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in Writing & Blogging · February 5, 2019

January Blog Traffic Report: The Month Things Changed

Not to be too dramatic with the title, but … This month, I learned that my web hosting statistics and Google Analytics statistics don’t match up. Aka, the place that houses my site says something different. Like, 10x more traffic. Obviously I want the place saying I get more traffic to be right, but I also trust the place that hosts my site more than somewhere else. But let’s get into the data.

All blog traffic reports

This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for supporting Kate the (Almost) Great!

This month, Boston blogger Kate the (Almost) Great discovered that Google Analytics might not be as accurate as everyone assumes it is. Here's what she did to grow her traffic in January, as well as the differences in data.

January Blog Traffic Report

Let’s start with Google Analytics. These are where my statistics usually come from.

Pageviews: 17971 (+102.4% from December, +59% from last year)

Bounce Rate: 18.8% (+39.5% from December, +30.4% from last year)

Sessions: 8700 (+118.4% from December, +56.7% from last year)

Users: 7957 (+129.5% from December, +77% from last year)

Bloglovin: 1862 (+3.7% from last year)

Email Subscribers: 612 (+2.3% from December, +73.9% from last year)

How I keep my bounce rate so low

Statistics from My Web Host

I use webhostinghub.com to host my site. These statistics come from their records.

This a screenshot of my blog statistics from the last year, looking at the SSL site. February 2018 is when I activated my SSL certificate because of changes to browsers, which is why February is so low.

Pageviews: 296172 (+1548% from Google Analytics)

Sessions: 25427 (+192.2% from Google Analytics)

Users: 7125 (-11% from Google Analytics)

Social Media

Facebook: 1042 (-0.1% from December, +5.9% from last year)

Twitter: 3322 (-0.1% from December, +5.6% from last year)

Instagram: 2569 (-0.8% from December, -0.3% from last year)

Pinterest: 7528 (+3.3% from December, +32.8% from last year)

Tumblr: 3913 (+0.1% from December, +1.7% from last year)

Top Posts

My Biggest Fear Realized

10 Things I Wish I Knew When I Received My Rheumatoid Arthritis Diagnosis

Loving Someone with Chronic Pain

How Do Adults Celebrate Their Birthday?

Accepting Your Body with Chronic Illness

POTS and Heat Intolerance

11 Blogging Tools To Try in 2019

Hacks for Living with Chronic Conditions

New England Trips To Take This Spring and Summer

How Is Chronic Pain Different from Acute Pain?

Top Sources

  • Pinterest (79.07%): Pinterest is one of my biggest sources of traffic and has been ever since I started treating it like a search engine last year. It makes a huge difference! If you’re not on Pinterest, you’re losing out on traffic.
  • Facebook (4.59%): I’m a member of multiple Facebook groups for bloggers, but I’m not sure if that’s where my traffic is coming from or if it’s from my Facebook page. (Google Analytics is not showing me that information.)
  • Google (2.15%): I would like this to be higher, as I do optimize most posts for search engines, but I’m okay with it because of how much traffic I’m getting from Pinterest.
  • Twitter (0.88%): I’m very active on Twitter, but individual tweets have a very short shelf life. As a whole, I get more benefits from connecting with others on Twitter than I do blog traffic.

This does not include direct traffic.

How to use Pinterest for blogging | How to use SEO to stand out

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Traffic Analysis

What I Did

  • How I promote my blog posts
  • Big thing this month: write follow-up posts to popular posts
  • Wrote a post about my infections/sepsis/surgery
  • Bought Summer’s ebook and started doing things a little differently because of that (not going to share what because that’s not fair to her!)
  • Tried pinning manually on top of using Tailwind to schedule pins
  • Tried boosting an Instagram post

9 reasons why Tailwind is worth the money

I Haven’t Seen Results From

  • Boosting an Instagram post – While this did boost my engagement a bit, it didn’t do anything for my traffic.
  • Writing follow-up posts – Sometimes, this works. For example, in 2015 I wrote a post called 8 Things a Millennial with Arthritis Wants You To Know. That was really popular, so in 2017 I wrote 4 More Things a Millennial with Arthritis Wants You To Know. That’s one occasion when it really benefited me. But it didn’t help my traffic this month.

What I Can Learn This Month

  • Pinning manually as well as scheduling pins can get more eyes on your pins – I’ve been hearing for a little while that Pinterest rewards those who manually pin (and not just schedule pins through an outside service, like Tailwind) with more exposure. Given that I got more traffic from Pinterest than I usually do this month – despite having fewer blog posts – I have to think that this is true. I’m just spending 5 minutes a day manually pinning, and often what I do is alternate between manually pinning and scheduling to Tailwind.
  • Google Analytics isn’t the end-all-be-all that it seems to be – Of course, brands need to believe this, but I now have proof that Google Analytics isn’t necessarily the end-all-be-all. If you’re self-hosted, I strongly suggest checking your host’s records of your data and seeing if it’s different than what Google says.

