Traffic Report: February 2025 — 8k page views

I changed my entire approach to blogging this month.

Nothing I did before was truly sustainable for me. I needed to set up a system that would work long-term, not only short-term.

My blog traffic has nearly tripled since December, even if it didn’t increase much from January. More on this later.

As the political climate of the US is how it is, and I value transparency as a blogger, I need to share why I care about growing my blog traffic:

Growing my blog means I can put ads up on my blog.

Years ago, I said I’d never “slap ads” onto my blog…well, people change.

I have struggled in “typical” jobs and all the political ish going on is frightening for someone like me.

Every time I hear about something, I’m like, “Yep — this is the BEST path for me to be following right now.”

Last year, I got a job and quickly lost it because my asthma made the family I worked for “uncomfortable”.

Monetizing my blog with ads and [more] affiliate links would mean

• getting paid to infodump, or share really helpful posts on my blog more often
• financial stability/security
• investing in myself and my future

I’ve never seen any blogger share about going from $0 to whatever their full-time income needs were — so I’ve also never seen another blogger share about their blogging journey while utilizing their local food pantry, either.

And I’ve definitely never seen a “high-support needs” autistic going about their life perceived as having low-support needs go about this journey.

People make assumptions about me everyday. The most problematic assumptions are my abilities vs. competence, as if those two different categories are interchangeable.

While other bloggers may have shared their traffic and income reports for marketing purposes, I’m sharing mine to the tune of “I wish these reports were like this back then, because maybe I could’ve figured it out”.

The last 10ish years, I spent a lot of time helping someone else build their personal brand on the internet while my own blog simply existed.

I’ve been wondering what it would look like today had I instead prioritized my own projects.

I create content Past Me needed — whether Past Me was yesterday, two weeks ago or even two years ago. (Even if Past Me was a bit toxic.)

Traffic overview

• Posts published this month: 3
• Page views this month: 8,875
• Sessions this month: 7,401

I eased up on the posts published this month by a LOT more than I wanted to.

Interpersonal conflict from December carried into this year. I took space for myself, emotionally detached to avoid perpetuating codependent tendencies because I realized how consumed in the chaos I got and how it affected — well, all of this.

When someone else demands your attention regardless of your needs, it’s…intolerable and emotionally consuming, therefore also emotionally exhausting.

So I stepped back from my own blog because I was feeling annoyed and stressed — and self-conscious.

Inappropriate advice? Yeah…I kept reminding myself about it.

Traffic sources

• Organic Search: 6,550
• Direct: 548
• Referral: 61
• Organic Social: 39
• Email: 16

Traffic this month mainly grew thanks to an update I made to my autism quizzes post causing an image to appear in Google Image Search. That tiny edit attracted a surplus of people who were searching for something completely different.

Other areas I worked on

I didn’t work on much, honestly. I tried, but I was over-consumed by the interpersonal conflict (hence the importance of implementing the boundary).

A few days into February 2025, I installed the Grow.Me so I could qualify and apply for Journey by Mediavine before hitting the minimum page views for Raptive Rise. I figured, “Why not?” because I need the money if it’s a possibility.

I’m also curious about what having ads on my site would be like — the backend of it — and whether my site would be deemed brand-safe.

And, well, whether my emotional labor could actually pay off. Whether I could be paid for my emotional labor and info dumps.

Takeaways

😎 Boss vs. employee mindset & attitude

February was full of surprises! The last two weeks of January, I stopped pushing myself and looked at my actions.

I’ve struggled with thinking like an employee when I need to be thinking like a business owner.

An employee goes to work, earns a set income and is compensated on payday. They measure their work in terms of hours rather than impact, scalability or long-term growth.

A big part of this came from external influences, like someone frequently asking how much I made per hour or breaking down potential earnings into hourly rates. They would ask how many hours something took me and use 40 hours when I didn’t know.

Without realizing it, I internalized that way of thinking and began viewing my blog through the time-for-money lens rather than a long-term asset.

Blogging isn’t an hourly job.

A single blog post, digital product or email sequence can generate income for years to come.

The work I do today isn’t about immediate payout, but building a sustainable source of income. I’m investing in my future.

Blogging is a discipline in delayed gratification. I’m making decisions that aren’t only about short-term gain. I’m playing the long game.

🪨 Topic stability

Neurodiversity (ND) posts are losing traction slowly because these topics, along with disability topics, are considered “health” topics.

These topics are notoriously known as your-money-or-your-life (YMYL) topics.

With US politics going as they are and DEI programs being gutted, I presume visibility will grow even harder for these topics…so I’m leaning towards self-development and more visual topics.

“Visual topics” do better on Pinterest. They also feel more fun to create in theory…and more stable. List posts with an image for every item feel more digestible.

When I get into lists about certain topics, I’m willing to click and read more.

Blogging about ND isn’t as fun as it used to be anymore, either. I know people enjoy my autism and DID posts, but it’s a lot to keep up with.

People are more nitpicky about how I write about my experience — like, it feels like I’m putting a target on my back — and it affects my mental health negatively.

Blogging goals for March 2025

More traffic

My blog didn’t hit 10k sessions this month, but it would’ve come closer if February had 30 days. And my blog traffic definitely increases when I publish more posts in a month.

I’m hoping my /autism-quizzes/ post doesn’t dominate my blog traffic next month and that my traffic spreads back out again. The balance is better and less risky.

Personal growth

Toxic relationships can stunt your growth

In business and in life.

One of the biggest things I realized this month is how much my relationships have impacted my success. I didn’t notice it until I stepped back last year after recognizing my codependent tendencies.

For years, I poured into a dynamic where my skills were treated as a convenience rather than something valuable. I was expected to do the hard work while someone else benefited from them — through community recognition, blog growth and even financial gains at times.

When I succeeded with one of own projects…I was met with criticism, downplaying or outright drama that drained my focus.

This month, that same toxic dynamic briefly pulled my attention again — and I fell behind.

The stress and emotional weight of the situation impacted my ability to show up for my blog the way I needed to.

It confirmed something I wish I realized sooner: My relationships can direct affect my ability to grow my blog.

Since taking space for myself, I’ve been able to focus on my blog, business and the things that matter to me. I’ve felt more like myself again.

I’ve started eating breakfast and developed a morning routine. I feel more hopeful about my future, despite uncertainty.

And guess what! My blog has grown faster than it ever has before in the last couple of months.

If you’re trying to build something — especially a blog or online business — take stock of who and what is demanding your energy.

Sometimes, the biggest thing holding you back isn’t your strategy, niche or skills — it’s the relationships quietly draining you behind the scenes.

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See you next month! Spoiler alert: I was accepted into Journey by Mediavine early!