All views expressed here are my own. No affiliate links or sponsored links are contained within this post. Please refer to the Disclosure & Privacy Policy for additional information.
It’s been quite a long time since a blog traffic report was published.
In fact, a blog traffic report hasn’t been published since September 2017. Put it this way—it’s been long enough for the order of blog traffic acquisition to change. Social media used to be the main traffic generator, but it has fallen to 3rd and organic search has taken the top spot.
After spending time to review older posts, I realized that these reports were well received. They were also enjoyable to write and involved analyzing data. Most of the best posts on this blog involve some form of data analysis. Hence why I decided to begin publishing them again.
Why Did the Blog Traffic Reports Stop
I (chief editor) asked the Statistics editor why there hasn’t been any blog traffic reports since September 2017. A brief conversation with the Statistics editor went as such:
(me) “How come you haven’t been publishing?”
(Statistics editor) “If I had all the time in the world, this blog could average 5,000 views per month, EASILY. If I could focus on growth and increasing over the previous month, each and every day, I’m certain I could drive traffic up to 10,000 page views per month! I just need more time!”
(me ) “But you’re reaching a point where that’s not an excuse. You’ve had enough time to adjust now since your year off. Life is back to normal.”
The Statistics editor remained silent.
(me continued) “You have proof of concept too. Like—you’ve actually made some money from blogging and you’re continuing to receive offers. You need to use this as motivation to build the community around this blog. One day you’ll afford to do this full-time. Don’t waste this opportunity.”
(Statistics editor) “OK.”
I think that must’ve struck a chord with the Statistics editor because he seems to be submitting work again now.
Why Publish Blog Traffic Reports
As it relates to blogging, the main purpose for these reports is to document progress. Publishing blog traffic reports provides a learning opportunity and helps to establish a level of transparency. They are also great for spotting areas of opportunity because they force you to compare traffic to the previous month. For example, I was able to find out that social media and referral traffic is lower from reviewing this month’s report.
Furthermore, as most bloggers are interested in comparing traffic, blog traffic reports are fantastic opportunities to create interesting content and engage with other bloggers.
10-to-20 years down the line, I dream of having enough time to publish 10-to-12 recurring posts per month. Afterwards, I’ll be able to sprinkle in more creative posts with the remaining days. But for the time being, having a few monthly recurring posts will suffice.
For a more detailed reasoning of why I publish blog traffic reports, check out the blog traffic report for August here.
Blog Traffic Report – May 2018
All time page views on Reverse the Crush — 63,835
Page views in May — 1,418
Unique page views in May — 1,158
Total users in May — 526
Total sessions in May — 714
Blog Traffic Acquisition
Breakdown of how blog traffic sessions were acquired during May 2018
- Organic search — 266 sessions
- Social Media — 224 sessions
- Direct Traffic — 198 sessions
- Referral — 26 sessions
Top Traffic Driving Social Media Channels
- Twitter—116 sessions (51.79% of social traffic)
- Pinterest— 45 sessions (20.09% of social traffic)
- Google Plus — 40 sessions (17.86% of social traffic)
- Other — 10.26% of social traffic
Blog Posts Published in May 2018
- An Update on Social Media and Subscriber Growth – May 2018
- Forward Dividend Income Projection # 6 – $18.81 Annual Dividend Income Added
- Letter from the Editor – Blog Updates & Goal-setting for June 2018
- Dividend Income Update #11 – New record for April 2018
[bctt tweet=”Blog Traffic Report – May 2018″ username=”reversethecrush”]
Analysis of the Blog Traffic Report – May 2018
Reverse The Crush has now reached 63,835 page views all-time as of May 31, 2018. That’s over a span of approximately two and a half years.
Overall, it’s not super impressive considering the time frame. What’s interesting is that Twitter lost its dominance at acquiring traffic, and that social media lost the top spot at driving traffic since the prior report. Normally, social media is the traffic leader and Twitter accounts for 85-to-90% of blog traffic. I’m looking forward to putting more effort into social media over the rest of June to see the impact on the next report.
As for May 2018, traffic was lower than normal and has been for the past 3 or so months. The blog received 1,418 page views in May.
Marketing Strategies
To highlight the bright spot for May’s results, 252 organic search traffic sessions led the way. However, there are obvious areas of opportunity.
For example, social media has the potential to be a traffic leader again. Plus, it can do so while still generating the same level of organic search traffic as this month. For the remaining days in June, the plan is to become more consistent with posting content to Twitter and Pinterest again.
There’s also the tremendous opportunity to be more active with commenting on other blogs to generate referral traffic. Though, If I’m going to comment on another blog, I’m going to write meaningful comments.
Thirdly, the goal is to become more consistent with publishing content in general. If I continue to publish the monthly recurring posts, it will generate traffic and naturally lead to writing more creative posts.
Concluding Thoughts
Around the end of 2017 and beginning of 2018, the chief editor began to trail off. An inevitable acceptance had settled in. There was a stark realization that it was no longer possible to put the same amount of effort into blogging anymore. The year off was that golden window towards financial independence.
However, the chief editor is motivated again now thanks to a masterfully thought-up plan. This blog will continue to move towards financial independence through dividend investing. In the mean time, the amount of content on this blog, subscribers and social media followers will continue to grow, hopefully.
Though traffic has been slightly lower since January 2018 (4,136 page views), I’m confident that adding the recurring posts back into the mix with dividend income updates will help to increase traffic. In addition, consistent posting to social media and engaging with other blogs will drive two of the acquisition categories back to their former levels. At least the bright spot is that organic search has continued to improve.
I look forward to analyzing the impact of this month’s efforts in the report for June.
Dividend Income Update # 12 – May 2018 | RTC Provides Guidance
