Welcome to the 6th Pet Blogger Challenge hosted by Go Pet Friendly! This is my fourth year to participate. The Pet Blogger Challenge is a great way to find blogs you are not familiar with, pick up some good blogging tips from others, get a bit of motivation, and simply have fun with other pet bloggers. Even if you are not a blogger, you may find the questions and answers interesting.
Each year, there is a set of ten questions for bloggers to answer and post. I got comfy with my laptop and starting working. Below is what I came up with for this year.
1.How long have you been blogging? And, for anyone who is visiting for the first time, please give a quick description of the subject of your blog.
I started my blog in November 2011. This is my fourth Pet Blogger challenge. You will find my previous year posts in the links below. I started out blogging about what I was up to, my breed, all with no real plan. With time, I have shifted more towards what is the GBGV breed, and how to give your dog a healthy lifestyle through food and fitness with a big dose of fun and the occasional senseless “just for fun” posts. I also include cat bro Bert in my posts now and then for cat lovers.
- 2015: https://mygbgvlife.com/2015/01/10/pet-blogger-challenge-2015/
- 2014: https://mygbgvlife.com/2014/01/11/pet-blogger-challenge-2/
- 2013: https://mygbgvlife.com/2013/01/10/pet-blogger-challenge/
2.What is the one thing that you accomplished during 2015, either on your blog or because of it, that made you most proud?
Being a finalist in the Best Dog Blog category for a Nose to Nose Award. My GBGV Life didn’t win, but being nominated was huge, and being a finalist was almost the same as a win in my book!
3. Which of your blog posts was your favorite this year and why? (Please include a link.)
I went back over my entire year, and it was so hard to pick a favorite. I like so many of my posts for so many reasons. I decided to choose my Vimtag posts as my answer for several reasons.
We had been wanting a video monitor to catch Bailie in all her naughtiness for a long time, but we wanted a good one, one Mom could watch remotely, and one with the ability to hear and speak remotely. When the Vimtag offer appeared in my inbox, I knew it was exactly what we needed. The entire review process was so eye opening we could hardly wait to share our findings in my posts. I think these two posts are informative for other pet parents, while being super fun at the same time. My GBGV Life is all about learning and having fun, so they are a perfect fit.
- https://mygbgvlife.com/2015/12/03/caught-on-camera-part-1
- https://mygbgvlife.com/2015/12/08/caught-on-camera-part-2
4. A common theme from last year’s challenge was that many of us wanted to increase the size of our audiences. Whether or not we intend to monetize our blogs, it seems we’d all like to reach more people. It feels good to know that we’re connecting with others, sharing a laugh or supporting a cause, and it’s motivating to see those numbers grow! What is one thing you’ve done in the past year that has brought more traffic to your blog?
Social media expansion. I started building my Instagram following in July, and in the fall I started posting to Stumble Upon. These two things haven’t caused a major traffic boom yet, but they have led to increased traffic. I’ve also been working on more “pinteresty” images for Pinterest.
5.Which of your blog posts got the most traffic this year? Why do you think it was so popular? (Please include a link.)
Spoil Your Dog With #PetSmartGrooming https://mygbgvlife.com/2015/11/10/spoil-your-dog/ I think it was a fun and informative post, with some great photos, and being a BlogPaws campaign, they have really helped to promote it.
6. What is one blog that you read religiously – other than your own – and what makes you such a devoted reader? (Please include a link.)
We follow tons of blogs, but there are a few we really love, and I would say Barking from the Bayou is our number one pick! We love the humor, great photos, it is fun to read, and is informative. This blog is also a great example of someone diving into blogging and becoming pretty successful in a short period of time.
7. What resources do you rely on to enhance your technical, writing, photography, social media, or other skills that improve your blog?
Several Facebook groups, BlogPaws conferences, and several other local blog related seminars during the year. I use Photoshop to resize and watermark my photos, and PicMonkey to add text. All our photos are real, not “photoshopped” in with hats, objects, etc. Editing software is only used for improving the quality of the original or text if necessary.
8. What is the best piece of advice you can offer other bloggers?
Be consistent, and write what comes from your heart. We get very frustrated by blogs that post and post and then disappear for a while, maybe they come back but post very randomly without a real content plan. We completely lose interest in following them. It makes a blog less credible if it is obvious they are writing what is “in”, and not what they are really about too. It is hard not to follow the most popular trends, but if they don’t fit, don’t do it.
