2018 Blog Year in Review: Travel, Food and Instagrammable Walls

I love analytics! I love when data can provide insights and inform decisions. I value that in my day-to-day (as a social media strategist/consultant) but also when it comes to the blogs I write. Reviewing my blog analytics, and gauging what kind of topics my audience is most interested in, helps guide the choices I make about my blog. That’s why I always keep an eye on analytics throughout the year, but also enjoy reviewing top posts at the end of the year. 

My top posts of 2018 reaffirms to me that some very intentional decisions I made with what I wanted to focus my blog posts on in the past year are definitely resonating with you (namely, a heavier focus on travel content!)

Thank you, thank you, thank you for visiting my blog, reading my words, viewing my photos, and liking, commenting and sharing on social media. I truly appreciate everyone who gives one of my posts a read, or a like, and everyone who asks me for recommendations or ideas on what to do or where to eat. I hope to continue to share even better blog content this year, including reorganizing the blog a bit to make it easier for you to find what you’re looking for! 

With that said, here are my Top 10 Most Viewed Posts of 2018! 

Linda Hoang Blog Year in Review Travel Food Instagrammable Walls Explore Edmonton Alberta

Thanks for visiting my blog in 2018!!

1. Guide to Top Instagrammable Walls of Edmonton

Instagrammable Wall Edmonton

I’m thrilled to see my Guide to Instagrammable Walls of Edmonton has become a local photography resource!

2. Dog-Friendly Patios and Markets in Edmonton

Olive Artie Dog Summer Edmonton

Dog lovers want to know where they can have their best buddy join them for food!

3. Guide to Instagrammable Walls of Calgary

Instagrammable Walls of Calgary

Calgary has amazing Instagrammable Walls!

4. Travel Calgary: Amazing Downtown Hotel + Shopping Deal (+ Where to Eat)

Tourism Calgary Explore Alberta - Ollia Macarons and Tea - Downtown Calgary Travel

Delicious macarons from Ollia Macarons and Tea!

5. Review: The Captain’s Boil Seafood (Edmonton)

The Captains Boil Edmonton South Common Seafood Lobster Boil

Edmontonians were crazy excited about the Captain’s Boil opening here!

6. Explore Alberta: Visiting Bubble Lake (Abraham Lake)

Abraham Lake Bubble Lake Explore Alberta Edmonton

I love getting messages from people all over the world wanting to come to Alberta to see the Bubble Lake!

7. Travel: What To Do in Toronto 

What To Do in Toronto - Toronto Sign

We had so much fun during our first trip to Toronto and was happy to share where we ate and what we did!

8. Explore Alberta: 10 Things To Do in Grande Prairie 

Philip J Currie Museum - Grande Prairie - Explore Alberta - Highway 43 - Travel - Dinosaur

The Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum in Grande Prairie was awesome to visit!

9. Guide to Instagrammable Walls of Saskatoon

Instagrammable Walls of Saskatoon - Tourism Saskatoon Saskatchewan

There are some Instagrammable gems in Saskatoon! 

10. Travel Weekend: Eats in Calgary 

charbar East Village Calgary Restaurants Food

A delicious deep dish pizza from charbar in the Simmons Building!

I had an awesome 2018 of travel and eats!! And the insights I take from this list is that I’m definitely onto something with my love and cataloguing of Instagrammable Walls of different cities I travel to. You guys are really into it too! Travel, in general, is a popular topic for my blog (from across Alberta and beyond). And dog people really want to bring their dogs with them to patios in the summer!! As I’ve been focusing on more travel content the last year, it’s great to see the analytics telling me that’s a topic that you guys are interested in reading! Doesn’t mean I’m not blogging food or that you guys aren’t interested in reading about restaurant visits, of course! These are just the tops of the year!

If I expanded out to my Top 20 most viewed posts of the year, then we get into more food specifics—you guys were interested in learning about An Chay Vietnamese Vegetarian, my Shaved Ice Bingsu Showdown where I rated the top bingsu in Edmonton with my pal Brittney, additional travel posts like my 10 Things to do in Grande Cache, Alberta as well as my 15 Things to do in Japan (Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto). My 24 Days of Christmas Food Giveaways was popular, as was my preview of David Tennant and Matt Smith of Doctor Who coming to the Edmonton Expo (squeal!) You also always want to know what to do for New Years Eve in Edmonton (maybe sugar swing dancing next year guys, lol) and enjoyed my Edmonton International Cat Festival Give Where We Live philanthropy post. Finally, my Unexplained Infertility: Pregnancy Journey blog post was also highly visited—in fact, received the most single-day page views I’d ever gotten before.

Does anyone else but me find this super interesting?! (lol, no one raises their hand).

Of course, only making content decisions based on analytics isn’t the way to go either. So while this information will guide me in the type of content I hope to produce this year, I’ll still be experimenting with stuff I may not often share, or things that maybe didn’t crack the Top 10 or even 20 or even 30 from an analytics-perspective. And while travel was a big focus for me in 2018 (and will continue to be going forward), I’ll also still be dishing out posts about my first and always love—FOOD. 

As I’ve said, thank you so much for visiting my blog!!! 

It means the world to me and I can’t wait to share more with you this year.

Linda    

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