Hi, I’m Lisa, brand marketing lead at Travelpayouts, and here’s my hot take: not enough travelers go to Kazakhstan.
My team and I spent three days in the mountain metropolis of Almaty, talking to creators from all over the world. Needless to say, we learned a lot, and we knew we had to share it with you.
Traffic is still a worry, but there’s good news
Unfortunately, many bloggers are still worried about organic traffic. Yet another Google update hit in January, and it hit hard – Toti from Passport and Stamps said it was so discouraging that he took a six-month pause.
The good news is that now there are actionable solutions.
The advice used to be, “Just keep writing good content and hope for the best.” But there really are things you can do today to reduce the impact of Google updates:
- Develop a newsletter.
Readers who subscribe (in exchange for a free guide, an exclusive map, etc.) will always be just an email away, so you won’t have to worry so much about the algorithm. - Get more from the traffic you already have.
This is one of the big ideas behind our AI system Drive, which improves your monetization while automating it. Drive runs smoothly alongside the rest of your setup, plays well with your other tools and plugins, and keeps your SEO right where it is. - Build your presence on social media.
Don’t forget Pinterest. And while we’re on the topic…
Driving blog traffic from social media: Julia’s tips
Julia Falconer (A Lady in London) led an amazing session in Almaty on how to use social media. Here are some of the most interesting insights she shared.
First off, two golden rules:
- Expand your online presence, but always remember that the goal is to bring people to your site.
- Always include CTAs in your posts. Don’t be shy – tell readers to click that link and check out your blog.
With those in mind:
- Create a curiosity gap.
In your social posts, reveal enough to attract attention, but withhold other information – readers will have to open the blog post to find it. For example, share a beautiful pic and comment on it, but don’t name the city. - Don’t overshare on socials while you’re traveling.
Otherwise, your blog post will feel like something readers have seen a hundred times. - Cross-promote.
Julia tries to publish one blog post a week, promoting it with some combination of static Instagram posts, reels, stories, Facebook posts, and TikTok content. She finds stories especially useful: links she shares there get hundreds of clicks. - Use broadcast channels.
These let you communicate with your audience right in their DMs. Instagram and Facebook both offer broadcast channels, though Julia thinks Facebook isn’t for everyone; she said if you’re having trouble building engagement there, maybe you should focus on other platforms. - In videos, say your CTA out loud.
Putting a link in the description might not be enough. Actually SAY “visit my site” in each clip.
Simple but smart, as was Julia’s final reminder: even if you apply all these tips, be patient and consistent. Even perfect strategies don’t work overnight.
A little note before we go
To everyone we chatted with in Almaty, thank you! We hope to see you at the next TBEX. To everyone else, we hope this little report softened the FOMO a bit. 💙
