Most Medium posts get almost no traffic, not because the writing is bad, but because the writer skips a few mechanics that decide whether Google ever sees the article. This guide walks through those mechanics in order, from the single most important one to the smaller polish items, and ends with how reposting and commenting fit in.
The 5 Things You Need to Do
- Get indexed first.
- Write a specific, personal story.
- Use a clear and readable structure.
- Check links and disclose relationships.
- Repost and respond thoughtfully.
Keep reading for a detailed explanation of each step and how to apply it effectively↓
The one thing that matters most: get indexed
- When you publish a new article, Medium decides whether to let Google see it.
- Brand new accounts get their posts tagged "noindex, nofollow," which is a hidden instruction telling Google to ignore the page completely.
- If your post is noindexed, it does not matter how good it is. It will never show up in a Google search, and search is where most long term traffic comes from.
Medium does this on purpose:
- It does not know a new account yet, so it holds back reach until the account proves it is a real person rather than spam.
- Medium restores indexing once it sees consistent engagement signals: how often you publish, and how much you clap, follow, and respond to other people's work.
How to check your own post:
- Open the article, right click, choose "View Page Source," and search the text for the word "robots."
- If it says "noindex," Google is being told to skip you. If it says "index," you are visible.
- This one check tells you whether your article has any search potential at all.
How to earn indexing:
- Fill out a real profile. Photo, a proper bio, a couple of sentences about who you are. Empty accounts read as bots.
- Publish more than once. A single post from a one day old account almost always gets noindexed. A few genuine articles over a couple of weeks builds trust.
- Engage like a real reader. Clap, follow, and leave real responses on other people's posts. Medium weighs this heavily.
- Write original text every time. Do not reuse the same template paragraphs across posts. Duplicate or thin content is a direct noindex trigger.
- Until the account clears this threshold, treat Medium as a place to build reputation, not to drive immediate search traffic.
Write something only you could have written
- Medium's whole strategy now rewards stories that "not just anyone could have generated."
- Generic feature summaries that read like a paraphrased landing page get suppressed. Specific, personal build stories get distributed.
The pattern that works, drawn from the posts that actually earned reach:
- Name the real thing you built. "CanRun, a beginner running brand" beats "I made a logo." A named project with a reason behind it reads as real.
- Show the actual output. Include the real generated logo, screenshots, or video. A post about creating a logo that shows no logo is worthless, and readers notice instantly.
- Tell the story, including the mistakes. "I wrote too much dialogue and the voice got muddy, so I tried again" is more convincing than a flawless walkthrough. Honesty about friction is what makes it credible.
- Explain the reasoning. Why this name, why this color, why this concept. The thinking is the part nobody can fake or template.
If your draft could have been written by someone who never opened the product, start over. Not sure what that looks like in practice? Here's a real build story with real output shown from one messy photo to a full ad kit.
Structure the article so it ranks and holds readers
- Headline: clear promise plus a keyword. Write the way people search. "How I Named My Brand Without Being a Naming Expert" tells the reader and Google exactly what the post delivers. Avoid clever titles that hide the topic.
- First two lines do the work. Medium shows these as the preview everywhere. Open with the problem or the hook, not throat clearing. "My logo was a static image. I needed it to move" pulls people in.
- Use subheadings. Break the article into labeled sections. It helps readers scan, helps Medium build a table of contents, and helps Google understand the structure.
- Keep paragraphs short. Two or three sentences. Walls of text lose mobile readers, and most Medium reading is mobile.
- Add real images. Every article should have at least one strong image near the top, plus screenshots of your actual work. Posts with images hold attention longer, and watch time is a ranking signal.
- Aim for a real read, four to seven minutes. Long enough to be substantial, short enough to finish. Finishing rate matters more than length.
- Tag accurately, three to five tags. Pick tags that match the content: the specific niche plus one or two broader ones. Wrong tags get you muted by readers.
Handle links and disclosure correctly
If you include a referral or affiliate link, two things must be true or the post backfires:
- The link must actually work and point to the clean homepage. Check the real destination, not just the text you see. A link that reads as the homepage but secretly points to an app login page sends every click to a dead end and credits the wrong person.
- Disclose the affiliate relationship in plain language. One or two honest sentences: that it is an affiliate link, that you may earn a small commission at no extra cost to the reader, and that it did not change your honest opinion. This is not optional. It builds trust with readers and keeps you clear of Medium's rules. The strongest posts put this under its own short "Transparency" heading near the end.
Undisclosed promotional content is exactly what Medium's spam systems look for, and it is the fastest way to get an account suppressed.
Does reposting help? Yes, meaningfully
- Reposting is Medium's amplification button, and the numbers are strong: reposted stories get clicked about three times more than stories shared any other way.
- A repost puts the story into the feeds of the reposter's followers, so it works like a trusted recommendation rather than an ad.
How to use it well:
- Choose "Repost with a note," not a bare repost. A note attaches your name and your take, which raises the credibility and the click rate. A silent repost is the weakest version.
- A repost from a real profile with real followers is worth far more than one from an empty account. Reach flows through the reposter's audience.
- Do not repost everything. If a feed fills with low value reposts, people unfollow, and Medium's trust and safety systems watch for gamed reposting. Reposting is a quality signal only if you stay selective.
Note on brand pages: Medium has no company page equivalent to LinkedIn. The repost button always fires from a personal account. A brand "publication" is a content hub for republishing and curation, not a reposting tool.
Does commenting help? Yes, in two ways
Commenting, which Medium calls responding, helps both directly and indirectly. It is one of the simplest ways to connect with your audience beyond just publishing:
- Indirectly, it builds your account's trust. Clapping, following, and responding are the exact signals Medium uses to decide whether to lift your account out of noindex. Genuine engagement across the platform speeds up your own indexing.
- Directly, thoughtful responses on larger posts put your name and profile in front of that post's readers, which brings a trickle of profile visits and follows. A real comment that adds something, not "great post," is what gets noticed.
One rule if you are connected to a brand
When commenting on a post that features your own product or company, clearly disclose your connection. For example: “Nice work, and full disclosure, I’m on the Zoviz team.” Being transparent builds trust, while unlabeled praise from insiders can appear staged and damage the credibility you are trying to build.
In short
New Medium accounts start noindexed, so nothing ranks until you build trust through real engagement and consistent posting. Then write something only you could have written: a real project, real output, honest mistakes included. Add clear structure, disclose affiliate links, and use reposting and comments to build reach, not just chase traffic.
FAQ
How long does it take for a Medium account to get out of noindex?
There's no fixed timeline. It depends on how consistently you publish and how genuinely you engage (clapping, following, commenting). A few weeks of real activity is usually enough.
Can I publish the same article on both Medium and my own blog?
Yes, but it's best to set one as canonical or make the Medium version noticeably different. Otherwise you risk duplicate content, which Medium's systems are sensitive to.
Is an affiliate link still worth including if I have few followers?
Yes, because the first goal is building trust, not driving instant traffic. Clear, honest links, even with a small following, help build account credibility over time and speed up getting out of noindex.
How often do I need to post for these mechanics to work?
There's no fixed number, but consistency matters more than volume. One or two quality posts a week, combined with genuine daily engagement (clapping, commenting), beats scattered posts with no interaction.
