A few months ago I started reporting my traffic statistics at the start of each month. The traffic numbers are from the previous month, and I always compare the values with the same month the previous year. I know of many other bloggers that also report their traffic statistics, and also their earnings.
I am not a big fan of posting the earnings I make with Technically Easy, but I don’t mind sharing the traffic numbers. I only recently started to report my traffic numbers as a way for me to keep a record of my numbers and to ensure that those same numbers increase month-over-month. The one question I have been asking myself as I post the traffic statistics is how do I really measure my blog’s success?
How is a Blog’s Success Measured?
If you were to ask 100 blogger’s how they measure their blog’s success, each one may have a different answer, but many of the answers may be similar. Most blogger’s that I have conversed with seem to use the income generated by their blog as a measuring stick of success.
Some may mention specific rankings that they have received, such as PageRank from Google or Alexa’s own ranking system. These two values are also used by advertisers to determine if a site is worth the effort to advertise on.
Whatever the reason, a blog’s success can’t be boiled down to one answer, as each blogger will need to determine how their blog’s success can be measured.
Have You Achieved a Goal?
When it comes to measuring success you will first need to set a goal. Goals can be anything from income to traffic numbers. Even publishing a specific number of posts on your blog, or keeping your blog active for a number of years, can be considered a goal. There isn’t anyone that can set the goal for you blog but you.
Every blogger will have a different goal for their blog. There is no wrong goal as it is your blog, and you can author the blog anyway you wish, so you can set any goal that you would like. Whether it is a financial goal, a traffic goal, a publishing goal, it makes no difference. The goal is there for you to try to achieve.
The Goal I Have Set For Technically Easy
A few years back I decided to set the goals of my blog around my my traffic numbers. In the beginning it was difficult for me to generate much traffic for my blog, and it was definitely a challenge. I decided to learn whatever I needed to help generate traffic for my blog.
I started small, such as 100 visits a day. Once I achieved that goal I moved up to 500 visits, and then 1,000 visits. Technically Easy is now receives over 2,000 visits a day and will be looking at over 3,000 visits per day by the end of the year.
Setting my traffic goals gives me incentive for continuing to publish posts on my blog. It keeps me learning new things, and finding out what works and what doesn’t through experimenting. I have been happy for achieving my goals, and once I do I quickly set a new goal to keep me going.
Achieving a Goal is Success
Each time I achieve my traffic goal I can say that I have succeeded with my blog. Success is not a static condition, but it is a constantly evolving goal. The online world is constantly evolving, so the measurement of success must also change.
If you have achieved success with your blog today, can you say the same a year from now? For me if my traffic numbers a year from now are similar to what the numbers are today, can I deem my blog as successful a year from now? I wouldn’t think so as I wouldn’t have achieved my new traffic goal.
For those that have chosen income as a goal, will you consider success at $1,000 a month? If so, will you consider that a success a year from now, or are you hoping to grow that to $2,000 a month? Chances are you are hoping to be earning more a year from now, so you will set yourself a new goal and hope to achieve the same success.
For me, I each month I report my traffic numbers I always have the previous year comparison to see how my traffic has grown. If I can increase my traffic numbers year-over-year than I have succeeded in growing my traffic, and hopefully have achieved success.