The online landscape is constantly shifting for marketers, making it essential to regularly evaluate performance and make marketing strategy changes. Tomiko’s inspiring journey sheds light on the challenges many creators face, particularly in light of recent changes to Google’s algorithm and declining website traffic. Her story serves as a reminder that you’re not alone in navigating this often daunting digital environment.
Let’s dive into Kate’s conversation with Tomiko!
An Interview with Tomiko
“Blogger” vs “Creator/Influencer”
Kate: So happy to have you with us today, Tomiko!
Tomiko: Hello, hello, hello! I’m so excited to be here! Oh my gosh, I was totally fangirling when I first met you, Kate. Your podcast is always playing in my car! It’s amazing to finally connect.
Kate: We met at TBEX in Puerto Rico, where I was speaking, and Tomiko was helping with the event. What struck me was her story about adapting her approach to building traffic, especially in light of recent changes.
So, Tomiko, as we’ve seen the term “blogger” evolve to “creator,” what label resonates most with you today?
Tomiko: I still identify as a blogger. Perhaps it’s a generational thing, but I find that “influencer” sometimes carries a negative connotation. I focus on my blog because that’s where most of my income comes from. I spend the majority of my time on my website.
Getting Started with Blogging
Kate: When you started “creator” probably wasn’t even a term. What motivated you to begin blogging?
Tomiko: My husband and I traveled to the Amalfi Coast, and upon returning, someone suggested I share my travel photos. I didn’t even know what blogging was at that time! But after some research, I thought, “I can do this!” A year later, I realized I could turn it into a career, a side income for retirement.
Fast forward ten years, and I’m now the conference director for TBEX and the vice president of the Black Travel Alliance. I’ve been dedicated to elevating Black content creators and showcasing our value to brands.
Kate: It’s incredible how your blog has evolved. When did you first see the potential for monetization?
Tomiko: Initially, I was just sharing for fun. It wasn’t until about three years in that I learned about Mediavine. Back then, there weren’t many Black creators using it, but I was eager to cover my monthly expenses. I knew I had to dive deep into SEO to make it happen.
I was able to go from minimal traffic to meeting Mediavine’s requirements, hitting 25,000 page views. Eventually, I was ranging about 300,000 page views a month. But then, everything changed with Google’s September core update last year. There were some major marketing strategy changes I had to consider, and a lot of others did too.
The 2023 Google Core Update
Kate: That update must have felt like a massive blow. Can you share more about its impact?
Tomiko: Absolutely. I went from around 250,000 to 300,000 sessions per month to seeing a drastic decline. I had been focused on SEO, but the update forced me to rethink everything.
It was a wake-up call to diversify my traffic sources and make some marketing strategy changes when it came to Google and other social media platforms. I knew I had to put more effort into Pinterest, even though it was easy to rely on Google before.
Websites vs social media
Kate: Okay, so I want to go back a little bit to how you heard about Mediavine. You mentioned that there aren’t a lot of Black creators on the ad networks. Is that due to not knowing about it, or are there other ad networks they might be on? I’d love to hear more about that because when I hear your story, I see you as a trailblazer, pushing through barriers to advocate for what we want for our community. How can we educate others that it’s even an option?
Tomiko: A lot of creators just don’t know about it; it’s not talked about. Many Black creators focus solely on Instagram, putting all their eggs in one basket. They believe that having a social media account is equivalent to having a website, but it’s not. Instagram could disappear in an instant. If that happens, where are your people going to find you? They’ll move on to the next trend, and we live in a culture of instant gratification. If something stops giving us that dopamine hit, we move on quickly.
People think having a website is easy, but once they dive in, they realize it’s a lot of work. You need to think about the backend, WordPress, plugins, and how your content looks on mobile devices. Many people write what seems like short paragraphs, but on a phone, it can look like a wall of text, which people won’t read. Websites take time to create and see success, and people don’t like that. They want results now. But investing in a website is worth it in the long run.
Kate: So when you’re faced with someone who loves instant gratification, what do you say to them to help them see the value in the long game?
Tomiko: I share a story about my friend Rachel. She had about 300,000 Instagram followers, and one day someone hacked her account. They demanded money to get it back, and eventually, she lost everything. She was featured in major publications but had nothing else to rely on outside of Instagram. It’s dangerous to depend on a platform that doesn’t care about your livelihood. It’s time to start diversifying and make some marketing strategy changes.
Kate: That’s so true. And after that Google Core update, it feels as though the confident ground of Google and websites are shaky now as well. So let’s talk about 2023 and how you’ve handled the changes. What has that looked like for you?