9. What is your vision for your blog in 2016? Do you have specific goals?
I want to build a few more relationships with brands we love to work with on projects that are mutually beneficial. I also want to try to hit 10K pageviews a month, and keep our monthly pageview numbers a bit more steady. Currently they vary by sometimes 1000 or so a month which is a lot when you are under 10K. I am thankful to have such a solid, engaging audience but I feel there are more of these types of readers out there and I would like to find them.
10. You have the attention of the pet blogging community – is there one blogging challenge you’d like help with, or one aspect of your blog that you’d like input on?
I’m trying to figure out a way to be more successful with our SEO. I think it has improved, but I could use help there. I have taken several keyword classes, but I feel like I end up writing for SEO and not what Iwant if we follow keywords. Somehow I think I’m missing a piece to the puzzle. I also always appreciate any tips people have regarding anything on the blog. My GBGV Life is always evolving, and welcomes constructive input.
I agree Bentley and Pierre always have the paw on the news and I love their blog :o) And I love your posts, specially the kitchen posts, they are better than any show in tv!
Everyone loves my baking. I need to find that Hollywood connection!
I love hearing about the nose work!
Thanks. I could post about it all the time since we all love it so much, but over kill would make it boring.
Those are all great answers, especially the advice for blogs to stay true to themselves. i always enjoy it over here, your photos are cute, and the dogs are awesome.
Thank you. It is really hard to buck the big trends, but if it isn’t your thing, you need to plant your paws on your own road.
Keep doing you Emma! I found you through our love of Merrick, then realized we have a lot in common brand-wise. But I stay because I love your pack, love the concept of the blog (who doesn’t wonder what life looks like through their dog’s eyes), and it’s obvious your mom loves you guys so much!
I like that your brand promos don’t feel like “buy this now” but make everything fun, and informative. The kitchen posts, as I’m an avid cook/baker, are beyond fantastic.
The Vimtag posts were probably my favorite too, thinking of your mom watching Bailie hop on that couch like it’s her natural routine and having to yell at her, from work, makes me laugh every time! That, and the Petzi video where Bailie licks the Petzi, I can watch all day long!
Nose work, driving, playtime, naptime, I love it all!
Thank you so much. We always have a lot of fun and we want our readers to have fun and hopefully learn something as well! So glad to have you as a fan!
Those were all great answers! Hey, as soon as you figure out the SEO tricks the search engines change their magic formula!
I won’t even try for that, but I want to get more basics down.
Emma! So interesting — most of all mom is always impressed with how you keep your schedule. She pretty much wakes up, makes her cup of tea and looks at her email. And every weekday –there you are! It always makes her smile. Thanks for all the smiles! And, thank you for a lot of inspiration–whether with your photographs or with your exercise plans. Great work. your doodle friend, Dash.
Thank you my friends. We do have a schedule and we stick to it pretty much all the time. Mom is a planner and that is part of it. Thank you for being great online friends!
Good luck with your goals for 2016. Your pictures, advice, and blogs have always been awesome. Continued success! XOXO Sparkle the PBGV
We plan on keeping it up and improving if we can.
those are some great answers and we certainly wish you lots of continued success in the future
Thank you, and thanks for being good Blogville neighbors.
Isn’t this challenge fun? I love it. I’ve done pretty good with my SEO; I’m not an expert, but I’d love to share what I have learned if you’re interested.
We just really want to know if we are on the right track or not. We have tidbits of info from here and there and try to piece it together, but is it working, no clue! We would love to chat about it with you, maybe at BlogPaws if you are there.
Thank you so much for the love! It really means a lot to us and the feeling is definitely mutual. ♥ I am the same way with keywords. I try to incorporate them but if they don’t feel right, I follow my thoughts. It would be impossible for me to pick a favorite post of yours, but I do love your cooking photos. XXOO
Thank you. I will be back in the kitchen again soon, I’m sure baking up some type of winter delight! SEO is just frustrating, but necessary…kind of like Facebook!
10,000 a month? Wow that’s a lot of page views per month!
We are getting closer, but would love to hit that target.
We loved that post on Bailie’s mischief too!
Bailie and Bert make for some interesting stuff to blog about.
Excellent Answers to some Difficult to answer questions.
Thank you. Some questions are easy, some are tough, and we love that it forces us to look back through all our posts.
I love that your favorite post was the one catching Bailie in the act!!! It was just as fun for us to watch it as well!!! Thanks for sharing and keep up the great work! 🙂
Thanks you guys. It was kind of a wish come true to have the opportunity to get the Vimtag and then to use it and report on it was so much fun.
I’ve always been a huge fan of your blog because you are so creative and your posts always make me smile!
Thank you so much. We love to have fun and find “weird” ways to do things for amusement.
