Traffic Statistics for my Blog August 2012

I thought I should share more about how my blog is doing in terms of traffic, engagement, etc. Today, I want to share with you how my blog is doing in attracting readers and which are the top posts and my takeaways from this information.

I started this blog back in May 2011. This isn’t my first blog, but I wanted to document my blogging journey and share with everyone what I learned. I kept shifting between a blogger and freelance writer. As it turns out, the posts about freelancing are actually more popular today than the other posts.

I just use Google Analytics to track the traffic and other statistics on my blog. I find it adequate and easy to use. Above all, it is free.

Traffic Statistics
Here are the traffic statistics for my blog for the month of August 2012. I had 2,485 visits and 2,052 unique visits for the month.

Blog August 2012

The above is my daily traffic report. It shows the usual fluctuations in traffic. I would prefer a more uniform higher traffic. I crossed the 100 visits/day on quite a few days, but didn’t average those many visitors. In the next few months, I hope I can achieve that goal as well.

Top Posts
Here are the top 5 visited pages on my blog:
Blog August 2012

My reviews are popular among readers of this blog. Although technically there are two reviews in the top 5 posts, the top post, which is oDesk vs. Elance, is also a sort of review. The main lesson is that when you know what you are talking about, people will read. When you can write from a position of expertise, those posts become your pillar articles, just like they do for this blog. Same goes for tips – it provides value to those looking to work freelance at any online marketplace or without one.

For those interested, here are the top 5 posts so you can read them:

1. http://geeksmakemoney.com/odesk-vs-elance/

2. http://geeksmakemoney.com/odesk-review-good-and-bad/

3. http://geeksmakemoney.com/

4. http://geeksmakemoney.com/comprehensive-peopleperhour-review/

5. http://geeksmakemoney.com/odesk-tips-for-freelancers/

What Small Businesses Don’t “Get” about SEO

Small Business SEOIt’s funny how many small businesses have heard about Search Engine Optimization (SEO) without really knowing what it entails or how it can help their business.

There is no magic bullet called SEO that will make your business an overnight success. Like any success, success in SEO is never overnight. It takes time, effort, patience, right strategy, ability to handle uncertainty, monitoring progress and making sure you follow the right path. Unfortunately, most small businesses want quick, instant results when it comes to SEO. They want to double their traffic in a month. Or triple.

No wonder so many SEO companies are nothing more than snake-oil salesmen. They sell what the customer wants to buy, no matter the risks. They can get paid to show higher search traffic, but one misstep and the business can literally be wiped off the internet (aka doesn’t show up in Google. Don’t mess with big G when you’re a small business).

If you are a small business that doesn’t know about SEO, here is a quick, dirty guide to follow:

  • Never, ever, go black hat. Sure, you’ll quadruple your traffic in a month, and then you’ll fall to zero next month. The risks are too high. Besides, trust me, Google has some smart engineers working for them. They tend to know more than your average SEO company or your “brilliant black hat SEO method that Google can never detect”. Cut the BS. Don’t risk your entire business on your “genius ideas”. Think ethical SEO.
  • If you’re hiring an SEO company, know what they do. Not just you, even big businesses have no clue what their SEO firms do, but they have leverage that you don’t. Look at JC Penney – the most famous SEO gone bad scandal for a big chain. Know what you’re paying for.
  • Give up on SEO right now if you want overnight success.
  • SEO, when done right, requires a lot of hard work. It means aligning the interests of the search engine, search users and your business. This isn’t easy. It means providing the highest quality content that appeals to people who don’t want to buy from you and hopefully convert them over time. Are you ready for that investment?
  • SEO can be highly rewarding. What’s better than getting highly targeted traffic to your business, every one of them a potential buyer, all for free? If you want to reach such a coveted position, however, you will need to think long-term. There is no overnight SEO success anymore.
  • Beware the snake oil salesman. Are you being “guaranteed” success in terms of first position in Google? Run, don’t look back.
  • SEO is just another tool in your toolkit. Even if you don’t land a top Google spot, the strategies behind SEO should promote your business and get interested buyers to you nevertheless. Think powerful and useful content that people like and would want to share. How could you go wrong, even if Google ceases to exist tomorrow?
  • Learn. Learn from the better sources on the internet. Don’t fall for marketing gimmicks. Know what Google wants. Learn as much as you can. At least you’ll be in a position to know what is acceptable to you and what is not. Don’t build your business around fishy techniques and shady alliances.
  • Know your business. Know how SEO fits it. It isn’t the beginning and end of any business. Purely by itself, SEO is meaningless. You need a way to convert the people who come to your site. Have a plan in place. What should the reader do after reading your awesome post?

What am I missing? What else don’t businesses get about SEO? What tips do you have for them?

Photo Credit: San Diego Shooter