Fridays With Vicky 50
After struggling to write my post today, I have decided that I will be cutting down my post submission from 3 times a week to 2 times a week.
I want to provide quality, engaging content for you my reader, so focusing on less will create more value in this case.
When I write I want to be excited and not do it because a third article is due for the week.
Cutting down the post amount to 2 articles weekly, will allow me to write better content and focus on some other things for my website.
One of the things I`m putting more time into is social media and right now my focus is Twitter.
I hope that engaging with my Twitter followers will increase the traffic some as well.
What I`m curious about is, if going from 3 posts to 2, will affect traffic to my website. Will I get less visitors?
Is posting 3 times a week better than 2 times a week?
At this point I don`t think it will hurt this site to post less, compromising on the quality though might.
Today is October 21, I will check back in a month or so to look at the numbers and results and give you an update. I will show you some real numbers.
My guess is pretty worthless lol, but my numbers will speak for them selves.
My Result, Going from 3 Posts to 2 Posts Weekly
I use Google Analytics to check my stats on my sites. A resource filled with valuable information.
My focus will be on organic traffic and traffic generated from social media. At the moment these are the top 2 traffic generators for this site.
I will compare the numbers from Sep 21 to Oct 21 with the numbers of Oct 22 – Nov 22. Let`s see the change, will it be positive or negative?
Result Going from 3 Posts to 2 Posts Weekly
- Users +42%
- Sessions +52%
- Page view +46%
These numbers confirmed that I`m doing the right thing. I must say that the positive numbers are way better than I expected.
By cutting back the one post I freed up some extra time, that I spend on Twitter and it seems like this is paying off.
Session duration went from 03.28 to 02.56.
So this is a down trend. I`m still around 3 minutes so I`m not too concerned about it. This can also be due to traffic from social media, some might check the site out and move on a little faster than if you found the site in the search engines by actively looking for something specific.
Let`s look at where the traffic is coming from. Focus will be organic, social and direct traffic.
Changes in Where the Traffic Is Coming From
- Organic Search +12%
- Direct +35%
- Social +131%
I`m pleased to see an increase in organic visitors. I`m very excited about the Social visitors, they more than doubled. Using Twitter is paying off.
What About Conversion?
It`s all about targeted traffic. I rather have less traffic that convert, than a lot of traffic that don`t. The best scenario is of course a lot of traffic that convert really well.
In this case I almost doubled my membership leads to this program. This also meant increase in sales.
I could not be happier with my decision of going from 3 weekly posts to 2. The numbers are up and speak for themselves.
What it comes down to is testing. Each and every website is different. So what works for this site might not work for yours. The key is to know your numbers, improve and adjust.
Another thing to look at is, if you do cut down on posting…
…what will you be doing instead?
In my case I spend more time on social media which payed off. It`s about finding a perfect balance for your site. Working with your site both on page and off page.
What`s your thoughts on posting frequency? Feel free to chim in!
Have a productive day,
Vicky
Hey there Vicky,
I have read lots of debate on this particular topic and as you mentioned I think it kind of depends on the site. If you are someone who emails out to a mailing list every time a post is posted or if you are writing all your own content you might want to publish less often.
Unless a person has all day to focus on their site, it is probably better to publish less because it gives you more time to market your content which of course can be a huge help in getting in new traffic and building a following. Personally, I think brand new sites if they can publish more often without sacrificing quality then they should be publishing to help build the site up and then drop down to less posts to focus on marketing, researching, etc.
As long as the site can be consistent I honestly don’t think it matters one way or the other how often you post. As you mentioned, when you dropped to two posts you were able to focus more on getting your content out there without having to focus so much on organic rankings. I would imagine your numbers have an upward trend anyway when it comes to organic traffic so I don’t know how much of that actually comes from you dropping your volume, the obvious difference is in the social media outlet.
Merry Christmas! Sorry if that sounds rambly…been working long shifts all week lol.
Jean
Agree that it totally depends on the site Jean. It also depends on the person behind the site. If you LOVE writing and that`s your strong suit by all means post often. If you have a strong social media appearance and enjoy that, then focus on that. I think that if you do what you enjoy along with a good plan and some balance you have a winning hand.
One of the things that I`m looking to improve 2016 is my marketing plan for each and every post of my site. What should I be doing after I post for best exposure… I will be doing some testing on that as well…
I agree that it`s good if you can put out some great content more often in the beginning of running your site. If you do that then you have some good stuff to point to when engaging in social media for example.
Best way to find out what works on your site is testing, testing and testing.
Thanks for your input Jean,
Vicky
Great, Vicky! HOpe you guys had a great one. John
We did thanks John! Hope you did too 🙂
Thanks for sharing this article Vicky. I personally have a website and I really don’t want to feel pressured into writing something just because. I noticed for myself that the articles that I have written that I’m excited to share online does get the most traffic. I actually have more fun writing articles that I love to share rather than just writing something for the engines. I want to help people with my site and I decided to focus on that. Great article!
Hi Evelyn,
Yes, agree the posts you are most excited about usually does well. It shines through in the writing. Sometimes the content need a little push to be seen though… but I guess if you like it you share it…
Thanks,
Vicky
Thanks Vicky I believe you are right it’s all about balancing yourself and finding your sweet spot. There is a lot to do and you have to allow yourself time for all things and if you spend all your time on one or two things than you lack on other parts of your business. I always say slow and steady and all will pay off in time . I think a lot of people want it to happen right away and it doesn’t happen like that you have to build your tribe and then things began to happen. Thanks for the blog and good luck and Happy New year!
Hi Scott,
Balance yourself and do what works for you, I agree.
Patience is a great trade to have when it comes to this biz for sure. We live in a society with instant gratification, like you say that doesn`t always happen. Stick with it and success will come…
Vicky
Hi Vicky,
So far I have been posting daily to build up my content as I only just started my blog a month ago.
In doing so I don’t really have that much time to do any training or marketing which has got to be the most important parts of a successful blog.
I am considering dropping down to a second daily post with every other day spent fine tuning my skills and social media channels.
Thanks for this timely post!
Hi Kris,
The thing is we all wish we had more hours in a day… Content is very important don’t get me wrong, it is a major cornerstone of your blog. Good for you working so hard getting your blog going, well done!
The thing is though when you are a one woman or man operation, there are a lot of things you want to get done. Like you say continues education, social media and more… you just have to figure what works for you and your blog.
Setting a schedule and sticking to it, will get you to where you want to go!
Figure out how your time is well spent on your blog!
Vicky