Blogging Goals

4 Realistic Blogging Goals to Have in 2019

Last Updated on by Michael Brockbank

With the new year upon us, it’s time to re-evaluate and establish new blogging goals. The trick, though, is to make them realistic. Saying we want 10,000 visits within 24 hours isn’t all that obtainable if we only see 20 on a good day.

However, we can keep our feet on the ground while reaching for the stars. We just have to make sure we’re not setting ourselves up for failure.

Not achieving goals is a good way to become discouraged. And we don’t want to have a negative view about our blogging goals.[adrotate banner=”8″]

What Kind of Blogging Goals Should We Consider?

For a small or beginning blogger, it isn’t about achieving fame and fortune. It’s simply about being better this year than we were last.

As long as we see a positive result from our efforts, everything else will begin to fall into place.

So, what kind of realistic blogging goals should we establish for 2019?

1. Increasing Traffic!

Historically, my blogs all double in traffic year-after-year. Though in the case of WriterSanctuary, that just means 10,000 visitors for the whole year instead of 5,000.

And this really isn’t conducive to making money or having a profound reputation on the Internet.

However, we can keep from losing our heads by saying that we simply want more traffic in 2019. Which means even an extra 100 visitors is a victory in this regard.

But we really want more than just an extra half-person visiting per day.

Writing More Engaging Content

First and foremost, it’s all about content. If we’re not writing something people don’t want to read, they’re not going to read it. It takes more than just having the best keywords or using the best SEO practices.

None of that will matter if the content doesn’t provide valuable information someone wants.

This means we need to spend more time looking for the questions people are asking. If we can provide solid answers, they’ll come in droves.

Consistency in a Writing Schedule

Delivering consistency is vital in any industry. People want to know they can rely on content at a specific time. If we can deliver that consistency, there’s a better chance of gaining fans and followers.

Take a look at YouTube, for example. If some of the most popular people don’t publish at a specific time, the comment section blows up with angry and frustrated patrons.

Blogging has a similar impact. While it’s not as affluent on a blog as it is on YouTube, many potential fans want to know they can rely on content on specific days.

This says nothing about how consistency improves Google search results. We’ve already seen that happen on other blogs.

One of the blogging goals we’ll put into place is regular and consistent publishing schedules.

Publishing Informative Videos on Blog Posts

If there is a YouTube channel involved, we can perform two actions with a single embed. By adding videos to blog posts, we can keep visitors on the page longer while getting extra views to the video itself.

As time spent on page is a ranking factor for Google, any method we can keep people engaged is ideal.

Plus, it will help with trying to get a YouTube channel monetized as well as in front of visitors who may not know the channel even exists.

2. Cleaning Up the Archive

One of the more important blogging goals for the next year should include cleaning up the archive. Past articles are valuable for engaging an audience, not to mention search factors for Google.

In fact, there are several important things we need to do to make sure the archive is primed for visits.

Reorganize the Categories

Some of us have a menagerie of categories with displaced content. This makes it more difficult for visitors to find certain articles. And although it may take weeks if not months to straighten out, it’s worth the effort in the long run.

It’s all about improving the experience for the visitor. They shouldn’t have to spend too much time looking for specific articles related to categories.

Find Less Performing Articles and Update

Organization is only part of cleaning up the archive. We’ll also have to use tools like Google Analytics to improve the old content.

This is especially true after the August, 2018 algorithm change. In fact, a lot of people saw a massive decrease in traffic from outdated source material.

Luckily, finding these under-performing articles is easy if we drill down into Google Analytics. Using the compare feature, we can see what articles went from heavy to low traffic after August.

Plus, it’s always a good idea to make sure old articles are still relevant. Google hates handing outdated content to searchers.

Better Internal Linking Structure

Another element that is often overlooked in the archive is an internal linking structure. Internal links to content are just as important as external ones. It shows Google what content is the most important to our site.

This often means going back into older posts and creating new links to relevant topics. But we’ve seen the good that comes from this process, so it’s part of our blogging goals in 2019.[template id=”2087″]

3. Finding a More Efficient Theme

Speed is a major rank factor for Google. It’s also a consideration for visitors. In fact, experts attest to how 40% of visitors will abandon a mobile site that takes longer than three seconds to load.

But we also want an appearance that is pleasing to the target market.

Need Something that Looks Good and is Fast

Faster sites are often more successful than slower ones. But this doesn’t mean we need to stick to a minimalist design. The trick is to find something that is visually pleasing while scoring well in tools like Pingdom.

Unfortunately, that is a bit on the difficult side. Given the nature of WordPress, the blogging platform we’re using, things like JavaScript calls and multiple CSS files are going to slow us down.

But I’m sure there is a perfect theme out there somewhere.

Consider Moving Beyond Free Themes

One thing we might want to consider is moving out of free themes and actually buying a premium layout. Many professional developers will charge between $40 and $80 for a fully customizable theme that centers around speed.

Free themes can often be just as effective, but a premium appearance may enhance the user experience while streamlining the blog.

It’s something to consider, anyway.

4. Explore Different Ways to Monetize

Like the saying goes, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” Although Google AdSense is an easy system to use, it’s not always the most lucrative. In fact, we’d have to see tens of thousands of visitors a day to make any real money.

On the up side, the Internet is full of ways to monetize the blog.

Finding Better Affiliates

Affiliate marketing works similar to AdSense with one important exception: it relies on actual sales. If a user clicks the banner on our blog but doesn’t buy anything from the company, we don’t make money.

On the other hand, sales from the right affiliate program often brings in far more than AdSense.

The hardest part is finding an affiliate that fits our blogging goals. Not all brands are going to be a perfect fit. Which means it might take a bit of trial and error to find the right ones.

Not to mention how affiliate success on a blog centers around high levels of traffic.

Adding a Podcast

Marketing a podcast from the blog is another way many people make money from their website. And depending how these are set up and how popular they are, they are great for gaining third-party advertising sponsors.

The problem with podcasts is they follow a lot of the same requirements as a blog post. It’s all about quality information people will want to consume.

Not all podcasts are money-makers because of this fact.

However, podcasts also provide a different venue to engage an audience. This, in turn, may provide a boost to website traffic. It works similar to YouTube videos only the files are usually audio only.

Using Platforms Like Teespring

A lot of bloggers jump onto the Teespring wagon train. It’s a great system to promote art work onto things like shirts, coffee mugs, posters and more. And it could easily help monetize the blog, as long as it’s something people want to buy.

The downside to things like Teespring is the profit margin. You don’t really make a lot of money when it comes to print-on-demand or drop-shipping platforms.

Not to mention being able to come up with something artsy that people will want to wear.

Still, it might be something that could benefit our blogging goals. Anything with the website’s domain name on it would be quite helpful for real-world marketing.

Sell Digital Products

Another method bloggers use to make money from their sites is by selling digital products. This is stuff like eBooks, music and even photographs.

Why digital sales?

Because there is virtually no overhead outside of the web hosting you pay for the website. Digital copies of products don’t have the same tangible requirements as real-life objects.

We can easily make a lot of money by selling a digital product people will want to buy. The hard part is developing the perfect item that fits our blog’s niche.

Well, that and creating the product.

Let’s Make 2019 a Banner Year for Blogging Goals!

It looks like we have our work cut out for us. With our blogging goals set up and ready to go, we now know what needs to be done. All that’s left is to put in the effort to maintain these goals and succeed.

What kind of blogging goals do you have for 2019? Feel free to leave a comment down below.[template id=”2089″]

Michael Brockbank
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