Handling the Changes
Tomiko: In August 2023, my monthly ad revenue was around $12,000. By September, it rose to about $14,000. Then it dropped significantly in November, going down to around $7,000, and in December, it fell further to about $3,200. So I had planned to quit my day job in January, but then my revenue dropped to around $1,000. Since then, I’ve been hovering between $350 to $500 a month.
We just had another August update, so I’m hoping to see some growth. Google has shifted its focus, and I’ve had to adjust my content strategy, removing fluff and keyword stuffing. Things have moved a little bit but definitely not enough.
I’m still hopeful that these marketing strategy changes will prove helpful! The people who don’t give up are the ones who will eventually succeed. Despite experiencing a 95% drop in traffic, I believe in the importance of persistence during tough times. I’ve gone from making $14,000 a month to just $500. I’ve asked myself so many times if I should I throw in the towel, or do I buckle down and figure out what will actually work?
I’ve decided to fully embrace Pinterest as my new traffic source because I don’t have a choice anymore. I had options before, but now I need to adapt. The key question is whether Pinterest will be as effective as Google for my needs.
I’m focusing on seasonality. Right now, I’m creating pins for fall content and leveraging what I know works on Google. I’m updating all my fall material to ensure it’s ready by October, and I’m also starting on my winter and spring content. I’m applying the same principles I used for Google to Pinterest, which I should have been doing all along.
Kate: It’s tough to navigate these changes. When something is good, it’s easy to acknowledge that, right? Back in 2017, 2018, and 2019, the online space felt like the wild west—there was so much potential for growth and income. But then came 2020, and as someone in the travel industry, I can imagine you faced a significant decline during that time.
Now, things are starting to bounce back, which is encouraging. However, I think what we both recognize is that when things are going smoothly, there’s little pressure to innovate. There’s no real motivator to try something new. After all, when you’re making $14,000 a month, why would you feel the need to explore Pinterest?
Tomiko: Exactly! I had tried Pinterest before and had received some traffic from it, but not enough to truly motivate me to change my approach. While I was getting a significant number of sessions and page views from Google, my Pinterest traffic was only around 2,000 to 3,000 a month. In the grand scheme of things, that was just a small fraction—maybe 1%—of my overall traffic. So it didn’t warrant me focusing even 20% of my efforts on Pinterest.
Kate: Did you find yourself falling into the Instagram trap as well? How did you use Instagram to drive traffic or awareness?
Tomiko: No, I’ve never used Instagram as a strategy to drive traffic to my blog. I just don’t believe it’s an effective traffic driver for websites. If you’re looking to buy something, that’s different, but personally, I only use Instagram because brands want content from travel creators, especially reels.
To be honest, I rarely make purchases based on what I see on Instagram. I might save posts for destinations I want to visit later, but I’ve never booked a trip or bought something directly from an Instagram post. I might be in the minority, but I don’t think it’s a good use of my time to drive traffic from Instagram to my blog.
Kate: I completely agree. As an Instagram user, I couldn’t tell you what anyone’s website looks like because I hardly ever leave the platform. Whereas if I use Pinterest, I’m leaving all the time.
Now I have to ask: did you also focus on growing your email list? Was that another part of your marketing strategy?
Related: Pinterest Business Tips – Embrace The Changes
Creating Goals
Tomiko: Yes, I’ve been working on my email list. I have two websites: Tomiko Harvey, which focuses on SEO, and Passports and Grub, my travel site. Both sites have around 4,000 email subscribers. Right now, the major marketing strategy changes I’m making include, honing in on my email list, and putting a lot of effort into Pinterest to see how that can work for me. Currently, I’m getting about 4,000 clicks a month from Pinterest.
I have a goal on my vision board to reach 50,000 clicks by the end of the year. I write that down in my journal every morning. I include my daily gratitude and what would make my day great, and I always note that achieving 50,000 clicks from Pinterest and 150,000 sessions from Google would make today great. I literally write that down every single day.
Having those goals helps me stay focused on how I spend my time. When I see them, I know I need to put in the effort—like creating images in Canva—even if I’m tired.
The Creator Community
Kate: I want to dive into your plans for moving forward, but first, let’s take a moment to reflect on the recent dip in your numbers. Did you have a community you could lean on to ask questions and feel less alone during this experience? Was that a significant part of your journey?
This is a two-part question, so bear with me. Along with that, you mentioned earlier that there aren’t as many Black creators in this space. How did that impact your experience as you were trying to navigate what was happening?
Tomiko: Yes, I rely heavily on my community through TBEX, where I’m the conference director. We’re constantly discussing updates and strategies. Even when I woke up to see my rankings drop drastically, the community was there to support each other.
And I remember waking up the morning of the Google Core update. I didn’t even know if was happening. I had sensed some rumblings, but I didn’t realize it had already started. After doing my gratitude practice, I picked up my phone to check my Google Analytics and my rankings on Key Search.