I didn’t make any January goals, so let’s skip right to February!

February Goals

  • 15,000 pageviews in Google Analytics
  • 5,000 users
  • 6-10 posts

I’m setting low goals because I can’t guarantee that in February I’ll make a blog post as popular as the one about The Fiasco.

Have you found a discrepancy between your analytics?

Like this post? Check out:

All blog traffic reports, 11 Blogging Tools To Try in 2019, What Do Bloggers Do?, 8 Ways To Blog Better,

Kate Mitchell

Kate Mitchell is a blogger, chronic illness patient, and advocate who helps people understand chronic illness and helps chronic illness patients live their best lives.

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In July 2025, it will have been 15 years since my In July 2025, it will have been 15 years since my RA diagnosis. Here's how I've changed since then!⁣
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(And I'm not talking about how my health has changed!)⁣
▪ I trust myself and my instincts a LOT more⁣
▪ I understand my body's limitations AND the best ways o get around them to have the life I want⁣
▪ I love using mobility aids as they make my life a lot better⁣
▪ I cook and bake a lot more⁣
▪ Work-life balance is not an option for me: it's a requirement⁣
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How have you changed since your diagnosis?⁣
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I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 7+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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ID: Kate sits at a desk with her head in her hand. On her desk are notebooks and pens. She is a brunette white woman wearing an olive dress, gray stone necklace, and round tortoiseshell glasses. ⁣
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#AlmostGreatHealth #RheumatoidArthritis #arthritis #SpoonieLife #healthblogger #autoimmune #autoimmunedisease #chronicallyill #healthblog #chronicallyill #disability #disabled #invisibleillness #DisabledAndCute #spoonielife #RheumatoidDisease
Week 18 of #2025Weekly ⁣ ⁣ This week was prima Week 18 of #2025Weekly ⁣
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This week was primarily about getting things set and wrapped up before a heavy appointment week, including my infusion, next week. ⁣
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1️⃣ Meal prepping (the finished product of this salad has a lot more ingredients, including protein, but it doesn’t looks as aesthetically pleasing once they’re in there) ⁣
2️⃣ Started the week at the doctor and with a cortisone shot in my knee. He was very impressed with me and I had to point out that when you start your cortisone shots with some in your ankle area - which has a lot more stuff in it and requires being done under x-ray) your knee is truly nothing.⁣
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⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 7+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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IDs: ⁣
1️⃣ Cut up vegetables in a clear glass container⁣
2️⃣ Kate takes a selfie in a doctor's office. She's a brunette white woman wearing a green t-shirt, blue mask, round tortoiseshell glasses, and silver Claddagh necklace.⁣
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#AlmostGreatHealth #AlmostGreatLife #ChronicallyIll #InvisibleIllness #RheumatoidArthritis #RheumatoidDisease #Rheum #Arthritis #ArthritisAwareness #AutoimmuneDisease #Autoimmune #SpoonieLife
Drop your suggestions in the comments _______ Drop your suggestions in the comments 

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Video: the view of a sun setting over a lake as seen through the trees. Upbeat music plays. Top text reads “How To Deal with Unsolicited Advice”. Then a series of messages pop up. The are: 
“Sorry, my mom said I can’t do that”

“Didn’t you hear? The new pope said that was heresy.” (Ideal if you’re not Catholic)

“I have to wait until mercury isn’t in retrograde, and it’s always in retrograde”

“My psychic said that will kill me”

#AlmostGreatHealth #ChronicallyIll #ChronicIllnessHumor #ChronicPainHumor #InvisiblyIll
Having decades-long health problems sometimes mean Having decades-long health problems sometimes means coming across something in your health history that you completely forgot about⁣
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I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate. Follow me for more content for chronic illness patients and their loved ones!⁣
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⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ID: Screenshot of a thread post written by Kate Mitchell | Kate the (Almost) Great with the username katethealmostgreat. ⁣⁣The background is dark teal. All text is what’s above the first black square.⁣⁣⁣
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#AlmostGreatHealth #rheumatoidarthritis #arthritis #spoonielife #healthblogger #autoimmune #autoimmunedisease #chronicallyill #healthblog #dysautonomia #fibro #fibromyalgia #endo #chronicallyill #disability #disabled #invisibleillness #spoonielife #healthblogger
Here are some ways I practice self care, aka talki Here are some ways I practice self care, aka talking care of myself AND who I am as a person separate from illness⁣
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This is my Wonderful Things jar. Every day, I write down something wonderful or good that happened that day. ⁣
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I know it looks like I'm forcing Harley to sit like this, but he was making this face before I put my arm around him. Dog snuggle time is the best!⁣
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I got a Kindle this year and it has been amazing. It's so much easier on my body than lugging around books and it makes borrowing from the library a lot easier.⁣
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Yes, I share this all the time, but filling my pill boxes every 3 weeks make it so I stick with all of my medications. But the self-care part of this is that I don't have to take the time to refill a box every single week.⁣
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I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 7+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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IDs: ⁣
1️⃣ A glass jar on a desk with a lot of multi-color post-its inside⁣
2️⃣ Kate has her face in a golden retriever who is slumped onto her. They're in a teal room with a red rug. Kate is a brunette white woman wearing red pants and a gray sweater.⁣
3️⃣ A Kindle on dark mode in Kate's lap⁣
4️⃣ 3 open pill cases on a yellow bedspread ⁣
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#AlmostGreatHealth #AlmostGreatLife #SelfCare #ChronicallyIll #ChronicallyAwesome #SpoonieLife #Spoonie #ChronicLife #ButYouDontLookSick #InvisibleIllness #MentalHealthMatters #RetrieversOfInstagram #Readers #Kindle #WonderfulThings #GratitudePractice
What I Bring To the Doctor _______ Video: a pa What I Bring To the Doctor 

