This is the second-month report of my blog. I feel really excited to step into a new month and curious to know what lies ahead! Voila!
Before starting this report, I would like to sincerely thank all my readers for providing amazing support in growing this blog. Thank you so much for your comments and shares! Your actions give me immense joy that I am able to help you in some way!
Lets dive straight into the report!
Things I am going to cover in this report
- Go big with affiliate marketing stats for July
- Mistakes I made in my first month report
- My findings as a two months old blogger
- Stats that I am proud of
- Stats that can be improved
- Things I need to understand
- My major traffic source
- A new facebook page
- My guest post result
- Helpful facebook groups for beginner bloggers
- July goals result
- August goals
- Conclusion
Go big with affiliate marketing stats for July
Note: I’ve calculated these stats from July 1 to July 31, 2020.
Just like the last month’s report, I’ve concentrated in improving these important metrics such as total page views, number of sessions, sources that gives me consistent traffic, total share count for all of my posts, average time spent in the sight, bounce rate, new vs returning visitors, and devices used by my visitors to navigate this blog.
With these basic metrics, I’ve also started tracking which of my posts perform well in Google and what are the keywords I am starting to rank for.
Here’s the July stats list for go big with affiliate marketing!
- Total page views. 777.
- Number of sessions. 457.
- Consistent traffic source. Facebook.
- Total share count for all my posts. 255.
- Average time spent in the site. 2 minutes.
- Bounce rate. 56.02 percent.
- New vs returning visitors. New 359. Returning 49.
- Device breakdown. Desktop. 42 percent. Tablet. 0 percent. Mobile. 58 percent.
Note: I’ve accumulated these stats only from Google analytics.
Mistakes I made in my first month report
Actually, I’ve made a major mistake in my first month blog report. Do you want to know what it is? Using both monster insights and Google analytics to calculate my blog’s stats for June month!
Why did I do this? well, here’s the reason!
I was lured into the fact that I can track my stats right in the wordpress dashboard itself using monster insights. Turns out, it was the bad decision I’ve taken in my blogging journey so far.
Why? After talking to many of my blogger friends and doing my research, I found out that monster insights isn’t accurate in providing all the traffic stats. They only give you some basic numbers such as page views for the month, total sessions, average time spent in the site, bounce rate, new vs returning visitors, country-wise traffic, and best performing content in terms of traffic. You only get simple stats with the free version and if you want a full report for everything, you have to pay for it.
Having said that, here’s a stats comparison between monster insights and Google analytics for the month of June. Just have a close look at it.
Monster insights, MI. Google analytics, GA.
- Total page views. MI 479. GA 470.
- Number of sessions. MI 261. GA 255.
- Consistent traffic source. MI facebook. GA facebook.
- Average time spent in the site. MI 1 minute 37 seconds. GA 1 minute 37 seconds.
- Bounce rate. MI 66.67 percent. GA. 67.07 percent.
- New vs returning visitors. MI new 75 percent and returning 25 percent. GA new 190 visitors and returning 11 visitors.
- Device breakdown. MI Desktop. 49 percent. Tablet. 1 percent. Mobile. 50 percent. GA Desktop. 49 percent. Tablet. 1 percent. Mobile. 50 percent.
Not much difference. Right?
Wrong! When it comes to search engine optimization, you need accurate data.
Google analytics gives you a detailed report for every metric, which is of course free and it is the most accurate of all.
This is my opinion and I welcome you to add yours!
After seeing this, I’ve learnt all about Google analytics and the stats in this report is only from GA.
My findings as a two months old blogger
I have some key lessons to share with you here.
- There is a lot to learn when it comes to navigating through Google analytics and Google search console. From verifying your site ownership to submitting your sitemap in GSC, or navigating through various reports provided by GA, you have to do a heck of a lot of Googling, figuring out, and implementing. It takes so much of your time, but it’s worth every single minute.
- Blog spam comments. Here’s a smashing truth. I got 216 spam comments in July. Whereas, I haven’t got a single one in June. Because, that’s my first month as a blogger and my existence may not have known to the bots. All those spam comments in July are from honeypots. But is it gonna stop? No. I may get more or less spam comments. It isn’t going to stop. If that’s the case, how am I tackling this? through the plugin, Antispam bee.
- Blog commenting. I don’t want to bore you with my story. I commented on a well-respected blog and I left a link to my latest post at the end of the comment. I didn’t check the post after that, and I got a polite response from the blogger which reads like this.
Hari, there are better ways to build traffic than this. Please reach out to me and we can fix a call and discuss.
