Here’s my website traffic report for January. If you wish, you can compare to my 2012 website traffic report.
My traffic had held steady through December 2012 and the Christmas holiday, so I was expecting it to rise as people got back to work in January. What I didn’t expect was a spike in traffic starting New Year’s Eve! My highest traffic to date was Wednesday, January 2nd, with 2,903 visits. Wow!
But why?
Website Traffic Report: January 2013
I wish I knew exactly, but I can tell you – it was my Facebook emoticons list that suddenly went wild. In the 5 days from Dec. 31 – Jan. 4, that post brought in over 5,000 pageviews. And, like all of my site, 80% of the traffic was from Google searches.
Yeah, I don’t quite get it!
That post remained the #2 post through the month, with my always-#1 post being Best Facebook Photo Sizes. The two posts together brought in 48% of my total pageviews: 33,692 of 69,910 total.
Total pageviews in December were 49,954, so January saw a 140% increase.
What of the 16 Blog Challenge Posts?
The blog challenge I took during the month of January served to focus me quickly.
Stick with your focus, stick with your focus, stick with your focus!
I enjoyed my end-of-year wrap-ups and resolutions posts, and my series on blogging tips, but Google didn’t. On January 10, I got back to my roots, and published a news item on Facebook Cover Photo rules. That became the top January-published post, with 1,052 views (rank: #12). Next from January’s writings were 2 posts on Facebook links, at #17 and #26.
All together, the 16 posts brought in under 4,000 pageviews and less than 6% of my site’s traffic. Disappointing – but it got me focused! I started sharpening my site’s focus even beyond the blog posts, by removing my design portfolio and rewriting the Home, About, and Contact pages. It’ll be interesting to see how much that hurts in the short run, as the portfolio pages got a good amount of traffic. But I know in the long run, this focus is GREAT for my business!
Do You Enjoy My Website Insights?
Writing the monthly website traffic report seems a great way to see what’s working on my site. If readers aren’t interested, though, I’ll have to evaluate if it’s worth the time. If you’ve read this far, please let me know what you think of my website traffic report!
Fabulous insights Louise. I was following your blogs in January, but I remember googling something a couple of times, and there you were!
Michelle Nichols recently posted..Rockin’ the Blog Challenge
Thanks Michelle. I miss your great posts!
Louise Myers recently posted..Learn How Easily your Facebook Fan Page Can Look Great with These Graphic Designer Secrets…
That’s very interesting. I’m still trying to figure out how this all applies to my website – how do I get more and better traffic?
Monick Halm recently posted..Happiness and Pleasure
Hi Monick!
There are 2 main ways to get traffic. Social media, and SEO. My tips on SEO are here:
http://louisem.com/2156/seo-basics-for-beginners
They’ve really worked for me! Good luck.
Louise Myers recently posted..How Long is a Blog Post? Here’s What’s Working For Me
Interesting. I wonder what else impacted you Facebook emoticons list post or was it that info alone? Good stuff, thanks!
Sabrina recently posted..10 Tips To Design Your Home Office
It’s weird! I don’t know if Google just started sending me more of the searchers, or if more people suddenly started searching for emoticons. On New Year’s Eve?! LOL
Louise Myers recently posted..Best FREE Photo Sites: The Most Recommended Free Image Sites
Wow, I wish I had your traffic :). I must be doing something – hmmm – wrong. I just do not get the traffic. Even with the UBC…
I may have to look into hiring someone to really come in and look at what I do and what I need to do…
:) Great information as always Miss Louise :)
Sue recently posted..Angels, Please Clear The Energy
Sue, you’re probably not doing anything “wrong” – I did have some lucky timing with the Facebook Timeline debut, and also have learned to use keywords well. But others have built traffic via social media! Hiring a pro is a good idea, tho. Good luck!
Louise Myers recently posted..Love Quote Graphics? How to Make Quote Pictures without Photoshop
Hi Louise
this is slightly off the topic but would you mind sharing with me which plugin or widget you have for you floating social media icons.
I have a wordpress website and have download a few plugins but they point back to my social media – i would like my readers to share on their social media.
Hope this makes sense.
Many thanks Louise.
PS love your blogs!
Hi Kellie!
The plugin is named DiggDigg. It’s pretty customizable – you can choose what you want to show. It also does the icons at the bottom of the post.
Enjoy!
Louise Myers recently posted..How to Create Custom Tab Images for your Facebook Timeline Fan Page
You do rock Louise – thank you!