The online space is vast, so carving out a name for yourself among the big brands and other small-time aspiring big boys can prove challenging. I’m a chef and a runner, and I’ve recently renamed my blog to reflect this. In the process, I lost a lot of views, but was it all down to a domain change? It’s 2025, and everyone is online. Yet, blogging is hard.
Domain Change & Lost Views
This blog didn’t start as the Running Chef. It’s a change I’ve covered in previous posts about the name change and updating old posts to fit the new narrative. And as arduous as rewriting old posts may be, it pales in comparison to watching the already few views decline rapidly from the domain change.
I’d prepared for the decline, but I didn’t expect the change to affect views that had come from social media. Many of my previous visitors had come from sites like Pinterest. The domain change had affected views to the point where I could delete my old posts without noticing any difference in my current view count.
It was an immediate problem because I could use the old domain as an automatic redirect. This problem stemmed from my refusal to renew the old domain. I chose not to because I didn’t think the decline would be so visible and longstanding. It was an expense that didn’t seem justified, but as soon as I recognised my error, the cost of renewing the domain proved too extortionate, so here we are.
I mean, if blogging weren’t hard, we’d all start blogs and never work anywhere else, wouldn’t we?
Blogging is Hard When Everything is Expensive
Speaking of expenses, all the valuable tools seem expensive. I currently use free versions of Yoast SEO and WPRM for my recipe cards. One of my main priorities has been to upgrade to the premium versions of these sites, as they offer crucial benefits to a solo blogger that would help streamline the blogging process.
Unfortunately, they’d add more costs to my already inflated personal budget. These costs associated with marketing my blog include help, but not websites such as Tailwind or Later, which would assist me in fulfilling a successful social media strategy.
I’ve already committed to a business plan from WordPress, which costs £20 a month. If I want to make the process of blogging seem more manageable, I’d need to at least justify the investment with a promise of a future return. This means generating revenue from ads, affiliate marketing, or other sources. The problem is with the view dip; this doesn’t seem likely.
Stats Don’t Add Up
Speaking of statistics, WordPress statistics delivered through Jetpack don’t align well with the statistics obtained from Google Analytics. While I can’t speak to how these stats are collected, as I don’t know, I must admit to feeling confused and a little annoyed.
How am I supposed to collect valuable statistics? Stat that would allow me to invest my time into developing the areas that work when the two platforms that deliver my view statistics can’t agree on what a view count is?
To counteract this problem, it’s probably best to choose between one platform and stick with it. Yet, here’s the problem I face with trying to figure out how much my stats have changed compared to my old domain name. I didn’t have Google Analytics set up a year ago. While it provides more in-depth data, it can’t compare that data to a year ago. Jetpack Stats can, but how much do I trust its accuracy?
The problem with tracking my stats is exacerbated by the numerous insights available through my social media business accounts. Every click should be tracked, but these statistics don’t always add up across platforms. How can I determine which content works best when I’m unable to collect reliable data about the source of all my views?
Marketing Means More Content, Making Blogging HArder
Of all the statistics I can’t track, it’s the reliability of social media tracking that bothers me most. While SEO might provide one of the most significant sources of views, the views from Social Media platforms might be the most key metric in evaluating my marketing strategy. After all, it’s the area that requires the most work, as it means creating more content to market any new blog post.
There’s taking photos and finding photos to post to Instagram and Pinterest beyond the display picture used on my website. There are captions to write, reels to record, edit, and share. It’s a lot of work for one person to do, especially when it all ends with nobody watching anything. What makes blogging hard is the feeling of putting in the work to prepare a speech, only to look out from the podium and find nobody there to listen.
And Then There’s Post Schedules & Money
The thought of making money has taken a back seat as I learn to enjoy the process of creating. Ultimately, I love writing, so combining my passion for food and running with writing short running stories or recipe summaries keeps this enjoyable.
My blog does run ads through Google AdSense, but I haven’t included any affiliate links in a post yet. This isn’t a matter of ethical choice, but rather one based on priority. Researching and finding products to sell to people who aren’t reading my blog doesn’t make sense at this point.
I also used to get stressed about arbitrary deadlines. I’d convince myself I need to post at certain times on specific dates and that missing these deadlines would result in a fate worse than death. Now, I push it back. This isn’t my job; it’s my hobby, combining three of my passions. So if I haven’t finished a post in time. I’m sorry, but blogging is hard enough without a time constraint.
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