Lifestyle: My Year in Review: A Recap of 2025

Every year I like to sit down and take stock of how things went—both in life and here on the blog. 2025 was a complicated year for me personally, but it was also a year full of writing, reading, and connecting with all of you. In this post I’m sharing an honest recap of the year, including life updates, blog statistics, most-read posts, and a few favourites from 2025.

Wrapping Up 2025

2025 was a particularly hard year for me health-wise. Those of you that have followed along throughout the year will know that I started the year with serious health problems and then continued to fight them pretty much all year long. Gastroscopy, colonoscopy, multiple stays in the intensive care unit at the hospital... there was never a dull moment. 

The positive side to all the testing and hospital stays and medicine was that I finally know all the elements of my problems and what is causing them. I also now have a fantastic team at the hospital following my case. As someone who has been struggling with chronic health issues for most of my life, this is a huge step forward and for that I'm thankful.

Because of all this, it’s probably no surprise that my health had a big impact on every area of my life, including my blogging. You can also see that reflected quite clearly in my stats for the year.

Work with me in 2026

Despite the challenges of 2025, I’m looking ahead with hope. I’m excited to continue creating content, collaborating, and working with brands and authors in 2026.

Blog Statistics for 2025

Highest traffic month:  January 2025 with 427,426 views 

Let’s take a closer look at how traffic varied month by month.

Monthly traffic stats for 2025:

January - 427,426

February - 172,016

March - 65,011

April -  88,834

May - 54,347

June - 93,220

July - 70,978

August - 67,904

September - 233,061

October - 240,671

November - 228,325

December - 111,108

If you're interested in seeing the comparison with the previous year you can find my 2024 recap here. 

Most Viewed Posts

Now onto the fun part — what you all enjoyed reading the most!
Here’s a breakdown of my most-viewed content across different categories.

Most viewed post of all time: 

Things That Should Be In Every Blog Post (published 24 August 2021) with 161K views.

Most viewed post from 2025:

December 2024 Book Blogger Posts Round Up (published 3 January 2025) with 1,036 views. 

Most viewed book related post (non review/spotlight) from 2025:

Books About Decluttering: Simplify Your Space and Life (published 10 February 2025) with 567 views.

Most viewed book review of all time:

Evolving Elizah: Initiatum by CJ Hall (published 30 April 2021) with 9.07K views

Most viewed book review from 2025:

Nine Minutes Eleven Seconds by L.V. Pederson (published 30 April 2025) with 440 views

Most viewed book spotlight of all time:

War of the Winds by Victoria Williamson (published 9 January 2024) with 9,697 views.

Most viewed book spotlight from 2025:

The Magdalenes by Jeanne Skartsiaris (published 28 May 2025) with 377 views.

Most viewed book tag of all time:

I Love That Book's Show Tag (published 2 October 2018) with 9,994 views.

Most viewed book tag from 2025:

I am the Reader Tag (published 8 July 2025) with 387 views.

Most viewed travel related post from 2025:

Rome and the Jubilee 2025: What You Need To Know (published 19 February 2025) with 489 views. 

Most viewed health related post from 2025:

The Best Quotes About Rest, Recovery, and Listening to Your Body (published 8 September 2025) with 605 views.

Most viewed fitness related post from 2025:

Easy Walking Workouts: A Simple and Effective Way to Stay Fit (published 15 February 2025) with 496 views.

Most viewed hair related post from 2025:

Product Review: Schwarzkopf Brilliance 884 Chocolate Brown Hair dye (published 25 March  2025) with 319 views.

Most viewed beauty related post from 2025:

Product Review: Selya Face Mask with Hyaluronic Acid and Coconut (published 10 September 2025) with 343 views.

Traffic sources

Majority of blog traffic comes from: Google search.

Search continues to be the main way new readers discover my content, which I am incredibly grateful for.

Best Read of 2025:

Make sure you check out my best reads of 2025 for all the books I rated 5 stars over the past 12 months.

Best Hair Product of 2025:

Best Beauty Product of 2025:

The winner of best beauty product of 2025 was Cosmi Premium Skincare Korean Collagen Face Mask.

Conclusion

End-of-Year Blogging Audit: How to Prepare Your Site for the New Year

As another year draws to a close, bloggers are reflecting on achievements, evaluating strategies, and setting goals for the year ahead. But before planning next year’s content, there’s one crucial step you shouldn’t skip: a complete end-of-year blogging audit.

