In any case, July was both an exciting and dull month for WebMonkey depending on how you look at things.<\/p>\n
I was incredibly busy this past month with assignments and other school related drudgery, but I am thankfully almost out of the woods in that department!<\/p>\n
Unfortunately the time I spent on homework detracted from my blogging endeavors, hence the reduced number of posts in July.<\/p>\n
On the bright side, I was fortunate enough to have Shruti from IndianGirling post the first ever guest post on WebMonkey, which is something I wish to sparingly do from time to time to mix things up.<\/p>\n
If you want to check out Shruti\u2019s post, it's the post on social media tips to grow your blog. I highly recommend it!<\/p>\n
Aside from mixing it up with a guest post, I wish I could have written more content.<\/p>\n
However, I\u2019m planning some fun and new posts for the next few weeks, so be sure to stick around for what is yet to come!<\/p>\n
Blogging Traffic Stats and Growth<\/strong><\/h2>\nOne of the main reasons I started writing monthly blog growth and income reports was to provide a transparent look at what other content creators or bloggers can expect (or use as a benchmark).<\/p>\n
There are plenty of great bloggers out there who know how to market their blog through social media, email lists, or collaborations.<\/p>\n
I am not one of these bloggers.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve always placed a greater interest in developing organic traffic because it is consistent, requires no effort on my part, and generally consists of highly interested readers who are seeking an answer to a specific query.<\/p>\n
Pinterest has proven to be an impossible nut for me to crack, and Quora\/Reddit are still the only significant source of social traffic I receive.<\/p>\n
Other than that, my blog traffic is almost 60% organically driven:<\/p>\n
![\"traffic-breakdown\"](\"https:\/\/www.webmonkey.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/hijoe.png\")
\n<\/strong><\/p>\nI\u2019ve made an effort to drive more referral traffic through my Medium profile<\/a>, and that has slowly shown promise:<\/p>\n![\"medium-referral-traffic\"](\"https:\/\/www.webmonkey.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/medium-referral-traffic.png\")
<\/strong><\/p>\nI've mentioned Medium before in my guide on how to make money on Medium<\/a>, but seeing the traffic benefits from content syndication is definitely another plus.<\/p>\nHowever, at the end of the day, my traffic still largely comes from Google.<\/p>\n
For other bloggers out there who are like me and suck at social media promotion, just remember: increasing organic traffic is a slow but steady investment that is worth your while!<\/p>\n
On that note, July was a nice month of blogging and saw another 30 days of excellent growth in the page view department.<\/p>\n
In July, I received 13,788 page views, <\/strong>meaning this blog is one step closer to reaching the 25,000 session mark for applying to Mediavine<\/a>!<\/p>\n![\"blog-pageviews-stats\"](\"https:\/\/www.webmonkey.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/blog-pageviews-stats.png\")
<\/p>\n
So, what has been working in terms of my blogging SEO efforts?<\/strong><\/p>\nA few things:<\/p>\n
\n- Consistently writing long-form content:<\/strong>\u00a0Almost all of my content is 2,000-3,000 word articles that target low-competition\/long-tail keywords to gradually increase my presence on search engines.<\/li>\n
- Editing older articles:\u00a0<\/strong>If I notice my keyword position for a particular set of keywords is increasing or on the cusp of the first page of Google, I go back and edit the article to include more of that specific keyword\/phrase and also provide extra value to readers.<\/li>\n
- Continuing to establish backlinks:\u00a0<\/strong>Commenting on blogs that provide do-follow links, guest posting, joining prominent forums, and adding WebMonkey to several reputable directories like Rockstar Finance or Modest Money<\/a> have helped me slowly increase my backlink count.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
If you follow the 3 SEO steps above, it's almost impossible that your blog won't experience any positive impact or increase in organic traffic unless you are a horrendous writer, have a broken website, or write in the most competitive niche known to man.<\/p>\n
I also want to stress the importance of backlinking for your SEO growth.<\/p>\n
I've been trying to establish more backlinks every month to WebMonkey, and this effort has correlated with increased page views for the past 2 months.<\/p>\n
![\"backlink-progress\"](\"https:\/\/www.webmonkey.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/backlink-progress.png\")
<\/p>\n
Correlation isn't causation, but you need to backlink! End of story!<\/p>\n
One more thing: I also think 2018 is an excellent time to start blogging<\/strong>.<\/p>\nThere's been a lot of noise and nonsense that pops up regarding Google updates, the end of SEO, or voice-search changing how people even go about finding information.<\/p>\n
Things will change and evolve, but quality content will continue to make it to the top.<\/p>\n
Want some proof?<\/p>\n
At the beginning of August, Google made a broad core algorithm update<\/a> that is actively trying to reward pages that were previously under-rewarded in the eyes of Google.<\/p>\nIf your blog lost traffic following this update,\u00a0there is nothing you can really do to change it.<\/strong><\/p>\nGoogle has also asserted that the only thing bloggers can do is to continue to produce valuable content:<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"google-algorithm-update\"](\"https:\/\/www.webmonkey.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/google-algorithm-update.png\")
<\/strong><\/p>\nThis algorithm update should serve as a green light for anyone who is considering starting their own blog<\/a>.<\/p>\nWhy?<\/p>\n
Because this update shows that high quality content is king.<\/p>\n
