie recipes on the web.  How do you compete, especially if you are a newer food blogger?  

Of course you have to write interesting and reliable posts.  Your recipes must be tried and true recipes and you should include a back story to connect with your readers.  You don't just want unique views, you want returning views too.  

Another important element is great photographs.  Study food photos on Foodgawker and Tastespotting.  Once your photos are good enough, consider submitting to these sites, but know that they are both really really picky.  Don't feel bad if your photos are rejected.  Many of them will be.  Read the feedback given for each rejected photo and learn from it.  Read books and blog posts about improving your food photography.  I have to recommend Tasty Food Photography.  It is a resource written by a hugely successful food blogger that has helped improve my photography skills by leaps and bounds.  (affiliate link)

​So what is yummly anyway?

I created a publisher page on yummly and added a yum button to my blog.  It is so easy to yum a recipe using the yum button.  Simply click on the yum button at the bottom of my recipe posts and you can yum my recipes too.  There is also a yum button in my sidebar, but make sure you are on a recipe page and not the homepage when you hit the yum button.  My old recipes don't have the yum button yet and I am very particular with what I yum.  I want my publisher page to showcase the best of Home Ec @ Home.  

It is easy to create an account and if you are a food blogger, set up a publisher page.  I noticed a huge increase in blog traffic within a week of using yummly.  It is fun to see the yum number increase for each recipe when others yum them too.  It's always nice to see that others appreciate your work and the increased traffic is an added blessing.  

So if you are looking to bring more traffic to your food blog, remember content is King, work on your food photography skills, and create a yummly publisher page and yum your recipes.   And to all of my amazing and wonderful readers, yum my recipes (pretty please) because more yums = more traffic.  
​

Yummly puts every recipe in the world in your pocket. The most powerful recipe search, the recipe sites you love, your digital recipe box, recipe recommendations just for you, and a smart shopping list - all with you wherever you go. Yummly has the #1 iPhone, iPad and Android apps in addition to millions of website visitors. As recipes get more Yums, they get exposed more often throughout all of our platforms and features.

Linking up at Friendship Friday, Share the Wealth, Oh My Heartsie Girl, Raising Samuels Homeschool, The Mommy Club, Dream Create Inspire, Family Joy , Create with Joy