How is this Blog Thing Going? Stats, SEO and Monetizing

**Our honesty policy: This post may contain affiliate links and I may be compensated if you make a purchase at no extra cost to you. Some are, some aren't--I do some comparison shopping. The important thing is you will know exactly what we are talking about. Drop a note/comment if you have any questions on the products as these are materials and tools we use on our own projects.

In the past few months I’ve had a few questions on how blogging works…how the blog is doing, search engine optimization (SEO) and if I’m an affiliate marketer.

So how HAS this blog been doing after 2 years?

Fast and slow, depending on how you look at it.

Last month this blog was a measly 7 hits away from 7,000 pages visited!

Sooooo close!

Many markets are actually slower in the summer months and they really rake it in around Christmas, but this is the home improvement Christmas time!

As for cashola for this blog though, it is something along the lines of beer money. I’m not knocking beer money, as beer is tasty. Some months it is a couple of cases, but other months are more along the lines of a six pack.

In other words, for those of you considering a blog, don’t expect overnight success.

I’m venturing out into YouTube (more on this soon)…I’ll let you know if those results are different. 😉

I will say that some of the benefits have been building relationships with some of the companies that we use ourselves. Attending IBS and continuing the discussions have helped too.

Getting on Google’s radar.

SEO wise, it’s been a learning experience. Getting that top spot on Google is an ever changing game, and, holy cow, are pictures SEO intensive. There is a lot of behind the scenes on every picture that gets added. from resizing and watermarking to filling in the copywrite, title, description and tag fields, then adding them in to a post with a caption and an alternate description (x50+ times for the PEX manifold post!). For all that work, Google can be rewarding by drawing in more visitors, as it show pictures in search results.

Interestingly enough, Pinterest really took off two months ago. As in, it almost doubled the traffic overnight. Countertop overhang is well eclipsed by the PEX manifold post.

Pictures are worth 1,000 words…and well over 1,000 clicks!

Monetizing JustNeedsPaint

I *know* you see the ads on here. They are part of the beer money package. A click here or there can be worth up to an entire can. Or just a sip or two. It all depends on what appears and probably the time of day/year/temperature/battery level on your phone.

As for affiliate marketing, yes. I am an affiliate with Amazon.

Here’s the gist on how it works since a few have asked for details:

• When you click on a link, anything you add to your cart after clicking through the website can possibly send me a commission (not everything qualifies).
• Anything already in the cart before clicking on a link does not get a commission.
• If you click through to another blog and click on an Amazon link there, it will remove the previous affiliate marketer’s link and replace it with the new one…and restart the cart process all over.
• Do you have to buy the item you clicked on to get an affiliate marketer credit? No. The user id is embedded in your session.

If you have purchased something through one of the links in the past–thank you!

I’m not going to lie–I always get a kick out of checking what people buy. I’ve “sold” a basketball, a dog bed, man cave sign and a mic stand drink holder. The most unexpected item was a negligee. I will say we all sleep in a home, which is the subject of this blog, but night wear is not what this blog specializes in. 😉

More recently, I was approved as a Home Depot affiliate. Anything you order online and pickup at the store or send home is eligible for a possible commission.

That being said, when we buy items elsewhere for projects you see on this blog, we link to those sites. I think the worst thing would be to advertise something just because I could possibly get a commission. If the item turns out as junk, that would be terrible. Likewise, if there is a better deal out there for the same item I’m linking to the better deal–there is no way I’m running up someone else’s bill. For example, those Schluter kits were a terrible price! So I linked to the best deal I could find elsewhere.

In any case, it’s been an exciting summer watching the numbers grow. It’s all downhill from here, but I can’t wait to see the new high next year!

Thank you for your continued readership!