[Traffic] What are the solutions for this situation?

[Alpha1404]

Hello,
I'm having a traffic issue and I'm looking for a way to resolve it.
I have a website that publishes one or two articles a day, and no, I can’t do more than that for various reasons.
I have a decent social media presence (44k followers on X, 17k on Bluesky, etc.).
I’d simply like to drive more traffic to the site. I was thinking of possibly paying for X, but X’s reputation is so bad in my country that there’s a real reputational risk.
So, I’m left with two options:
- pay someone to post my content in relevant subreddits;
- buy bots on X to share my content more or less automatically.
Which option do you think makes the most sense?

 

[tazarbm]

why not both?? Unless money is a problem, getting more traffic never hurts

Also, depending on what your niche / industry is you can try various things like...

- image sharing sites (DeviantArt, Imgur, Pinterest, etc.)
- business directories (obviously only worthwhile if you have a real business)
- classified sites (in case that you're doing ecommerce)
- YT (if you have a lot of time to churn out daily content, and a knack for making vids)

 

[Alpha1404]

why not both?? Unless money is a problem, getting more traffic never hurts

Also, depending on what your niche / industry is you can try various things like...

- image sharing sites (DeviantArt, Imgur, Pinterest, etc.)
- business directories (obviously only worthwhile if you have a real business)
- classified sites (in case that you're doing ecommerce)
- YT (if you have a lot of time to churn out daily content, and a knack for making vids)

Hi Tazarbm
Yeah, strictly speaking, you're right—I can do both, but budget-wise, it shouldn't be too crazy.

As for the niche: general interest media. I “just” need a boost in traffic. I don't have anything to sell, and as far as backlinks go, I've got what I need.
I just need more daily traffic.
As for YouTube, I tried it, but honestly: too much work for zero return (in my case, anyway).

 

[tazarbm]

Hi Tazarbm
Yeah, strictly speaking, you're right—I can do both, but budget-wise, it shouldn't be too crazy.

As for the niche: general interest media. I “just” need a boost in traffic. I don't have anything to sell, and as far as backlinks go, I've got what I need.
I just need more daily traffic.
As for YouTube, I tried it, but honestly: too much work for zero return (in my case, anyway).

by "general interest media" you mean various news topics, or what exactly?

Other than SEO (which takes time), PPC (which takes money), or influencing marketing (which also takes some money) I don't know of other ways of boosting the traffic... at least not fast, which I assume is what you want

Although... if by "media" you mean news you could also try PR campaigns, those can boost the traffic like crazy if the news are good, but it will obviously be expensive

 

[Alpha1404]

It’s actually a news site, specializing in a somewhat dry subject area, so it’s not exactly the most exciting thing out there.

As for SEO, I do everything I can to optimize it: I use Rank Math, I make sure to get a good score, and sometimes I show up in Google News/Discover.

As for PR, it’s not really suited for that, and I have an additional hurdle: ethics.

If I had a tech blog, I’d tell you, “Yeah, go for it.” But in this case, I can’t. It’s a bit of a catch-22, I’m aware of that.

 

[ads studio]

If you’re already posting 1–2 solid articles daily and have that kind of social following, I’d lean away from bots completely, they usually hurt long-term trust and can backfire fast, You might also get better results by focusing on improving distribution timing and format on your existing X audience first before spending on external traffic methods.

 

[tazarbm]

It’s actually a news site, specializing in a somewhat dry subject area, so it’s not exactly the most exciting thing out there.

As for SEO, I do everything I can to optimize it: I use Rank Math, I make sure to get a good score, and sometimes I show up in Google News/Discover.

As for PR, it’s not really suited for that, and I have an additional hurdle: ethics.

If I had a tech blog, I’d tell you, “Yeah, go for it.” But in this case, I can’t. It’s a bit of a catch-22, I’m aware of that.

Besides GNews / Discover and social media I don't know of other ways of boosting news traffic, sorry!

But I did do a bit of googling and found this article that I think is worth giving a read, maybe the tips inside will help you out:

https://tanotsolutions.com/blog/news-seo/

I also found these sites being mentioned with regards to news sites:

https://about.flipboard.com/
https://www.smartnews.com/en

Now, how these sites work or what they cost (I assume they cost a fortune by how they look, but I don't know), I've no idea, so please don't ask as I'm clueless about all of this

Sorry that I can't help better! Maybe someone else is kind enough to give some actionable tips...