As I looked at Key Search, I was shocked to see that everything was at zero—I wasn’t ranking for anything. I thought it must be a mistake, maybe a glitch. I didn’t panic; I assumed Key Search was experiencing some technical issues. There was no way I could be ranking for nothing.
Then I went online and saw that the entire community was in a complete meltdown. Despite that, I remained positive. I truly believe I will come out on the other side of this. I have my vision board right here at my desk, with reminders of my goals: “I am abundant, I am successful.” I keep those affirmations visible.
Although I’m still navigating these challenges, I believe there’s no other option but to persevere. I know many in our community may not share this belief, especially since it’s been a year now. But I continue to hold on to my vision. I write down every morning that I’m aiming for 50,000 clicks from Pinterest and a minimum of 150,000 sessions from Google. It hasn’t happened yet, but I’m still working toward it. My faith in my ability to turn things around is my greatest asset.
Diversify Your Traffic Sources
Kate: It’s inspiring to hear about your commitment and belief in your vision. What are you focusing on moving forward?
Tomiko: I’m all in with Pinterest now, applying what I know from Google. I’ve also been working on my email list, with both my websites having around 4,000 subscribers each. I’m aiming for 50,000 clicks from Pinterest and 150,000 sessions from Google. It’s a long game, but I truly believe in my goals.
Kate: That’s a solid plan! And I completely understand your perspective on social media and traffic. So many creators fall into the trap of relying solely on Instagram without diversifying their traffic sources.
Tomiko: Exactly! I never used Instagram as a primary traffic driver because I don’t think it’s effective for that purpose. I use it more for brand collaboration, but my focus has always been on my website and other traffic sources.
Don’t Be Afraid To Innovate
Kate: And to affirm that, I would say, even before this, a year ago, there was the same amount of people, and now there’s even more people online. There’s opportunity for new innovation and creativity to get in front of those people. It’s not like, you know, you can see all your traffic has gone down. It’s not like those people went away. They’re still there. It’s about how do we get in front of people in new ways, be creative with our marketing, get investigative, get curious, and get to the heart of what do people want from you on your blog? What do they want to see you write about?
That feels harder, which is why, you know, five years ago, we didn’t have to wrestle with these questions. I mean, I think that’s the biggest question right now. Even when I think about Google, I think my search results are terrible. Like, I don’t even like what I get. I get Reddit and then I get a couple of other things. They’re really old. They don’t make sense. So in general, their product is not good anymore. And that’s frustrating. So you wonder, okay, what other search engines are people using? What about Pinterest?
So with that goal that you have, what are your top three focuses to find your way back to this audience and get back in front of new people, more people? What is your current marketing strategy?
Tomiko: With teaching SEO I talk a lot about content pillars. For me, it’s really about finding new content pillars and making sure those content pillars are filled. For people that don’t know what a content pillar is, your main subject is your overall pillar. I’ll use safety as an example because that’s what I write about.
For example, “Is Mexico safe?” That is going to be my overall pillar. Then I can branch out and say, “Well, is Cancun safe? Is Mexico City safe? Is Tulum safe?” All of these different cities, right? Content around them uplifts your main content pillar, which is the overall safety of Mexico. So I’m thinking about what other content pillars can I write about?
I am also going to start utilizing Facebook. People don’t really utilize Facebook the way they used to because we think— I think people think Facebook is just for old people now.
So my strategy right now is creating new content pillars, utilizing Facebook, utilizing Pinterest, and I’m also going back to LinkedIn.
Kate: Oh, yes! LinkedIn has been a big discovery for me this last year. I find that especially when working with brands or other companies, I can get closer and have more authentic conversations over time, as opposed to something that’s like a cold email pitch or something like that.
Tomiko: Exactly! So the biggest additions to my marketing strategy are Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and then going back to those content pillars.
Related: Business Tips When It’s Hard
Translating Saves into Clicks
Kate: Okay, I love all of this for you.
What is your biggest question about Pinterest going into this next year, Tomiko? If you look at it and you’re thinking, how do I set my expectations or how do I do XYZ? How can I help answer one question for you as you’re leaning into making this a big part of getting those 50,000 sessions?
Tomiko: My question for you is in regards to saves and clicks… My saves are like plus 190%. My saves are so high, but my clicks are down—minus 9%. This morning, it was minus 3.2%. How do you ensure that your pins don’t just create saves but also create a call to action to get people to click now versus later? That is what I’m currently struggling with—how do I go from saves to clicks right now?
Kate: So I’ll back up a little bit and say, saves are the number one indicator that Pinterest’s algorithm looks for. It’s the most important one. The fact that you’re seeing an increase in saves indicates that future traffic is on the way.
