This is a multi-part series on the lessons I learned while seeking a freelance blogger to contribute to my Web site.
When I decided it would be worth it to spend a few bucks to recruit a new blogger, I knew I wanted to post the gig on the Problogger.net job board. Given Darren Rowse’s traffic, I knew at the very least, I would break even on the investment. An ad costs $50 for a 30-day flight, and given that I’ve used StumbleAds with some success and paid 5 cents per page impression, I expected to not only find a new and talented blogger, but boost my traffic as well.
The experiment exceeded my expectations.
First, how it helped my blog…
Impressions
I set up a unique URL that housed a form where people could apply for the job. In approximately 30 days, this page received over 3,000 page views – that’s under 2 cents per impression.
After posting the job, I also saw a noticeable traffic increase to the Jobacle homepage, blog homepage and About Us page.
Subscribers
My RSS feed saw a bump of approximately 50 people.
Search Engines
There was a slight increase in traffic coming from search engines, particularly in searches conducted with Google and Bing.
While I can’t pinpoint exactly how many subscribers followed me because of the job posting, I did see a few more followers hop aboard over the past month than in the previous month.
Alexa
We can debate the value of an Alexa rating until we’re all blue in the face. Love it or hate it, my job ad improved my ranking from approx. 230k to 190k.
I realize that the majority of this traffic is not sticky, meaning that I will likely see many people exit – never to return. But thanks to strong content and a focused niche, I do believe there are people who will hang around. And even if they don’t, I believe this traffic jolt will help me over the long haul, especially when it comes time to set the Jobacle rate card for 2010. To some advertisers, traffic is traffic, irrespective of where it originates. And for $50, I can’t complain!