Performing a yearly audit helps you clean up your website, refresh old posts, fix technical issues, and start the new year with a blog that’s optimised for SEO, speed, and growth. Follow this step-by-step guide to give your blog the ultimate year-end check-up.

1. Analyse Your Blog Analytics

Start by reviewing your website analytics from the past 12 months. Understanding your readers’ behaviour and your blog’s performance is key to improving engagement.

Check for:

• Top-performing posts – Identify articles that drove the most traffic. Update them with new content, internal links, and optimised keywords.

• Underperforming posts – Low-traffic pages may need rewriting, improved formatting, or keyword optimisation.

• Traffic sources – See whether visitors came from Google search, Pinterest, social media, or email marketing. Focus efforts on the most effective channels.

• Audience behaviour – Look at time on page, bounce rates, and returning visitors to see what content resonates.

Pro tip: Keep an eye on what worked this year so you can plan even better content for 2026.

2. Refresh and Update Old Content

Refreshing old blog posts is one of the most effective ways to boost traffic and SEO without creating entirely new content.

Check older posts for:

• Outdated statistics or facts

• Broken links or missing images

• Poor formatting or readability

• Opportunities for internal linking

• New keywords relevant to your niche

• Weak meta descriptions or headlines

Updating older content improves search rankings, keeps your blog current, and helps maintain authority in your niche.

3. Fix Broken Links

Broken links negatively affect user experience and SEO. At the end of the year, perform a thorough link check:

• Broken internal links

• Outdated external links

• Missing images or media

Use tools like Broken Link Checker or Ahrefs to identify and fix issues. A polished site keeps readers engaged and improves your search performance.

4. Optimise Site Speed and Performance

Website speed is critical for SEO and user experience. Perform a performance audit:

• Compress large images using tools like TinyPNG

• Remove unused or heavy plugins

• Update your theme and CMS

• Enable caching and browser compression

• Ensure mobile responsiveness

Even small speed improvements can reduce bounce rates and increase organic search visibility.

5. Organise Categories and Tags

A cluttered category and tag structure confuses readers and search engines. Ensure your blog has:

• Logical categories with minimal overlap

• Useful, relevant tags

• Correct post placement (ideally 1–2 categories per post)

A well-structured site improves navigation, SEO, and user engagement.

6. Review On-Page SEO

Check that every post is optimised for SEO best practices:

• Focus keyword included in title, headings, and content

• Proper H1, H2, H3 structure

• Alt text on all images

• Engaging meta descriptions

• Internal and external links

• Readable formatting (short paragraphs, bullet points, subheadings)

Consistent on-page SEO increases your chances of ranking higher on Google and other search engines.

7. Back Up Your Blog

End-of-year is a perfect reminder to back up your entire site:

• Full website

• Theme customisations

• Database

8. Review Your Plugins and Tools

Audit your plugins and tools to ensure your blog remains fast, secure, and reliable:

• Outdated plugins – May pose security risks

• Unused plugins – Slow down your site

• Duplicate plugins – Keep only the most efficient one

• Heavy or unnecessary plugins – Replace with lightweight alternatives

After reviewing:

• Update remaining plugins, themes, and CMS

• Check compatibility

• Test your site to confirm functionality

A lean, optimised plugin setup improves site speed and security heading into the new year.

9. Test Site Speed and Performance

Perform a detailed site speed test to ensure optimal performance:

• Use Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix

• Compress and optimise images

• Minimise unnecessary scripts and CSS

• Consider a CDN for international traffic

A fast, responsive blog improves user experience, SEO, and reader retention.

10. Review Your SEO and Content Strategy

End-of-year is the perfect time to audit your SEO and content strategy:

• Identify top-performing posts – Repurpose or expand them

• Spot underperforming posts – Update or combine content

• Check for broken links – Fix or redirect

• Refresh outdated information – Update stats, dates, and references

• Plan for next year – Use insights to create a 2026 content calendar aligned with your audience

A comprehensive SEO review strengthens your blog’s visibility and sets you up for growth in the new year.

Final Thoughts

An end-of-year blogging audit isn’t just about fixing problems—it’s about preparing your site for success. From SEO optimisation and content refreshes to plugin management and speed improvements, a thorough audit ensures your blog is polished, professional, and ready for growth in 2026.

Take the time now to review, refresh, and optimise, and your future self (and your readers) will thank you.

The most important (work related) thing I learnt in 2015

Plans for 2016