150 Articles And Counting!
Hi, WA Friends
I hit my 150th published article milestone on my two-year-old guitar site. Although it's not a lot, I'm writing whenever I can. So I thought I'd give you a little update on how everything's going.
What About Site Traffic?
My traffic is slowly but steadily increasing. Here are some recent session metrics captured back in January.
That peak you see in organic search traffic was from two articles I wrote on guitar god Jeff Beck, which trended after he died of bacterial meningitis. It took me about ten years to get over the passing of Jimi Hendrix, way back in high school, and I'm not doing much better with Jeff.
My traffic plateaued after my site was hacked through a WordPress plugin, but it is starting to pick up again.
Here are my Google search results and Discover data for the past three months. The numbers are hanging in there, although it could be better.
Marketing Progress
I think it's still a little early to really monetize this website, but I have been dabbling with some affiliate opportunities to gain experience. These include partnerships with Amazon, Fender, and the Guitar Center. I'm consistently selling guitars, amplifiers, effects pedals, and accessories.
ο»ΏGoogle AdSense is onboard, and I'm halfway to my goal of adding Mediavine.
I'm planning on using Vitaliy's outstanding training on Google and Bing ads with Kyle's upcoming classes on promoting WA with paid ads to "Make Money Online With Music."
On the email list side, I use AWeber autoresponder and give away a 54-page ebook on how to play guitar as an email opt-in lead magnet. I'll be creating a variety of smaller free ebooks.ο»Ώ I get the feeling that some visitors are looking for more of a "tip sheet" to solve one particular problem, like "Ten Best Ways To Avoid Fingertip Pain." Haha, like a "David Letterman" type thing.
ο»Ώ
Although I'm active on Pinterest and Facebook, I don't spend much time on social marketing, and it shows in my traffic metrics.
A guitar YouTube channel is in my future, which will be targeted toward driving people to informational posts and reviews on my guitar website.
Am I having Fun?
Absolutely! I added a guitar website to my passion for playing and building guitars. Researching new articles by watching music videos and trying out new equipment at the local Guitar Center doesn't feel like I'm writing a book report.
Could I Be Doing More?
We can always do more, but aside from work responsibilities, I think it's important to leave time for the things that help make us who we are, like family, friends, and guitar playing!
Anyway, a website I started more as a hobby could end up being a small additional income, which is hard to beat!
Keep On Rockin' π
ο»ΏFrank πΈ
Recent Comments
133
Hi - out of interest, Partha and I have just added Monumetric to one of our sites.
It's not on the level of Mediavine, of course, but it does only require 10,000 page views per month and is said to be a lot better than AdSense.
They don't pay out for the first 60 days, so I will let you know in a couple of months what difference it has made!
Diane, thank you very much for sharing this.
I briefly read about Monumetric but never looked into it.
Not to be confused (again), this is 10K Sessions vs Impressions, right?
Cassi
Hi - in their case, it's actually Page Views they are interested in.
And over 50% of traffic from the USA.
Hi, Csssi
Here is a great review article on Monumetric:
https://thisonlineworld.com/monumetric-review/
The reviewer recommends it, but he is a Monumetric affiliate and actually changed to Mediavine when he had 50,000 Sessions/month.
Frank πΈ
Great, Diane!
I may look into that for my professional firm's website.
90% of the traffic there is from the USA.
Thanks much!
Cassi
Hi, Cassi
Your Page Views number should actually be pretty close to your Sessions, but the Session number is lower.
Here is Google's definition:
"A session is a group of user interactions with your website that take place within a given time frame. For example a single session can contain multiple page views, events, social interactions, and ecommerce transactions. You can think of a session as the container for the actions a user takes on your site."
Frank πΈ
Frank, I realised that my Sessions for that site averages 1.3K per month now and the Page Views are about 1.5K.
When I did the Google Analytics training I understood this a bit more.
The key to increasing Page Views is to keep visitors on the page longer.
That I can do. π
Thank you!
Cassi
Hi, Cassi.
I keep readers on my posts longer with all the funny stories of how I wrecked musical equipment in my younger days.
If that doesn't work, there's always internal links. π
I haven't done the Google analytics training. Perhaps I should?
Frank πΈ
Diane, do you need to move your nameservers away from WA with monumetric? I did that with Ezoic but the whole thing was a bit of a nightmare.
Frank, I found the training VERY helpful and learned a lot.
You can also take the tests and become 'Google Certified'.
I am playing around to find a way to make my stuffy corporate site more warm and welcoming.
Perhaps bringing some humour and Dilbert or The Office-type scenarios may not be a bad idea. π€
Gosh!
Corporate is so stiff!! π€¦ββοΈ
Cassi
That's a great idea, Cassi!
People have a very short attention span these days, and they know how much free info they have access to on the Internet. So we really have to grab their attention by being helpful in an amusing kind of way!
Visitors surf the net the way they channel surf on TV. I remember the days when there were three channels and no remote controls, so you had to actually get off your comfortable couch to change the program.
God, I'm getting old! π
You and me both, Frank!
Thank you for the humour tip.
It will also provide some humour for stress relief.
Cassi
Good morning Frank,
I hope you're doing well. Thank you for your blog post.
I didn't realise you had had your guitar site for two years, it's amazing where the time goes.
It's great that you have been able to write 150 articles in that period. I think the main thing with a website is to be consistent and it looks like you have been. All we can do is keep building and posting regularly. I'm sure you will reach your Mediavine goal in due course.
It's great that you are enjoying what you're doing; that is so important.
Have a great day.
Roy
Thanks, Roy!
Yes, Iβm having a good time with it and things are beginning to come together. π
Rock On π€
Frank πΈ
Fantastic Frank!
And this is how it really should be! It's great to hear from and learn from other members and to watch their online businesses grow.
Have a great day.
Roy
Hi Frank,
Looks like youβre doing things in the right sequence. Building traffic first and then monetizing your website.
Are you also capturing email subscribers to use in email marketing campaigns? With your traffic numbers this could be a good move if you havenβt already done so.
Keep up the great work Frank.
Cheers.
Edwin
Thanks, Edwin!
Yes, I use AWeber autoresponder and give away a 54-page ebook on how to play guitar as an email opt-in lead magnet.
It has a beginner, intermediate, and "advanced" section. The advanced info is just the rudiments of playing scales over CAGED chord shapes. I haven't had any complaints about the book so far. π
I don't have too many subscribers yet; getting close to 300. People are so leary about getting spam emails these days, and I don't blame them.
I'll be creating a variety of smaller free ebooks. I get the feeling that some visitors are looking for more of a "tip sheet" to solve one particular problem, like "ten best ways to avoid finger pain." Haha, like a "David Letterman" type thing.
Frank πΈ
Thanks, Simone!
I'm working at it consistently and enjoying the ride! π
Rock On! π
Frank πΈ
See more comments
Hey Frank, that's great, man Congrats. I wish I had a fourth of that traffic, LOL.
I will get there one day!
Seeing your site grow is very satisfying, especially when sharing your passion with others. Monetiseing even better.
Good luck with your following ad. On's sounds like a great plan!
Chet
Thanks, Chet!
Just keep working, and you'll fly by me! π
Rock On! π€
Frank πΈ
Thanks, Frank. If I could get my technical issues sorted out so that I would have more writing time, I would feel better.
One thing is true the more you write, the faster you grow. I can see that every time I make a post.
Chet
No worries, Chet!
It takes a little time to understand all the technical stuff and the youβll move right along! πππΈ