Zero to 2k Sessions in 3 Months: How I Did It

Do you have a brand new travel blog, or thinking of starting one?

I launched my travel blog in 2023. At that time, I knew very little about SEO and how to make an income from blogging. I’d always wanted to have a travel blog, but I wasn’t a techy person and had no idea how to grow one or start one.

I also worried that I was ‘late’ to the game in the world of blogging. But once I got started, I ended up going from having zero visitors a month to 2k monthly visitors in 3 months.

first 3 months of blogging

Less than 3 months after buying my domain, I had a DA of 18 and 2,000 monthly sessions.

Apparently, this kind of growth isn’t common for a blog so new. I’ve heard it can often take 6 months or more before many blogs start seeing traffic.

I’ve been asked by many people how I managed to grow my blog so quickly. you can read my guide on how to start a travel blog that makes money here.

In this article, I will show you what kinds of things I was doing in the first 3 months that really kickstarted the launch of my blog, and set it up for longterm success.

Zero to 2k MonthlyVisitors in 3 Months

Here are the things that worked for me in helping get my travel blog off the ground

1. I post frequently

Google favours blogs that post on a somewhat consistent basis. It shows that you are actively churning fresh, new and up to date content.

Make a commitment to how frequently you’ll be able to post, whether its once a week or twice a week, and do your best to keep that pattern up consistently over time.

2. I write a lot about the same topic(s)

Most of us travel bloggers have been to a lot of places. In the beginning, you want to write about everything. But in the early days, choose ONE destination, and write at least 4-5 posts just on that before moving on to something else. (The more, the better.)

Having lots of posts about the same place or topics helps you build authority on that topic. It also allows you to interlink between posts of the same topic. Interlinking is important, because it shows that you know a lot about your topic.

3. I dedicate a certain amount of time to it every day

Whatever amount of time you can put aside daily, commit to it – whether its 1 hour, 30 minutes, or 10 minutes.

Keep moving forward at whatever pace you can. Every little bit counts. Even 10 minutes a day can amount to huge progress as time goes on.

4. I collected dozens of backlinks

When you start a blog, a huge fraction of your time should be spent writing guest posts for other blogs, because backlinks make Google trust your site more.

I have been spending 50% of my time writing guest posts and collabs for other people’s blogs. 

Pro Tip: Links to your homepage are helpful, and I’ve collected a few of those – but backlinks to specific posts on your blog are even more valuable

Here’s the trick though: when you write guest posts, you want to have enough posts already published on your site about the topic of your guest posts that you can link to.

So make sure you have enough content on your blog that you can link back to when you start your guest posting journey.

5. I don’t engage in link-swaps

Link-swapping is very popular among (travel) bloggers. While its been a tempting idea, I’ve never participated.

If you link to a site that sent a link to you, you’re reducing the validity of the link they gave you. Google is smart enough to see these link trades, and it looks less than genuine.

6. I read (and listen) to self-help books

As someone who has struggled with anxiety and self doubt my whole life, reading self help books during this time have really helped me push forward and be more successful at my blog.

I don’t think I’d be where I am without the help of these books, because mindset and beliefs are so powerful for your outcome. These are the books that have helped me:

6. I write long posts

Google prefers longer posts. Blog posts should never be less than 800 words, but I’ve heard you should write a minimum of 1500, but 2200 is the ‘sweet spot’ on Google.

I don’t always write this much, but I usually try to aim for 2,000 words on each of my posts.

7. I focused on easy-to rank for keywords

It’s not about writing about what you want -at least in the beginning. Its about reaching for low hanging fruit; questions that haven’t been answered, topics with low competition. Targeting these topics brought traffic to my site within weeks of launching my blog.

Now that my blog is gaining traction, I am now starting to write about stuff I wanted to write about before. I have a better chance of ranking for it now than back when I was new.

8. I use my own photos, when possible

Even if they’re bad photos- I’d rather a bad photo that I own, than a stock photo because it proves to Google that I have personal experience with what I’m writing about. (I do use stock photos too though, mostly when I’m lacking in personal photos.) Its a balance between SEO, and user experience.

I put SEO first, to bring people to my site. Once I see that they’re clicking, I make sure that I have enough good photos (stock if necessary) of everything, because I want them to enjoy my site and stay on it.

9. I have a niche

Having a niche helps you grow a bit faster in the beginning than if you have no niche.

My niche is travelling with children. Not everything I write is specifically about travelling with kids, but its a big focus on my blog. Of the top 10 blog posts that bring in the most traffic are doing well, 6 of them are related to my niche.

You don’t have to have a niche in order to grow, but I believe it helps you grow faster in the beginning. It also helps you create a targeted brand for yourself, later on.

10. I demonstrate E-E-A-T

Google favours Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness (EEAT), which is understandable.

Why would people want to read our blogs instead of just reading tourism board websites? They want an unbiased personal opinion from someone who has experience in what they’re talking about.

I always mention what my personal impression, experience, like or dislike of something was. Google wants to see you doing this in your posts. Without EEAT, anyone could write a blog anything that they don’t have any real experience with.

Show Google why YOU are an expert in this topic.

11. I enrolled in a professional SEO course

Although I know that a lot of information is readily available online for free, I felt that the Scale Your Travel Blog would help me achieve the success I want faster. And so far, its helped a lot.

These are the things I’ve found the most valuable about the Scale Your Travel Blog course:

  • I received list of killer keywords. Of my top 20 posts, almost half of them are keywords that I got from Scale Your Travel Blog. My #1 top ranking post (that brings in double the amount of traffic as my second most popular post) was a keyword I received from Scale Your Travel Blog.
  • The supportive Facebook group. Laura does Q&As once weekly or biweekly, there are monthly coffee hours (where we just hang out and play games) and there are also group coaching and private Q&As that come with the package
  • Laura keeps us current with the trends of blogging. Things change all the time and its worth it to have a coach who keeps up with the news in blogging
  • Laura teaches some helpful tips and tricks for setting up your blog (whether its brand new or already established) that I wouldn’t have known otherwise.

There are a number travel bloggers teaching you how to blog, but Scale Your Travel Blog has a community and hands-on support that other courses don’t.

That was why I chose Scale Your Travel Blog over other courses. Read my full review of Scale Your Travel Blog here.

Sign up for Laura’s next FREE live training session here.