Around the end of the year, I like to share the most read OMAAT posts of the year. Truth be told, I like to write this breakdown post not just for you guys, but also for myself.
I spend little time focused on optimizing traffic. Sure, I try to do basic things that are good for SEO, but that’s about where it ends. I’d rather spend my time writing about the things that I’m passionate about and find interesting. I logged into Google Analytics today for the first and last time of 2024 to write this post.
The most read OMAAT posts of 2024
Here are the 10 OMAAT posts that were read the most in 2024, in the order of number of page views received:
- Frontier Airlines Pilot Arrested On Aircraft At Houston Airport
- Scary: Spirit Airlines Flight Prepares For Water Landing
- Terrifying: Southwest 737 Descends To 150 Feet Above Tampa Bay
- Delta Flight Attendant Stabs Colleague, Charged With Attempted Murder
- Pilot Caught Secretly Working For Two Airlines
- Air France A350 Business Class: Best In Europe?
- JFK ATC Loses Cool With Air France Pilot, Crosses Line
- A TAP Airbus A321’s Wild, Nose First Landing In Madeira
- Delta Diamond Snitches On Flight Attendants, Faces Backlash
- Houston-Bound British Airways 787 Returns To London After Nine Hours
Here are a few more things I just pulled up that I find noteworthy:
- The most read post was read ~1.3x as much as the second most read post, and ~4.1x as much as the tenth most read post
- My most read airline review of the year was of Emirates’ A380 first class, my most read lounge review was of British Airways’ Concorde Room, and my most read hotel review was of Corendon Amsterdam New-West
- No posts about tips or tricks for redeeming miles or points even cracked the top 100 posts in terms of traffic
- In terms of monthly traffic, July was the busiest month, while September was the quietest (which is unusual, because usually summers are quieter for traffic)
- When I publish my takes on airline experiences, the post with initial impressions of the experience always gets more page views than the actual full review installment
My takeaway from the most read OMAAT posts
Suffice it to say that the posts that are the most read are absolutely not the posts that I think are most useful, that took me the most post time to write, or that I’m most proud of.
But that’s also the joy (or curse?) of the internet. Posts that I find marginally interesting and that take me 15 minutes to write sometimes get way more traffic than posts that I find really interesting and that take me hours to write, and often require a significant investment (in terms of cash or points). In that sense, the above list doesn’t surprise me.
The posts that are most popular with the internet at large are typically not the ones most popular with longtime readers, and I never want to lose sight of that. If my goal were simply to generate as much traffic as possible, I’d quit traveling and would just post salacious airport meltdowns all day long, because the internet loves that stuff.
But simply maximizing traffic isn’t what motivates me to wake up every day and get excited about “work.” I’ve written about my day-to-day life as a travel blogger, and how I got started in this in the first place. Ultimately this industry is my passion, and the fact that I get to write about it every day is something I won’t ever take for granted.
Personally, I’d rather spend several hours writing a post I’m proud of and that I’d also enjoy reading, than spending 15 minutes writing a post that generates five times as much traffic, but that I’m not proud of.
Bottom line
I always find it interesting to look at the most read posts of the year. That’s not because the data changes what I’ll write about, but rather because it’s a good reminder that quality, detailed content isn’t typically what gets the most page views.
As always, I’m extremely grateful to all OMAAT readers for their support. I’m incredibly fortunate to be able to do what I love every day and call it a job, even if it doesn’t feel like it. I owe that all to you guys.
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