Although I didn’t have the slightest intention of building free traffic, something struck me and I reached out to my blogger community and asked about it. From their responses, what I’ve understood is that all of them did the same thing at one point in their blogging journey.
Some people just delete the link and post the comment, and others will mark your site and email as spam. If people like your comment, they are going to visit your site anyway! So, my humble request is, leave a genuine comment and you’ll start building trust, which may develop into a wonderful relationship!
Stats that I am proud of
Here’s the list of stats I am so proud to have achieved.
- Total page views. 777.
- Number of sessions. 457.
- Total share count for all my posts. 255.
- Average time spent in the site. 2 minutes.
- Bounce rate. 56.02 percent.
- New vs returning visitors. New 359. Returning 49.
- Three of my articles are doing really well in Google search results.
- Currently, I am ranking for 10 keywords.
Stats that can be improved
Here are some stats I need to improve.
- Average time spent in the site. 2 minutes.
- Total page views.
- Number of returning visitors. I have improved this metric ok, but it isn’t enough.
- Number of major traffic sources.
Things I need to understand
I’ve learned to navigate in both Google analytics and Google search console. But apart from pulling out the stats for the last month, I haven’t really dug deep in GA reports.
Also, apart from performance and discovery reports in GSC, I haven’t read into other items.
As of now, I haven’t started pinning in Pinterest and that must happen in this month.
My ,major traffic source
Facebook is still serving me as a major traffic source. Right now, I am only sharing the posts only with my facebook audience and I am reaping great rewards for that. So, thanks so much for every one of my readers for commenting and sharing my articles!
Still, I am fully aware that I need to venture into various other channels for a newer audience. I am planning to do so this month!
A new facebook page
In the middle of July, I’ve started my facebook page. Yay! You can check it out here!
At the end of July, I have 53 followers and 47 likes.
Apart from sharing my posts, I am planning to post some helpful quotes dedicated for beginner bloggers and affiliate marketers.
So, watch out!
My guest post result
I’ve finished writing and submitted my guest post to Ellen of zyrakuma.com.
She has accepted my post, and I’ll let you know once it’s published!
Helpful facebook groups for beginners
There are tons of helpful facebook groups for beginner bloggers out there, but I’ll list out the groups where I am a member and had personal experience interacting with its people. In my personal opinion, these groups are gold for beginner bloggers!
Its members are friendly and helpful, encourage you when you are down, and celebrate your wins with you. Who wouldn’t like to be a part of such groups!
But, a word of caution. If you want to enjoy those benefits, you need to follow all the rules set by the moderators at all times.
So, here’s the list of awesome facebook groups for beginner bloggers!
- Write Better, Blog Better: Writing Support for Bloggers
- Becoming a Blogger
- Newbie & Expert Bloggers Unite 🥂
- Grow your Blog / Website Traffic & Make Money Online!
- Blogging for New Bloggers
- Bloggers Supporting Bloggers
- Blogging Newbs
- The Smart Blogging Approach
- Golden Bloggerz: Online Blogging Community
- Blogging Like We Mean It
- Bloggers Unite on Pinterest
These groups are not arranged in any particular order. Each group is unique at its own, and if you join, you’ll get so much value for sure!
July goals result
Here are the results for July goals.
- Total page views. 1600. Fail!
- Number of sessions. 400. Pass!
- Publish 4 quality blog posts. Only published three!
- Get started with Pinterest. Got started but didn’t start pinning, I’ll do that this month!
- 10 Pinterest followers. Fail! I have only 4 followers.
- Create a couple of lead magnets. Fail! I am still struggling with designing my lead magnet, and I am also learning Canva.
August goals
Here are my goals for August.
- Total page views. 1000.
- Number of sessions. 700.
- Publish 4 quality blog posts. I’ll definitely do it this month!
- Get started with Pinterest. I’ll start pinning!
- 10 Pinterest followers. I’ll achieve it!
- Create a couple of lead magnets. I am not sure how its gonna take shape, yet I am seriously hopeful that I can pull it off this month!
- Improve my rankings in Google.
- Rank for more keywords.
Conclusion
That’s it for July. Quite a good improvement in my blog stats.
Above all the stats, I am particularly happy about three of my articles doing well in Google search results. What I mean by doing well is that I am starting to rank for these articles.
For a two months old blog, this is an excellent result. I’ll keep you updated on my progress!
Now it’s your turn. What’s the one thing you feel proud to have achieved in your blogging journey up to this point? Share your thoughts in the comment section below!
