2011: Beating Broke’s Year in Review

We’re a few days into the new year, and, like many will do, it’s time to reflect a bit on the year that we just completed.  Also, like many, it’s time to try and spot the things that were successful in 2011, and try and improve upon them in 2012.  I don’t normally share a whole lot of the behind the scenes things here at Beating Broke, but, I’d like to share some today.  First, I want to take a look at some general statistics of the site.  (note, I’m using Google Analytics for these stats.)

• Pageviews: ~52,000 (last year: ~17,000)
• Unique Visitors: ~28,000 (~8,600)

Overall, 2011 was a pretty awesome year for Beating Broke.  The increases year-over-year are astounding.  In fact, (let me do the math here, hold on.) that’s an increase of over 300% in both statistics.  Yowsa.  There’s no one to thank except for you, the readers.  Without you, those numbers wouldn’t be possible.  I had fun last year, and fun this year, and I think we’ll have fun in 2012 as well.

Now, I want to take a little closer look at the year.  Let’s start with the most popular posts of 2011.  (note that these are listed by popularity (pageviews) and may not have been published in 2011.)

1. Important Changes to Tax Cuts and Credits for 2011
2. Data Backup on a Budget
3. 11 Tips on Smarter Spending
4. 5 Creative Ways to Save
5. The Great Recovery
6. 7 Frugal Date Suggestions
7. Carnival of Personal Finance 332
8. Four Strategies to Get Dinner on the Table if You Are Single
9. 1950 vs. Today – Have Our Changed Spending Habits Improved Our Lives
10. Wells Fargo Fee

A pretty diverse list, really.  Several things stand out to me as I look it over.  The first is that hosting a carnival or festival is still a good way to get a bump in traffic.  Does that traffic stick around?  Very little of it, but it certainly helps.  Another thing that stands out, is that sometimes big news is a good push too.  The Wells Fargo post at the bottom, there, was a short post to point out the fee that WF had announced, and not really heavy on content.  Again, does that traffic stick around?  Not much there either.  But, most of the rest of the posts are quality posts and deserving of their position on the list.  Again, it’s all you, the reader, who make that list possible.

Clearly, I’m happy with most of the stats of Beating Broke, and with the upward trend that they are making.  Some of the big events of 2011, like the Financial Blogger Conference that I attended, and having Quit my Job, all point me towards 2012 being an even bigger year.  I hope it is, and I hope you will stick around to see where 2012 will lead us.

Finally, one last THANK YOU to the readers and friends of Beating Broke!