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Video: a pan of an exam room. White text reads “What I Bring To the Doctor ” and the “1. Planner/notebook
2. List of current medications 
3. Notes on my biggest concerns and questions 
4. My kindle for wait time” 
The intro to Maroon 5’s Priceless plays. 

#AlmostGreatHealth #ChronicIllness #ChronicPain #RheumatoidArthritis #SjogrensSyndrome #Fibromyalgia #Endometriosis
💃🏼 Week 17 of #2025Weekly 💃🏼⁣
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1️⃣ She’s married!! ⁣
2️⃣ She married the best person in the world for her!!!!!⁣
3️⃣ I got dressed up! ⁣
4️⃣ The reality of doing fun things with chronic illness and pain is that then you have to recover from the fun things. It took … a while. One million percent worth it, but this is why I don’t do big events on a regular basis. ⁣
5️⃣ And then I had to be a person again for an appointment!⁣
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I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 7+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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IDs: ⁣
1️⃣ Kate stands hugging Emmie. They're both white woman. Emmie is in a wedding dress and Kate is in a red dress and wearing round tortiseshell glasses.⁣
2️⃣ Kate and Emmie stand next to Matt, Emmie's husband. He is a white man.⁣
3️⃣ Kate takes a mirror selfie. she's in the same red dress but now also wears a jean jacket and holds a cane and mask.⁣
4️⃣ Kate takes a selfie while giving a thumbs up. She looks tired. She's now wearing a pink flowery dress. ⁣
5️⃣ Kate takes a mirror selfie. She's wearing black shorts, a gray shirt, a jean jacket, a blue mask, and black aviator sunglasses. She has a bag over her shoulder and holds a cane.⁣
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#AlmostGreatHealth #AlmostGreatLife #ChronicallyIll #InvisibleIllness #SpoonieLife #RheumatoidArthritis #RheumatoidDisease #Autoimmune #ButYouDontLookSick #AutoimmuneDisease #SpoonieLife #InvisibleIllness #DisabledAndCute
On the one hand, you should always believe what pe On the one hand, you should always believe what people tell you about their bodies.⁣
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On the other hand, I’ve had so much ridiculous and unconnected health things happen that I do understand why people might not believe me.⁣
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⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate. Follow me for more content for chronic illness patients and their loved ones!⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ID: Screenshots of a thread posts written by Kate Mitchell | Kate the (Almost) Great with the username katethealmostgreat. ⁣⁣The background is dark teal. All text is what’s above the first black square.⁣⁣
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#AlmostGreatHealth #ChronicallyIll #ChronicPain #Autoimmune #AutoimmuneDisease #RheumatoidArthritis #RheumatoidDisease #SpoonieLife #InvisibleIllness
Last week, I talked about how it surprised me how Last week, I talked about how it surprised me how systemic autoimmune arthritis can be. But something else that surprised me was how much pain can be caused by small things.⁣
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In this picture, I was getting ready to have an MRI on my knee. It has been bothering me a fair amount the last 6+ months, so I'm trying to do something about that. ⁣
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Unsurprisingly, some of the tissue is damaged, but it's not bad. What's probably causing it to bother me so much is a teeny tiny cyst. ⁣
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Baker's cysts are a type of cyst in the knee that are generally caused by arthritis. But having a cyst in my knee means that it's causing pressure on that damaged tissue. ⁣
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The body is a weird thing, and one of these weird things is developing tiny cysts that cause a lot of pain. ⁣
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◾⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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I’m Kate, a chronic illness patient and advocate sharing what my life is like with 7+ chronic illnesses. Follow me for more and check out my blog at katethealmostgreat.com⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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ID: Kate takes a mirror selfie. She's a brunette white woman wearing a hospital gown, scrub bottoms, black mask, round tortoiseshell glasses, and round tortoiseshell glasses. ⁣
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