Related posts
Blog report for go big with affiliate marketing June 2020
The ultimate guide to understanding all about affiliate link hijacking for beginners
A comprehensive guide on the do’s and don’ts of affiliate marketing for beginners
About Hari:
Hari loves writing about affiliate marketing, email marketing, and blogging for beginners. When he is not writing, you can find him actively watching tennis, or searching for the next recipe that’ll fulfill his heart.
Wow well done! I hope that I can see similar success!
hey Rachel,
thank you so much for your encouraging comment!
I am sure that you’ll get grater success than this!
Very helpful and informative post! Thanks for sharing!
hey Rayka,
thanks for your comment.
glad you’ve found valuable information in this post!
This was so helpful. I am new to blogging, and this is a new world for me. I just took a blogging class where I was encouraged (from the instructor) to comment on posts, leave my site information, and ask for them to respond😬. I’m super uncomfortable doing this. I agree with you when you said they will come to my site on their own if I leave meaningful comments. I would prefer to do it this way that you mentioned.
Thank you for posting this!
hey KIMBERLY,
thank you so much for your insightful comment.
I am so glad that you have learned some valuable lessons through this post!
all the very best for your blogging journey!
good job!
hey Denise,
thank you very much!
this is inspiring and informative to really track monthly progress and where to focus. thanks for sharing
hey Jeannie,
thank you very much for your comment.
so happy that you’ve found inspiration in this post!
thanks for your appreciative words!
Keep up the good work! You are doing awesome with your blogging journey!
hey April,
thank you very, very much!
I enjoyed reading your post. Learned a lot about blog traffic and affiliate marketing, these two are my major hurdles. I will return to your blog and look for more helpful information.
hey Marianna,
thank you so much for your comment.
glad you’ve found this post helpful!
have a nice day!
You have an awesome blog and congrats for your success very good content. Have a nice day
hey Joy,
thank you very much!
have a nice day too!
It’s really great to read your journey with your blog and how on track you seem to be with your goals because you are aware of them! I learned from this post!
hey Nkem,
thank you so much for your comment.
glad you’ve learned valuable lessons from this post!
It’s nice of you to share your blogging/affiliate marketing experience with others. Based on what I read here, you’re doing good and you’ll get better. Keep it up!
hey Jojo Reyes,
thanks for your comment.
thanks for your compliment and all the very best for your blogging journey.
at the speed I’m going, I’ll probably be new for a long time:) well done you! and thanks for the info!
hey VAGABOND,
thanks for your comment!
don’t compare your blogging journey with anybody else, including me.
your journey is unique to you.
thanks for the appreciation, and glad you’ve found some valuable information in this report!
I love the information you put out! As a new blogger, this gives me so much motivation and drive. It seems like you have a great strategy going. Keep it up!
hey Cassie,
thank you so much for your appreciation!
glad that you’ve found value in this post!
Nice stats! It can be difficult gaining traffic when you first start (I am in the same boat!) but you have great stats so far! Awesome post!
hey Tegan,
thank you very much for your appreciative comment!
all the very best for your blogging journey!
This was really helpful. I’m still a beginning blogger, even though the site has been live for two years. I had no clue what a honeypot was! It’s nice to take a peek behind the curtain to see what strategies other bloggers are using to build traffic and grow their blogs. I loved how you broke down all your goals and were accountable to yourself. I’m gonna have to try that. Thanks for the post!
hey Jennifer Sisson,
thanks for the comment.
huneypot is a real thing.
even I didn’t have a clue on what a huneypot is before getting a spam comment.
as always, accountability is a key factor in achieving blogging success.
thanks for your appreciative words, and all the very best for your blogging success!
Thanks for sharing your insights, it is helpful to see your progress and compare with mine and learn right alongside you. Best of luck growing!
hey KRYSIA,
thanks for the comment.
for learning purposes, comparing stats is ok.
but, in general, please don’t compare anybody’s blogging journey with yours, including me.
your journey is unique to you.
by the way, you have a very, very good niche!
thanks for your appreciation, and all the very best for your blogging success!
Wow!! Amazing stats!! Heartly congratulations..
hey Praju,
thank you so so much!
You should be very proud of yourself as your stats are great for being a new blogger. And I agree GA is definitely the most accurate metric for you to track your stats. I would also reccomend Jetpack Stats as well.
hey ANA DE- JESUS,
thank you so so much for your kind words!
also, thanks for your appreciation!
Wow! Congratulations! You’re doing really well! Especially with the bounce rate and time spent on page!
hey SARA,
thank you so much for your kind comment.
and, thanks for reading!
Thanks for this info! I needed to hear it as a newbie blogger myself 🙂
hey Bianca,
thanks for your comment.
glad you’ve found some useful info in this post!
all the very best to achieve success in your blogging journey!