 

[Alpha1404]

Besides GNews / Discover and social media I don't know of other ways of boosting news traffic, sorry!

But I did do a bit of googling and found this article that I think is worth giving a read, maybe the tips inside will help you out:

https://tanotsolutions.com/blog/news-seo/

I also found these sites being mentioned with regards to news sites:

https://about.flipboard.com/
https://www.smartnews.com/en

Now, how these sites work or what they cost (I assume they cost a fortune by how they look, but I don't know), I've no idea, so please don't ask as I'm clueless about all of this

Sorry that I can't help better! Maybe someone else is kind enough to give some actionable tips...

Don't worry It's already really nice of you to have taken the time to reply. I'll check out the links you provided.

Looking at both options , one thing is clear the bot route may provide short term noise, but the long term damage is greater. Automated bots on X may increase engagement, but the value of your existing 44k audience may also be diluted due to the algorithm, trust signals, and possible account penalties. There is also a reputation risk, especially when you are building credibility yourself.

I'm not just starting to build a reputation—I've been around for ten years.
It's just that I have to do something on my own that my competitors are doing in groups of 75 or 100.
That's why I'm looking for ways to increase my visibility.

 

[laliana]

Buying bulk spam map listings is exactly the kind of shortcut that gets burned fast now. Google is much quicker at detecting fake GBP patterns across verification, edits, and review behavior, so scaling junk listings is harder than people think. Even if they stick short term, reinstatement risk is constant. Common mistake is treating map spam like a stable asset when it usually gets wiped on the next sweep.

 

[Alpha1404]

Buying bulk spam map listings is exactly the kind of shortcut that gets burned fast now. Google is much quicker at detecting fake GBP patterns across verification, edits, and review behavior, so scaling junk listings is harder than people think. Even if they stick short term, reinstatement risk is constant. Common mistake is treating map spam like a stable asset when it usually gets wiped on the next sweep.

Except I don't have a Google My Business account, and that's not what this is about, so who cares?

 

[SpotlightRank]

I’d avoid bots they usually backfire and kill trust.
Reddit can work if posts feel natural and niche focused.
Test small and scale what actually brings real traffic.

 

[tazarbm]

Except I don't have a Google My Business account, and that's not what this is about, so who cares?

I think it's a bot, the forum's full of these things. Click on the report button beneath that post to report it to the mods for irrelevant content, I think they'll issue them warnings and after few warnings they get banned

 

[Alpha1404]

I think it's a bot, the forum's full of these things. Click on the report button beneath that post to report it to the mods for irrelevant content, I think they'll issue them warnings and after few warnings they get banned

Never mistake stupidity for malice
I don't think she read the original post.

 

[serpsystems]

Never mistake stupidity for malice
I don't think she read the original post.

Stupidity or malice, they’re still breaking the rules and are annoying to users who need genuine help…

Anyway, why are you limited to 1 article a day?

 

[APIFuel]

Paying for Reddit posts can work short-term if done carefully, but it’s very easy to get flagged or banned if it feels artificial.
Buying bots on X is even riskier since it inflates vanity metrics without bringing real users or engagement.

 

[Alpha1404]

Stupidity or malice, they’re still breaking the ruled and are annoying to users who need genuine help…

Anyway, why are you limited to 1 article a day?

Thanks for your question It’s true that to me, it goes without saying, but on this forum, it’s almost blasphemy

My articles are based on a specific type of news, which doesn’t generate enough material for 10 articles a day. I’m highly specialized.

On the other hand, each piece is at least 600 words long, and I’m happy to go up to 1,000 words.

Sometimes I have enough material and can churn out three articles a day, like on Monday (but I got lucky—I had a mini-scoop). But most of the time, it’s just one, especially since I’m always looking for an angle that my colleagues/competitors haven’t covered.

What about outsourcing? That’s where it gets funny. Ethically, I’m not allowed to hire freelancers; I’m required to hire employees.

Except that employee and employer social security contributions are very high, as is corporate tax. I don’t earn enough to pay someone, and I refuse to pay myself €500 a month (I live in a “rich” country).

Is that clearer?