Apparently this is the new thing to do as I’ve seen several esteemed (and not so esteemed) bloggers going over how 2015 went so I wanted to join in the fun with some stats about this blog in 2015. Looking through the stats was actually quite interesting and I’m hoping I can use that information to write about content readers care about most. This post will talk about just about the blog – I will cover my favorite trips, flights, hotels etc. in my next post.
Background:
2015 was my second full year of blogging as a points/miles blogger as this blog started early in January 2014 but I’ve been blogging since 2011 (I used to blog about Boston College sports at AroundTheRes.com with several other BC alums). I’m happy to say readership increased significantly in 2015 as both page views and unique visitors increased by over 200% even though I posted less in 2015! I think a lot of that is due to a lack of readership in early 2014 as traffic was quite low for a while until I got linked to by several bloggers and MMS featured me in one of his interviews. In 2015, PointsCentric saw just shy of 100,000 visitors.
In terms of revenue, the way this blog makes money is from clients who signup for my consulting or award booking services. There are no ads or credit card affiliate links on this site so I am not forced to write about credit card offers and plug my affiliate links relentlessly. I do have some referral links, such as Uber, Amazon etc but those honestly have such little impact to the blog’s bottom-line. Thankfully new clients signups were mostly consistent year over year as new clients signups in 2015 decreased by only 4 as compared to 2014. Revenues generated from clients are still enough to keep me actively engaged in blogging and help keep this blog going.
Top 5 Most Popular Posts in 2015:
#1. My Experience with the Citibank Citigold 30k American Airlines Offer & Funding My Account with a Credit Card > 7,700 Pageviews
This was posted in Feb. 2015 and I believe I was one of the first bloggers to discuss this offer in great detail. It also helped several other blogs linked to this post.
#2. Positive Update on the 30,000 American Airlines Miles Offer for Opening a Citigold Account > 7,600 Pageviews
The followup was posted in May 2015 and I showed that everything worked out as intended with this offer.
#3. The Alaska Airlines 25k Offer with $100 Statement Credit is Still Alive! > 5,600 Pageviews
This was posted in May 2015 and I figured out an alternative way to generate this offer. Bank of America has been killing any links to this offer pretty quickly but this method still works (I tested it this morning 1/1/16) to get this better offer on the Alaska Airlines credit card.
#4. American Express Business Gold Rewards Signup Bonus Increased to 75,000 Points! > 5,100 Pageviews
This was posted in Nov. 2014 and is the only 2014 post to make this list. I was figured out that using incognito mode/private browsing and/or trying the offer on mobile device would generate a better offer than normal on certain Amex cards. In this case, I found a 75k Amex Business Gold offer. Using incognito and/or mobile devices still generates a better offer on certain cards now (most recent example for me is the 25k Everyday offer)
#5. The Two Browser Trick is Back with the Bank of America Alaska Airlines Credit Card > 4,600 Pageviews
This was posted in Jan. 2015 but the most recent comments on that post seem indicate this isn’t working anymore. However for a large part of 2015 this worked and was an easy way to double up on any BofA offer.
Random Stats:
2014 Total Posts: 154 Posts
2015 Total Posts: 125 Posts
Most Popular Day: May 19, 2015 (Published Positive Update on the 30,000 American Airlines Miles Offer for Opening a Citigold Account)
Least Popular Post of 2015: Today is the Last Day to Book Awards Using US Airways Dividend Miles < 100 Pageviews
Top 5 Countries That Visited PointsCentric:
- United States
- Canada
- United Kingdom
- France
- Australia
Top 5 Referrers to PointsCentric (thank you to everyone who has ever linked to me!):
Dollars Made From Credit Card Signups and Ad Revenue: $0
PointsCentric 
Ralph,
Congrats on the increased traffic. I found you in early 2014 when MMS did a post about your site and have been enjoying it ever since. One of my favorite aspects of your site is that you dont push CC’s down our throats, but rather discuss the best offers available. Looking forward to 2016!
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Thank you!
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