Emma – what can I say. Remember that song “I love you just the way you are…”
You and the boys are so sweet. Thank you 🙂
I wish I could help you on the SEO, but that’s something I’m still trying to learn more about too. I try some stuff here and there but then never really follow up much to see if it worked or not.
I am so with you on #8. It frustrates me when blogs I enjoy are so intermittent…they disappear and then come back “we’re back!” and then disappear again! I usually just give up on them too. Or they just disappear completely with no explanation…that feels disloyal to their readers to just leave us hanging….at least say “goodbye”!
I hope you reach your goals this year….but I think you are doing very, very well right now!
We are the same way with SEO. We are trying stuff, but don’t know if it is really working or the right stuff. Blogs that just disappear are frustrating as we worry about what happened. If you want to quit, fine, but at least post a quick good bye. We will see what 2016 has to offer.
One of the things I’ve always appreciated about your blog is the wonderful images. Clearly, your photography skills along with the amazing talent of Emma and the pack makes it one of the best blogs out there.
There’s a lot of conflicting information about SEO and keywords which is really frustrating, but I use the Yoast plugin which is helpful and I try to keep up with what Google and the other search engines are looking for. Since their algorithms are constantly changing, I don’t stress about it too much though.
Thank you so much for the compliments! Mom and I have a lot of fun with photos and creative thems. I think we are a good team which works well for the blog. We have been using the Yoast plug in forever too, and it is a major help, but there is so much out there with searching for key words, h1, h2…tags. That is stuff we would love to know a bit more about. There is no simple formula, but I think we need to find someone for some one on one advice.
Congratulations on being a finalist in the Best Dog Blog category! Unfortunately, you just described my blog over the past couple years in question #8. Consistency has definitely been my Achilles heel. The good news is I’ve put together a schedule for this year and plan to stick to it. By the way, I totally agree with you. It’s tough to follow a blog that posts disappears then posts randomly and it reflects in my readership. SEO seems to be my sweet spot for blogging since I’m usually answering reader questions about puppy training. If you have any SEO questions or would like to chat please feel free to send me an email.
I think you are right that SEO will get you the numbers even if you are not posting regularly, but to have a regular engaged audience it is difficult. Not every blog needs a regular audience, though. If you post mainly about puppy training, those readers would come and go I would think, and it would be a real popular topic to find readers with. Thank you for the SEO help offer. I need to figure out specifically what I want to know and I may send you an email.
We really enjoy reading your blog! You combine fun and important information really well! I can’t believe you are able to get Emma to wear the hats etc!! VERY impressive!! This hop is so much fun! I’m heading to your Vimtag posts now 😉
So glad you enjoy our blog. I love hats. Mom says it is because I was born in the UK, I think it is just me. I will do pretty much anything my photographer asks me to and I just love having my photo taken. Enjoy the Vimtag posts!
What great answers to the challenge, congrats again on your blogpaws nomination, you are a winner in my book to. Just love all that you do with your blog. Good luck with your 2016 goals and to a great year.
Thank you. We will see what 2016 has in store for us. You will have an exciting year too with more puppies!
Some great advice here…my wife has a blog about our new dalmatian pup, I’ll pass the info on.
Awww, Dalmations are so cute! We rarely see one around here.
I’m very glad I found your blog through the FitDog Friday Blog Hops and LOVE how active you are!! That’s so important, especially on a daily basis 🙂
I’m looking forward to your fitness posts throughout this year!
I also need to work on my SEO. I’ve made some progress though and was excited to have gotten a new puppy client who just recently found me …wait for it…through Google and the right kind of keyword search! That was a little moment of success and I hope to have many more like it throughout 2016.
We are glad we have found each other too. Being active is so much fun and really is a lifestyle. None of us are happy if we lounge around all day and do nothing. I think we need to find more searched keywords and try to go at SEO that way for a while. Good for you getting found on Google. I know if anyone googles GBGV, I pop up a lot, but GBGV isn’t really something the average bear is searching for!
Your blog is definitely one of our favorites! Especially because of your photos which honestly are hard to believe aren’t Photoshopped. Baillie’s naughtiness caught on video was by far the best! Love Dolly
Thank you. Anyone who doesn’t believe our photos are real is welcome to join us for a photo shoot. Most of them only take a couple minutes because I love to model. That Vimtag is the best thing we have ever reviewed I think. We use it all the time!
You’re right, Emma, SEOs are flummoxing but then again we at the Ranch are challenged with all things technical with the blog. Sigh. Hope springs eternal that we’ll figure it out some how, some day. Probably when pigs fly-BOL.
