It’s been a good four months since I tossed caution to the wind and decided the thing to do about my disappointing blog traffic would be to narrow this site’s focus and guarantee an even smaller audience.
Well, traffic went down, my sitemeter.com account tells me, but it seems like it’s starting to rebound. I’m seeing more new names in the comments, and I’m still getting plenty of comments. Folks I lost when the site went local are being replaced by folks from around here, though it appears lots of non-locals continue to mill about.
You’ll no doubt notice the Google ads have returned. Originally I felt like they were too much trouble/distraction but lately it seems like leaving cash on the table if I ignore them completely. Google ads are imperfect but they require very little maintenance once installed, and they do ad content that I don’t have to generate. If it works out to a six-pack of Gordon Biersch a month, well that’s six beers I don’t have to pay for — it’ll be like all of you buying me a round. So, thanks. Just word to the wise: if you put Google ads on your pages, be prepared to become helplessly hooked on checking your revenue numbers; this’ll only drive you batty; avoid the urge.
As for the future, I’m wondering what I should be doing to increase the site’s traffic and get more local folks to stop by (hence buying me more free beers). Suggestions are welcome. Though bloggers tend not to be hikers and hikers tend not to be bloggers, people who hike must use the Internet. The Bay Area has more hiking trails than just about any geographic region on the planet, so it stands to reason there’s a potential audience out there. How to hook ’em, reel ’em and keep ’em on the line is the issue.
So what do you say, folks, keep up with the same ol’ stuff and hope it catches on? Or try some new stuff? What should there be more of, and less of? (other than, of course, “state of the blog” updates).
Thinking about ads, I just added a sponsor for one of my pages on my SJ Giants Fans blog. The sponsor and I started a conversation after the last game of the season. He saw the site and liked it. I gave him the google analytics data and he came up with a number that worked for both of us. I also talked to my readers and they said “Go for it”.
I like the new focus of Two-Heel drive. I like that you are putting more of your stuff up.
Thanks,
Tom
As you know I cried when you went Bay Area Mostly.
But
Rick: I may well rearrange the ads a bit, the site is cleaner with a white bar all the way across the site and the google folks say you do better with an ad at the bottom of a post rather than alongside in the rails.
I really loved the thru-hiker updates from the “old” blog, but of course, they don’t quite fit in with your geographical focus.
Otherwise, my only suggestion is bikini pictures. They kill.
Tom: there’s a way to do that: every year somebody from the bay area hikes the PCT… if I could get one to cooperate, I could follow the progress all the way along. People’s plans are starting to heat up for next year, so perhaps I’ll do some poking around.
I’d actually prefer a slightly wider focus to include all of CA (or at least northern CA), but thats just me being selfish 🙂 )
The google ads on the side are nicely integrated and non distracting.
I like the Bay Area hikes, but as a regular Bay Area hiker I’d like to see more Calif. hikes in general. The Bodega Bay article was great..on my list to do very soon, and I haven’t done Devil’s Postpile/Rainbow Falls Trail in the Sierras..hopefully next yr.
Well, I’m one of those non-locals you speak of (waaaaay non-local, like Canada), but you provide enough interesting content for me to return regularly. I find the same thing on my hiking blog: Hikers are too busy outside to bother with reading blogs. Oh well. The few that come my way seem to look for trail information and move on. Maybe one day…
I’m in awe of your blog. It is updated consistently and has interesting content. But my interest is mostly professional. I don’t have much interest in hiking your neck of the woods. No offense intended. New Hampshire is the farthest west I get.
It’s an interesting dilemma you pose. I’m interested in seeing how you handle it. Narrow focus does make sense. But then again, hikers are travelers by nature. But some content – like the series on hiking essentials – is a draw for hikers anywhere.
I don’t know if my interest shows in your stats though. I keep track of it by RSS. So do you know how well that is used?
I’m no where near California, and yet I continue to come by every day because I enjoy your blog, I like to read your insights, and occasionally I can find something I can blatantly steal for my own blog! 🙂
Keep up the great work and good luck on the ad revenues. Hopefully it buys you a case of beer before too long. I haven’t added them to my site yet.
BTW, I recently switched to Site Meter as well, and I’m finding VERY different numbers than from what Google Analytics were reporting. I know they use different methods, but Site Meter seems to be more immediate and accurate to me.
Fact is, your writing style is what makes me a consistent reader – so it wouldn’t matter much whether the blog is about local hiking, trails of the world or hummingbird nests. It isn’t so much the subject matter as the manner in which it’s transcribed.
I’m a fairly new reader, and bay area resident, but I’d like to see more info on how I can enjoy the hike that you had so much fun on. Maybe a google maps placemark at the trailheads or brief directions from a major freeway for each. It always takes quite a bit of googling to figure out how to get to the trailheads. Or maybe I just haven’t explored the site enough to find these…
thanks
Tom,
As a hiker and a blogger (and a writer, and a baseball fan, and someone who loves your photography), I think your blog is wonderful just the way it is. I will do my small part to up your traffic by sending a link to all my outdoorsy friends. Keep up the great work!
Berkeley Beth