Getting Traffic To Your Recipe Blog

So now you’ve set up a recipe site, the next step is getting your first set of traffic. The below will give you some ideas with regards to that, so give them all a go to get the first 100+ visitors to your new website.

What Social Sites Work Well For Driving Traffic To Recipe Websites?

So as you probably know, social profiles are a great tool for promoting new websites. That said, depending on what your website is all about, a social site which works well in one niche may not do as well in another. So which social sites are best for a recipe based site?

To be honest, there are two main ones that you really do need to use. In no order:

1. Facebook, and
2. Pinterest.

These two are the best you can use for a cooking themed site. Facebook because there are a lot of people already on there who love sharing recipes, and Pinterest because of the same thing. That, and because they both allow highly visual based sharing of content.

If you don’t know about Pinterest yet, you should get to know. Their whole site revolves around sharing the best pictures, so if you get a good picture of your recipe, there’s a chance people will see it and start sharing. The more it gets shared, the more people will click the link and follow it back to your website.

The same theory is also true for Facebook, so be sure you have both of these profiles set up. Actively work on getting followers, and share all your recipes with them.

Cooking Sites Which Accept Guest Posts

Here are 5 cooking websites which will allow you to post recipes on their website (More details of why you’d want to do this will follow):

1. The Gracious Pantry.
2. A Little Claireification.
3. It Bakes Me Happy.
4. This Gal Cooks.
5. The Frugal Foodie Mama.

Some of the above will have pages which tells you how to go about guest posting on them, while others you’ll simply have to contact them via email and request you write for them. There are also plenty of other recipe websites which will allow you to write for them, so have a search around.

You’ll want to write recipes for other websites as well as your own, as this will allow you to get in front of other people’s established audiences. From there, you can make a percentage of that audience your own.

In exchange for guest posts, you should be allowed to leave a link back to your site (confirm this with the website owner before you give them a guest post). This means that some of their readers who check out the recipe you supply will go back to your site and become a reader of yours too.

This is a great way to build up your audience, so give it a go.

Get People Onto Your Website Using Cooking Forums

Another way to get traffic to your new website is by taking part in forums. Some forums will allow you to post your link directly in your signature, while others you’ll only be able to add a link in your post when it’s relevant. Here are some forums you might want to join and post on:

1. Family Corner is a website which talks about multiple family related subjects. That said, they do have a ‘Recipe Exchange‘ section which allows you to swap recipes with other people.
2. The Best Recipes forum allows people to go and check out (and post) the best recipes they find. They have a lot of different sections, so check them out.
3. Food.com has a recipe requests forum. Have a look and see if you can help anyone out with a recipe you know. Be sure to leave a link to your site for the source of the recipe.
4. Taste Tested Recipes is a forum in which you can post your favorite recipes, and other members will vote for their favorite one. Which ever recipe gets the most votes every month will be featured in a ‘winning recipes’ section of the forum for extra exposure. There are also prizes to be won, so go and share your recipe. 🙂
5. Lastly, Recipe Secrets is another forum which you can go on to swap recipes. They have a lot of daily active visitors, so be sure to check out the latest and see how you can contribute.

When posting on forums, be sure not to appear spammy. People will often take to you and your posts better when you appear as a active member of the community, so take time to make a few posts which aren’t directly related to promoting your website.

Again, there are plenty of other related forums out there. Have a look at get involved with a few of the best.

Other Ways To Promote Your New Recipe Website

So while the above will get you started with getting traffic to your new website, here are some other things which you could also try:

Create A Recipe App.

Apps are becoming an increasingly popular tool in the kitchen, and understandably so. Instead of moving round a whole book, a lot of people are now using apps of the smartphone to look up recipes and easily follow the step by step instructions.

While there are a few other apps like this already out there, there is still a lot of space for other apps to compete. Get in there while there’s not much competition.

Word Of Mouth

Now I’m sure a lot of people you know like cooking. We all need to eat to survive, and we all get bored if we keep eating the same things. So why not tell your friends about your new website? Write it down for them, or even give them a business card so they don’t forget it. Let them know they can request recipes so they can get involved, and encourage them to share any recipes they like.