Static Sites vs WordPress: Driving Traffic - My Next Step - Part 9

Rebuilding my blog was the easy part. Getting people to actually read it? That’s the next challenge.

Traffic doesn’t happen by accident. It’s a mix of visibility, consistency, and sharing your work in the right places. With Hugo and Netlify, the technical foundation is set. Now it’s about strategy.

This post is a little different from the earlier ones in this series: instead of sharing what I’ve already done, I want to share what I plan to do next. Think of it as my roadmap for growing the blog’s audience.

Previous posts in this series:

• Part 1: Static Sites vs WordPress: Rebuilding My Personal Blog After a Hack
• Part 2: Choosing the Right Static Site Generator
• Part 3: Hosting My Static Site
• Part 4: Analytics Without Breaking the Bank
• Part 5: My Content Workflow (Powered by Cursor)
• Part 6: Designing and Customizing the Blog
• Part 7: Security by Design
• Part 8: Should I Monetize?

Why Traffic Matters

I didn’t rebuild this blog to shout into the void. Part of my motivation is personal: writing helps me think more clearly. But another part is professional: sharing insights, experiences, and lessons learned is a way of building authority and connecting with others.

That means traffic matters. Not in a vanity metric sense, but because it reflects whether my writing is reaching the people who might benefit from it.

My Traffic Growth Plan

Here’s the plan I intend to follow:

1. Get the SEO Basics Right

Search engines are still the biggest source of organic traffic. I plan to:

• Use clean, descriptive URLs for every post
• Make sure titles, headings, and meta descriptions are meaningful
• Generate sitemaps and keep them updated (Hugo makes this trivial)
• Keep pages lightweight and fast: Google values speed as much as readers do

The goal isn’t to game the algorithm but to make posts discoverable.

2. Publish Consistently

Consistency is everything. A blog with one or two posts won’t attract an audience. I plan to commit to a steady rhythm: publishing at least one solid article per week. Even if it’s not perfect, it will keep momentum going and build a body of work that compounds over time.

3. Repurpose Content Across Platforms

A blog post doesn’t live only on the blog. Each article can be broken into smaller pieces:

• Key insights for LinkedIn posts
• Shorter snippets for Twitter/X
• Quotes or visuals for presentations and slide decks
• Newsletter entries when I start one down the line

This multiplies the reach without multiplying the work.

4. Build in Public

I plan to continue sharing the process openly. Writing about how I’m building the blog, experimenting with tools, and learning along the way creates content that’s relatable. It also attracts readers who are on similar journeys, whether they’re developers, engineers, or just curious about modern blogging.

5. Engage, Don’t Broadcast

Traffic isn’t just about pushing content: it’s about conversations. I’ll engage with people who comment, share, or ask questions. Over time, that builds community, not just pageviews.

The Uncertainties

I don’t know yet if this plan will work. That’s the truth.

Traffic strategies are easy to write about but harder to execute. Life gets busy, algorithms change, and audiences are unpredictable. What I do know is that a plan is better than no plan: and that iteration is the real strategy.

If something doesn’t work, I’ll adapt.

Why This Feels Right

What excites me most about this traffic plan is that it aligns with my priorities:

• It’s authentic: no gimmicks, no clickbait.
• It’s sustainable: I’m not overcommitting to daily posts or endless promotion.
• It builds authority: SEO, consistency, and cross platform sharing naturally position me in the spaces I want to be known for: engineering, AI, and building products.

Takeaway for Readers

If you’re thinking about how to grow your own blog, consider this:

1. Get the basics right (SEO, speed, structure).
2. Publish regularly (volume builds over time).
3. Share your work beyond your blog (meet people where they already are).
4. Engage with your audience (don’t just talk at them).

That’s not a guaranteed recipe for success, but it’s a solid foundation.

Final Thoughts

This blog reboot has been about more than just moving away from WordPress. It’s been about designing something sustainable. The next step is proving that sustainability extends beyond infrastructure into readership.

Traffic won’t appear overnight, but with focus and consistency, I believe it will come.

And if you’re reading this post: you’re part of that journey already.

Series navigation:

• Part 1: Static Sites vs WordPress: Rebuilding My Personal Blog After a Hack
• Part 2: Choosing the Right Static Site Generator
• Part 3: Hosting My Static Site
• Part 4: Analytics Without Breaking the Bank
• Part 5: My Content Workflow (Powered by Cursor)
• Part 6: Designing and Customizing the Blog
• Part 7: Security by Design
• Part 8: Should I Monetize?
• Part 9: Driving Traffic - My Next Step (this post)
• Part 10: Wrapping Up and What’s Next

What’s your approach to growing blog traffic? Have you found effective strategies for reaching your target audience? I’d love to hear about your traffic growth tactics and what’s worked best for you.