Time to kick off the new year, hurray…
Everyone in the SEO world (well, at least the ones I communicate with) has been having a less-than-ideal time lately with their websites, especially when compared to previous years.
That’s ok. We’re all going to make it this year…
Here’s the tl;dr on the site specs:
- Cloudways Vultr hosting from the start
- Ezoic ads from the start
- GeneratePress Theme (basic setup)
- Aged Domain
Google Analytics Traffic
And as I write this I’ve realized something…I’ve recovered from my Google Analytics addiction (and I keep meanings to make a satire video on it). But seriously, I almost never check it anymore, and it’s awesome.
I highly recommend it. I don’t use social media (I consider YouTube different as I’m creating content and am fairly disciplined around what I consume on it). I work in the mental health sector and often see people who spend way too much time on social media if they can gain more control over their use they often improve their sense of well-being.
Well, I guess GA was sort of a similar addiction for me. It used to be the first thing I would look at when I woke up, then Ezoic, then Amazon Affiliates. It was great when things were going really well and consistently trending upward.
But ever since the summer of 2022, when things got messy, it wasn’t a great way to start my day. There would be that inner self-critic in me telling me I’m a failure and have wasted a lot of time. That’s not a good way to start the day…
So, to those of you out there still in the thralls of GA addiction, I urge you to consider taking a month off. I know Emilia Gardner commits to at least one month a year of no GA, and she reports similar benefits.
Let’s take back control together and focus on pozzi vibes!
Let’s Talk Money
For January 2023, month 18 of this website, the Ezoic earnings were $197.31 (with a $7.38 EPMV)
Last month’s earnings were $345.18.
Ouch. I’m thankful this is something that is still a “side hustle” or I’d have to be making some big lifestyle changes. But if you check Ezoic’s ad revenue index page, these are the lowest rates we’ve seen in a long time, by far.
If you’re experiencing similar losses and downward trends, I salute you for sticking with it. I’ve seen a lot of people come and go in SEO and building websites for passive income. And while my efforts and focus on it come in waves, I’ve always had a foot in, and likely always will.
At the end of the day, I fell in love with content creation. It’s sort of a creative activity for me, and I’m now using it in other areas of my life, so it’s a skill I’ve developed that has transferred over nicely in my life.
So, What’s the Plan?
I feel like I keep repeating the same thing. But I swear it’s all on my to-do lists (I love to-do lists, they optimize my time and efficiency vastly). But…I need to update some old content and move forward with creating the kind of content I originally had in mind for this site.
Content that offers a lot of value on topics I’m extremely passionate about with the aim of helping people. If I can earn some extra money doing that, I’ll take it.