Technology is something we love so much we almost hate it!
Boy, that’s the truth!
Congrats on a great year!
Thank you. 2015 was very good to us.
I am so glad to have discovered your blog, and it was great to read your pet blogger challenge! As far as SEO goes, I am always looking for help with that as well, so unfortunately I have no advice on that one.
ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!
It is tough. We are doing more, but it is hard to know if we are doing it right. We just keep trying.
I have a confession – I haven’t read your blog that often but in my defense, I haven’t read many blogs on a regular basis which is something I plan to improve on in 2016 along with leaving more comments. I do love your blog and I love your dogs – sometimes when I have stopped by, I see the pics that you have taken of Bailie & Emma and their nose work – I also have two Hounds so I love to read about that and wish there were fun activities like that close by; One of my Beagles, Shiloh, would have loved to get involved in something like that but he will be 13 on his next birthday and has slowed down quite a bit – I always said that he believed he was God’s gift to the hunter. Shasta, my other Beagle, uses her nose mainly as a way to copy what her big brother is doing.
I will have to pay more attention to when you are in the kitchen – I love cooking and baking and often do a little experimenting in the kitchen. I rarely follow a recipe when I cook – do more of that when I bake. It is just me and my dogs so when I cook it is usually just for me and I am real flexible on what I make – their stuff is mostly baked.
I did love reading all of your answers to the questions – congratulations on being a finalist in the Best Dog Blog category. If I ever got that, I know I would be deliriously happy – whether I won or not. I did participate in the challenge this year, it was my first time that I have been able to even though I have been blogging since 2008/2009. For the time being, I like what I am doing with my blog although I do want to tweak it a bit this year – I have had a few medical issues since 2010 so I have not been able to blog as much as I would have liked which is one of those tweaks for 2016.
Well now that I have written a short novel here in my comment I think I will stop… but I WILL return.
Thank you so much for coming by. I always feel bad when I don’t visit some blogs very often, but there are so many to visit, and only so much time. I have to admit I know your blog, and I have been there, but also not real often. Beagles are awesome nose work dogs, so it is a bummer there is no nose work near you. Being a super fast, growing sport, maybe it will come closer to you soon. It really is a great sport for any dogs, but especially those of us with “noses”. We will be visiting all the blogs in the challenge this year, but it takes some time to get around to everyone. See you “at your place” in the coming days!
Have really enjoyed reading everybody’s answers, including yours and Emma’s, and finding out more about their goals and blog. XOCK, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo
We are still going through the list, it takes time to get through all the blogs but we enjoy it every year and usually learn a thing or two.
I am enjoying reading these, thank you for participating.
We do too. Working our way through the big list.
Sounds good! Best of luck to you in 2016!
We are hoping 2016 will be another really nice year.
I think you do such an amazing job. And it’s obvious that you have lots of fun.
One thing I’ve found incredibly SEO helpful is to write posts whose titles are exact phrases people are searching for. I keep a close eye on the WP stats of search terms that bring people to my blog and then I use them as titles.
For example, I get hits every day for “can’t stop crying after my dog died,” “what do you do after you scoop the poop,” and “is it ok for dogs to sleep outside.”
I’ve found it never pays to be clever with post titles (although I sometimes try to do it anyway).
Can’t wait to see what you have in store for us in 2016.
That is a good way to figure it out a bit. It is hard to not be fun and creative with titles, but it really is better to go with what people are looking for. Thank you for the tip!
I love your pictures and that your audience is so engaged. The engagement on my blog has sorely dwindled over the years. I think it’s mostly because – and I cringe because you pointed it out as an issue – I was very inconsistent after my Grandma died and during my 2+ years in school. I think a lot of the people that used to comment stopped reading. I can’t help what I can’t help though. My over-arching goal this year is to post more consistently and try to bring my engagement up again.
As far as SEO, I try not to think to hard about it. I do have some key phrases I picked out based on what I like to write about, our niche, and how popular they are according to the Google keyword planner. However, I just write a blog post as I would then go back and try to add (if it’s not already there) they key phrase in the title, the first paragraph, and in the meta keywords field in my WP dashboard. Sometimes the keywords are article specific and solely based off what I think people would type in to try and find information like what’s in my post.
Thank you. It is hard for me as a reader to get into blogs that post randomly. I do still read your blog as random as it has been, but not as religiously as before. Some blogs really make me feel like there is no point, and that is not a good thing. The SEO thing is just confusing for me, so I keep trying things and hope they work. I’m not a big fan of researching, which doesn’t help me with the keywords and stuff but I have a few ideas I’m going to try.