I love putting together this post at the end of every year because it means I get to think about my year of blogging. This is a hobby I purely pursue because it’s fun for me, but it is also one that takes a lot of work! There’s a lot that goes into maintaining a blog, whether it’s making my editorial calendar, writing blog posts, editing and adding pictures, responding to comments, and reading and commenting on other blogs. One of these days, I’m going to track all of the time I spend on my blog on a weekly basis! I’m sure it’s a lot more than I expect.
Anyway, in this post, I’m talking about some of my most popular and favorite posts of the year as well as some blogging stats. The only time I look at these stats is to put together this post, so it’s always a surprise to see how things shook out!
By the Numbers
- 84.800 unique views
- 20,100 visitors
- 1,006 words per post on average
- 3,000 comments
- 165 posts
- 135 countries represented in my views (with the United States, Canada, and Poland being my top three)
- 234 subscribers
I am happily surprised by these numbers – every single category saw some sort of growth in 2024. Unique views were up 34% from 2023, visitors were up 40%, and comments were up 13%. I added more countries to my traffic as well as 28 more subscribers. It makes me feel good knowing my little community here is growing and this blog is reaching more people.
I wrote more blog posts this year (+11) and my average words per post went up (+122 words) so I was not as concise with my posts as I was in 2023. What can I say? I like to write a lot of words!
My Top 5 Blog Posts of 2024
(Blog posts written in 2024, in order of most pageviews.)
- And Now, Milton – The end of September and the beginning of October were really hard. I wrote this post the day before my mom and I evacuated to Ocala to escape our second hurricane in as many weeks. Hurricane Milton was estimated to make direct landfall on our city as a possible category 3 hurricane, and we knew we needed to get out of town. I found a VRBO that would allow us to bring all four pets – plus, it had a fenced-in yard to make taking the dogs out 1000x easier.
- Inside a Panic Attack – After having a really bad panic attack one day in September, I decided to write about what it actually feels like. I’m proud of this post and I think it gives people a better glimpse of what it’s like to have an anxiety disorder.
- Hurricane Helene – I wrote this post two days after Hurricane Helene happened. My car was at the Kia dealership and I had an insurance claim pending to see what would happen to her. I was without power at my apartment, but luckily, my mom’s house had power so I was able to stay with her. It was a really weird, scary time. I had never dealt with hurricane loss like this before.
- No-Spend July: Recap #2 – I’m not sure why this post was one of my most popular of 2024, but apparently, it was a hit! I did a “no-spend” challenge in July and documented my progress every week on the blog, which was a great way to keep me motivated. This was only the second week of the challenge, but I was going strong!
- A Monday Morning Coffee Date – This is another random post that made the top 5 and I think it’s because I published this post after I launched my new blog theme. I told everyone to click out of their feed reader so they could see the new digs, and apparently, you guys listened to me!
My All-Time Most Popular Blog Posts
- I’m 27 and Scared to Move Out (+433 views)
- On Being a Socially Anxious Introvert (+90 views)
- 10 Things I Like About Myself (+372 views)
- “What is meant for me is already mine.” (+1,036 views)
- Rules for Living with a Dachshund (+175 views)
Another year where these five posts remain in the top spots. I first started tracking these stats in 2019 and this list has not budged since then! I’m impressed at how many views these posts continue to receive, even though they were written so long ago. We’ll see if any other posts can crack into the top 5 in 2025!
Other Favorite Posts
- All of my posts about my journey to a CPAP machine – I wrote all about my CPAP journey, from doing an at-home sleep study to doing an in-clinic CPAP titration study to my first week on CPAP therapy. It was a wild ride, especially considering I did my at-home sleep study in April and didn’t get my CPAP machine until the last day of August.
- My Bookish Red Flags – I fooled people with this post, as everyone thought I was going to talk about the red flags I see in my reading. Instead, I talk about some of the bad habits I have as a reader, such as reading my books in the bathtub.
- A Day in the Life of Eloise and Lila – Have you ever wondered how Eloise and Lila spend their days? Wonder no more! I wrote an entire post detailing their very busy lives. As expected, there were a lot of naps, playtime, and staring out the window.
- My Thoughts on the NYT Best Books of the Century – When the New York Times came out with their best books of the century list, everyone in bookish circles was talking about it! I finally climbed on the bandwagon a little late to talk about what I thought about the selections and what books I would have added to the list.
- Where Do You Keep That? – I wrote this post after listening to an episode of The Girl Next Door Podcast where they did a fun segment of this very name. And it spawned a whole new life in the blogging world, especially with Elisabeth (and now I’m copying off Elisabeth’s other posts to continue this series!)
If you’re a blogger, what’s a post you’re proud of writing this year? If you’re not a blogger, what are your favorite types of blog posts to read?
I’m intrigued that you have readers in Poland!