The person engaging with your content is planning a trip six to nine months in advance. So, as you invest in it over this next year, you’ll see those numbers continue to rise because you have those saves out there. When someone saves something, Pinterest shows that to more people. It increases reach.
Now, if we want to have calls to action that are more immediate, then we are going to lean into things that say, “Get this before you go on your trip in October,” or “Make sure you have this last-minute packing list”—someone is always going to click on a last-minute packing list. So you’re using things that tell them to click now.
So really think about brainstorming what are those things that people need to know in the last two to three weeks of travel. Use those phrases. What is their panic moment? Not that you want to play on that, but that’s how you serve people, right? That’s how they go, “Oh yes, I’m going to click now.”
It might not be a save, but it’s definitely going to get a click. And if we have both in the system, then you are optimizing for both. It’s kind of like you’re rising both boats where someone last minute is looking in December and February, but someone who’s planning six months in advance might be searching “Is Mexico safe?” That might be their first search because they are thinking of this place to go.
Tomiko: Okay that all makes a lot of sense. Another question I have is, is it necessary to clean your boards?
Kate: Mm-hmm. Yes and no. I would say always in the beginning. If you have been around for 10 years and you set up your Pinterest account eight years ago, when you were like, “Okay, I guess I should get it,” and you haven’t really done much with it—you said it earlier about the content pillars and where you’re going to focus. Does your Pinterest account reflect those content pillars? If not, and there are boards that don’t fit those content pillars, go ahead and move that to secret.
So searching on Pinterest, dusting it off a little bit, getting it updated, and then do it again in a year or something like that. I think that’s helpful for someone who has an established account and hasn’t actually done that. I do that about once a year on mine.
And here’s another thing: I don’t check analytics outside of once a month. Because then I see the full view. I would never do it once a day or even once a week because they’re just too fluctuating.
Tomiko: Okay.
Kate: Yeah, once a month. At the top of the month, we want to run reports for our clients that first week of the month so we can see everything that happened.
I think that’s the beauty of Pinterest: the opportunity to get creative with your images and experiment with your calls to action. You can take the same piece of content and present it in different ways, whether as last-minute tips or long-term planning, which adds an element of fun to the process.
Tomiko: I’m definitely going to do that–create a list of call to actions. Would you recommend using AI, like ChatGPT, to create a list of potential call to actions to use on Pinterest?
Kate: Yeah, definitely! I think of AI as shortening my brainstorm time. Then I’m going to take it and use that as inspiration and turn it into my own. Take those things, especially if they have keywords in them, and cross-compare them with trends.
A simple warning is that I have found ChatGPT is not updated when it comes to Pinterest. It still uses the term “promoted pins,” which is further evidence of these updates on Google being garbage, right? So just be aware of those things when using AI bots.
Tomiko: Right.
Pinterest Is Worth The Work
Kate: I think Pinterest is such a great tool that is a supplement to Google, to email, and to YouTube. I love these tools because they drive traffic and create a deeper connection.
I truly believe that this year holds great potential for you. With everything you’re doing and the questions you’re exploring, achieving your goals is definitely within reach. I’m cheering you on all the way!
Tomiko: I’m cheering me on too! I believe that is going to happen. I am just making sure that I am doing the work and making the necessary marketing strategy changes. Creators have to realize they have to do the work. It doesn’t matter what I have on my vision boards or what I’m looking at—if I’m not actually doing and putting the work in, Pinterest isn’t going to update itself. Google isn’t going to update itself.
I think we have to be realistic: we get out what we put in. For me, this is what I’m really focusing on. I want to use myself as a case study. This is what I did in order to turn my traffic around. So, you know, I’m looking at this as a challenge.
Kate: I want to say one thing, too, about I know you work for TBEX and the community. I just want to affirm what you said about having this community there of people who are so supportive and encouraging. For me, being at the event with you, I saw that. I saw everybody asking those questions and figuring out diversification, really being investigative and collaborative.
I loved how many Black creators were there too. It was so encouraging to see the diversity at the event and just hearing about how they’re starting their business and growing their business.
That makes us all better, right? When we have this diverse community and diverse experiences to share. Just like you’ve shared today, “This is what I did, and this is what I’m experiencing, and this is what I’m going to do going forward.”
My hope is that someone listening will say, “This is my story too, and now I’m encouraged to go forward.”
Tomiko: 100 percent. That’s what makes us all better. We go, “Okay, I’m not alone. Now we can run the race together, and now we can all succeed.”
Kate: Thank you so much for sharing your story with us, Tomiko. Everybody go connect with her, follow along, see what she’s doing, and be encouraged today that the race is not done. We are still running the race and we’re still going to do great things.
Tomiko: Thank you! I loved being here.
More Pinterest Marketing Resources:
Check out Tomiko’s travel blog!
Check out Tomiko’s SEO consulting business!