It isn't impossible to rank well on Google, get to the first page, or grow organic blog traffic.<\/p>\n
You just need time, dedication, and to provide value to readers! The rest comes with time.<\/p>\n
Blogging Income Report + Other Side Hustles:<\/strong><\/h2>\nI'm going to keep this section brief because the last few months have been pretty straightforward when it comes to my money making endeavors.<\/p>\n
Here is my income breakdown for the month of July:<\/p>\n
\n- Phone farming income:\u00a0<\/strong>$26.29<\/li>\n
- Making money on Medium:<\/strong>\u00a0$63.35 (after converting from U.S. dollars to Canadian)<\/li>\n
- Google Adsense revenue from blog page views: <\/strong>$41.43<\/li>\n
- Amazon Affiliate income:\u00a0<\/strong>$4.81.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Total income earned for the month of July: $135.88<\/strong><\/p>\nThere are a few important\/interesting things to note as well regarding this monthly income figure.<\/p>\n
Firstly, my phone farming operation had the worst month of running in a very long time.<\/p>\n
The main reason for this was my unfortunate ban from MobileXpression, as well as less attention spent on my phones in general.<\/p>\n
For other phone farmers out there (or people looking to start their own farm<\/a>) be sure to read the terms and services of apps very carefully and\u00a0abide by them.<\/strong><\/p>\nI was banned from MobileXpression for trying to skirt the system and operate 2 accounts, and I have paid for it.<\/p>\n
I'm hoping to generate more money with my phone farm next month, and I have another phone on the way which I scooped up on an Amazon Prime Day sale:<\/p>\n
![\"phone-farming-device\"](\"https:\/\/www.webmonkey.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/phone-farming-device.png\")
<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n
I\u2019ve made an effort to drive more referral traffic through my Medium profile<\/a>, and that has slowly shown promise:<\/p>\n I've mentioned Medium before in my guide on how to make money on Medium<\/a>, but seeing the traffic benefits from content syndication is definitely another plus.<\/p>\n However, at the end of the day, my traffic still largely comes from Google.<\/p>\n For other bloggers out there who are like me and suck at social media promotion, just remember: increasing organic traffic is a slow but steady investment that is worth your while!<\/p>\n On that note, July was a nice month of blogging and saw another 30 days of excellent growth in the page view department.<\/p>\n In July, I received 13,788 page views, <\/strong>meaning this blog is one step closer to reaching the 25,000 session mark for applying to Mediavine<\/a>!<\/p>\n So, what has been working in terms of my blogging SEO efforts?<\/strong><\/p>\n A few things:<\/p>\n If you follow the 3 SEO steps above, it's almost impossible that your blog won't experience any positive impact or increase in organic traffic unless you are a horrendous writer, have a broken website, or write in the most competitive niche known to man.<\/p>\n I also want to stress the importance of backlinking for your SEO growth.<\/p>\n I've been trying to establish more backlinks every month to WebMonkey, and this effort has correlated with increased page views for the past 2 months.<\/p>\n Correlation isn't causation, but you need to backlink! End of story!<\/p>\n One more thing: I also think 2018 is an excellent time to start blogging<\/strong>.<\/p>\n There's been a lot of noise and nonsense that pops up regarding Google updates, the end of SEO, or voice-search changing how people even go about finding information.<\/p>\n Things will change and evolve, but quality content will continue to make it to the top.<\/p>\n Want some proof?<\/p>\n At the beginning of August, Google made a broad core algorithm update<\/a> that is actively trying to reward pages that were previously under-rewarded in the eyes of Google.<\/p>\n If your blog lost traffic following this update,\u00a0there is nothing you can really do to change it.<\/strong><\/p>\n Google has also asserted that the only thing bloggers can do is to continue to produce valuable content:<\/strong><\/p>\n This algorithm update should serve as a green light for anyone who is considering starting their own blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n Why?<\/p>\n Because this update shows that high quality content is king.<\/p>\n It isn't impossible to rank well on Google, get to the first page, or grow organic blog traffic.<\/p>\n You just need time, dedication, and to provide value to readers! The rest comes with time.<\/p>\n I'm going to keep this section brief because the last few months have been pretty straightforward when it comes to my money making endeavors.<\/p>\n Here is my income breakdown for the month of July:<\/p>\n Total income earned for the month of July: $135.88<\/strong><\/p>\n There are a few important\/interesting things to note as well regarding this monthly income figure.<\/p>\n Firstly, my phone farming operation had the worst month of running in a very long time.<\/p>\n The main reason for this was my unfortunate ban from MobileXpression, as well as less attention spent on my phones in general.<\/p>\n For other phone farmers out there (or people looking to start their own farm<\/a>) be sure to read the terms and services of apps very carefully and\u00a0abide by them.<\/strong><\/p>\n I was banned from MobileXpression for trying to skirt the system and operate 2 accounts, and I have paid for it.<\/p>\n I'm hoping to generate more money with my phone farm next month, and I have another phone on the way which I scooped up on an Amazon Prime Day sale:<\/p>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n\n
<\/p>\n<\/strong><\/p>\nBlogging Income Report + Other Side Hustles:<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
![\"how](\"https:\/\/www.webmonkey.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/medium-payments.png\")
<\/strong><\/p>\n