I remember all these blog posts. Well- maybe not the Monday morning coffee date, specifically. That one is kind of random!
I never go back and look at my stats. I don’t know why. I think my favorite blog posts are my race recaps (but non-runners may not feel the same way!)
Congrats on a solid year of blogging- it’s nice to see all the growth in 2024!
It’s my third-most popular country year after year! I’m just SO popular with Polish people, haha.
I think you do a great job on your race recaps – they are interesting to read even for this non-runner!
This was so fun to read! I am fascinated by blog stats. You write on such a wonderful amalgam of topics, Stephany! I love your posts and can’t wait to read more in 2025!
I appreciate you, Suzanne! Here’s to another year of fabulous blog posts. <3
Interesting that two of your top posts were hurricane related. I wonder if that is from Google searches or something. Do you have stats on how much time was spent on each page? I wonder if people read the entire post?
I only have the free version of JetPack, which I use to gather these stats, so I don’t have further data on time spent (also, those numbers could be skewed as some people may read the post in a feed reader and then click on the post to leave a comment, which wouldn’t tell me the full picture of time spent). I doubt it was from Google searches, though. My tiny blog would be competing with news sites for terms like “Hurricane Helene” and “Hurricane Milton.”
Both of those posts were up for a week without additional posts, so that could be the reason they climbed into the top 5.
Thanks for this recap, friend!! My most read post was from may 19th, 2024 (?) and it was titled “How Do You Balance Work and Home and Weekend Recap” link -> https://momofchildren.com/2024/05/19/how-do-you-balance-work-and-home-life-weekend-recap/
285 views. I guess it maybe connected with the feelings with other parents with small kids, I don’t know.
Happy another year of blogging!!
I remember that post – it was a good one! I definitely think it was a topic a lot of people (moms, especially) could relate to.
Here’s to another wonderful year of blogging!
Congrats on another successful and enjoyable year of blogging! My biggest achievement was moving my blog over to WordPress. I do wonder if I lost some readers from the move but oh well. I could not figure out how to redirect from my blogspot to my WordPress blog. I tried and tried and finally gave up. I love that I can now respond to comments and people will get an email notification! The commenting set up is what prompted me to move. I don’t feel completely comfortable on WordPress yet but can make do.
Woohoo to making the move over to WordPress! I think that was the right choice and I love that I can see your comment replies now. <3
Let me know if there are any weird WP issues you encounter. I use WP a lot for my job (and this blog) so I'm definitely familiar with it.
I agree with Suzanne about your blog! I hope 2025 is better and no hurricanes hitting the west side of Florida.
I read your scared to move out post and in the 7th paragraph you have random links to moving companies that I wonder if it’s driving traffic to that post making it the most viewed.
Gah – thanks for letting me know. Those links started showing up ~6 months ago after my blog got hacked and I’m slowly removing them as I see them. I don’t think they’re driving a ton of search traffic (especially considering that post was #1 for a long time before this happened) but I’m off to remove the spammy link now.
Interesting…like Jenny, I don’t look at any blog stats. I wonder what country beyond the US/Canada has the most readers for me? I know Melissa in Australia, and Rachel in Wales, but not sure who else off the top of my head. Most read post? Hmmm. Maybe I should go check out my stats for fun!
I went and read your old post, “What is meant for me is already mine”. It was lovely, and reminded me of lyrics to a Sinead O’Conner song, “I do not want what I haven’t got.”
OK, I forgot Germany and Tobia. Ridiculous, I was just looking at her blog an hour ago. Anyway, I went and looked, and outside of US and Canada, Germany is my biggest audience.
I’m surprised that Poland is my third-most popular country and not Germany! I feel like I know more people in Germany than Poland.
Thank you! <3
What a fun recap! I’m so glad I found your blog this year, Stephany! ❤️ I’m looking forward to checking out some of your most popular posts and seeing what your write in the new year!
I’m so glad we found each other! Your blog is a delight and I can’t wait to dive more into your world. <3
Wow your blog is thriving. so happy for you.
I used to do these kind of posts but then last year didn’t – time, motivation…
Now I wish I had and am contemplating doing one for 2024. You just sparked some more motivation.
I really enjoyed (if you can enjoy this kind of post) the post about your panic attack. It was so good to read and to gain some more empathy.
I totally get it! It’s a lot to put together these posts every year. It’s a fun way to reflect on the year of blogging, but it’s not for everyone.
And thank you <3 I wanted those who have never experienced a panic attack to better understand what it's like for those of us that do.
I’m putting out my own post about my blog stats tomorrow! I totally stole the idea from you. My top five posts of all-time are the same this year as they were last year, too. That’s crazy how much traction they have. I did SO much on my blog this year with my 20th anniversary series and two iterations of CBBC. I will NOT be doing anything quite that ambitious next year.
Yay! I can’t wait to read it. You had a BIG YEAR with blogging, that’s for sure!