Blog updates
I’m working on making some changes on the blog, hopefully all for the better. If you’re a frequent user of the blog you may have noticed at least one thing – I’ve changed my commenting system back to the old wordpress comments. I was using Disqus and then they started putting in all these ads all over the place! I have some ads on my blog to make a little money to support it, but I wasn’t getting paid from the disqus ads so it was time to go. I’ve also heard it could slow down your site.
I spent a long time trying to find a system I liked to show “related posts” so people can more easily find things of interest to them. After playing around with a few different plugins I came across Slickstream and I’m really happy with both the appearance of it and the posts they pull (it’s a lot smarter than the built in one on WordPress!). Finally, I am really focusing on my SEO (if you’re not familiar, that’s search engine optimization, or basically how to help Google find your site when people search for something. I invested in a course called Stupid Simple SEO that cost a bit more than I’ve spent before, but I’m 25% of the way through it and really finding it great so far.
Another exciting thing to happen this month is that I was notified my blog was added to this list of the top 100 Disney blogs. My blog currently ranks at #18 which is super cool. The fact that I’m listed alongside some of my other favorite Disney blogs (Disney Tourist Blog, Disney Food Blog, EasyWDW) is an honor. Go check out the list if you’re interested in reading other fun Disney blogs!
February 2021 goals
- Update 4 older blog posts (I updated several older posts, including Disney love quotes, Elsa coronation Disney bound, conversation starters, Margarita recipes, and 1 month before you leave for Disney)
- Create at least one new printable (I’ve started work on my Easter printables)
- Complete my blog organization project through 2019 posts (done, and I’m working on 2020)
- Contact at least one other blogger about guest posting (haven’t done this yet)
- Make a list of good SEO resources and tools (I made a good resource and started a course that has been great so far!)
- Create a plan to better advertise my travel agent services for the month (I’ve done really well with booking this month and am developing a referral program I can hopefully introduce in the next month)
- Start a skincare routine (Yes and I’ve been decent about sticking to it, though not every day)
- Run 85 miles this month (I “only” hit 67 miles. But a lot of that was due to the weather – we had so much snow and running on it is a lot tougher!)
- Clean and declutter the living room and master bathroom (living room yes, bathroom no)
- Take some time to journal for my mental health (I didn’t really get to this)
March 2021 blog goals
- Complete all blog organization
- Finish at least half of the Stupid Simple SEO course
- Update 4 old blog posts
- Create 5 new printables
- Create category pages for my Disney World planning info
March 2021 personal goals
- Run 85 miles
- Get to bed earlier
- Start homebrewing again
- Clean and organize kitchen (and possibly order a new stove!)
What are your goals for this month?
Once again, you had a very productive month!
February was better than January, that’s for sure!
Oh yeah, I noticed your comments section is different now.
Yeah, I don’t love the default wordpress one but I did not like that they were adding in extra ads!