Happy New Year! I can’t believe that here we are on the first page of a new book–2024. I always love looking back and seeing which posts performed the best on the blog. It’s even more exciting for me when some of my favorite posts line up with my reader’s favorites.
best blog posts of 2023
The following are the top-performing blog posts that were published to my blog in 2023. You’ll see a lot of travel content. However, keep in mind that I shifted to be heavily focused on travel in 2022.
#10-6
Everyone loves a birth story, right? So it’s no surprise that my birth story for Lucky Baby #7 made the top 10 on the blog. In fact, it almost was in the #9 spot and only missed out by ONE pageview to…
We traveled with a baby a lot in 2023 and I love sharing all my tips with you! 2023 was also big year for Universal Studios with Super Nintendo World opening up. So it makes sense that my tips for going to Universal Studios Hollywood with a baby would be so popular on the blog!
I’m so glad that a national park post made the top 10, especially since Pinnacles isn’t quite as popular as some of California’s other parks. You can check out all our tips for visiting Pinnacles National Park here.
Disneyland and kids go together like peanut butter and jelly. But surprisingly being pregnant at Disney is a great combo too! I’ve visited the Disneyland Resort several times while expecting, and my blog post full of tips for visiting Disneyland while pregnant came in at #7 in 2023! Interesting that I was pregnant with number seven and it placed at number seven… coincidence??
Speaking of theme parks, we visited Knott’s Berry Farm several time sin 2023 since I was a Knott’s Ambassador. My first assignment was to cover the Boysenberry Festival, the most delicious time in the park! So I made this Boysenberry Ice Cream recipe to share on the blog. I’m thrilled it made the top 10!
#5-1
Our family often finds ourselves traveling on General Conference weekend. So I made some General Conference printable workbooks for my kids to fill out while they listened along. Apparently y’all liked this freebie too because it came in at #5 for 2023!
I collaborated with a local events business for my daughter’s ninth birthday in February. The result was declared the “best birthday ever”! You can read all the details of my daughter’s glamping birthday party here!
My Pioneer Trek posts continue to do well on the blog. In 2023 I made one big round-up post so you could easily find all the information you need to know about Pioneer Trek in one place.
Las Vegas isn’t just for grownups! I guess you all agree because my blog post with all the things to see and do with kids in Vegas came in second place!
The number one viewed blog post that was published in 2023 should come as no surprise because it’s all about the Happiest Place on Earth! I shared my tips for rope drop at Disneyland last January and it was well-loved all year long!
most viewed blog posts
These are the blog posts that were the most viewed on my blog, regardless of when they were published.
Published in 2018 on a whim, my Costco cake hack post continues to be a major portion of my blog views, coming in at number one year after year. In fact, I created a Google Web Story for it in the fall and that is also performing very well. Is it because people like Costco, or cake? Personally, I’m a fan of both.
Even though I made this project back in 2020, it didn’t start gaining traction on the blog until 2021. Then, in 2022 my tutorial for DIY seed bomb pops exploded on my blog and went mini-viral. Is that a thing? Anyway, I can’t wait to see if the upward trend continues in 2024!
My blog post sharing my daughter’s cotton candy themed baptism, along with the talk and object lesson I included, did well in 2023 week after week. The fact that it is so “young” on the blog but doing so well surprises me and speaks to the power of good SEO and a strong Pinterest strategy!
blog goals for 2023: looking back
I love looking back on my blog goals for each year to see what I did, and didn’t accomplish. In 2023 my blog goals were were:
- Increase my 2022 pageviews by 50,000+ views by continuing to post consistently (although less frequently) and utilizing Pinterest. I also want to ramp up improvements on my overall site SEO (updating old blog posts, etc.). I actually ended up exceeding this goal and grew pageviews by over 70,000+ last year. I also finished off the year strong, whereas usually November and December are my slowest months. I attribute this to all the work I’ve been doing to SEO on my site, as well as continuing to utilize Pinterest. I also think that the latest Google Helpful Content Update positively impacted my site, unlike many other creators that suffered losses.
- Reach 2 million impressions on Pinterest by utilizing Idea Pins and paying attention to my Pinterest analytics and the upcoming trends. I did all this and I do think it helped, but I was still only able to get as high as 1.6 million in 2023. Also, Pinterest evolved in 2023 and Idea Pins are no longer.
- Book 4 travel partnerships so we take things easy, especially with a new baby. Well, I did get exactly 4 partnerships booked in 2023, however, I actually think we may have traveled more. 2023 saw a lot of travel to Orange County for Knott’s Berry Farm trips as I was a Knott’s Ambassador for the year. We also did a big Utah National Park trip and finished out the Utah Mighty Five.
blog goals for 2024: looking ahead
Below are my blogging goals for 2024. In reflecting on the past year, some priorities are shifting a little bit, and you’ll se that reflected in what I’m focusing on:
- I want to increase my pageviews by 50,000+ views again. I’m planning to continue with my weekly posting, and using the “extra” time to update old posts and continue to improve SEO. I’m also going to make more Web Stories, which I started making and adding to blog posts in Quarter 4.
- Grow my newsletter. I have declared this to be the year of my newsletter, haha. I’ve had one for years but have struggled with consistency and really knowing how to best utilize it. I’m hoping to unlock those secrets, starting with finally creating an opt-in.
- Make more money. This might sound like an ambiguous goal, but I really have no hope other than to make more than in 2023, which saw me earning less than the two years prior. Let me be very clear–I don’t blog to make money. However, I spend an awful lot of time on it to not be better compensated for my time. I’m hoping for some good, solid partnerships in 2024.
