October 31, 2024
LOOKING BACK
The website was launched in June 2022.
The original idea was to post just my own reviews, as my Instagram account was having issues (and was eventually banned). The site served as a back-up and searchable directory for the content. When that was finished, I decided to keep working on the site.
In March 2023 I launched the Android and iOS apps. The apps provide the same user experience as the mobile website, but are more easily accessible as shortcuts on a phone.
In March 2023 I started adding new releases as well and I began to build on the database of fragrances.
In recent months I’ve added lists, articles, a fragrance dictionary and books on fragrance.
edit: In March 2024 the name changed to ScentAdvice.com
IN NUMBERS
on October 31, 2023
Total visits: 335,000
Unique visitors: 115,000
Fragrances in the database: 12,622
Fragrances reviewed: 1,371
Android App users: 122
iOs App users: 451
Registered users: 188
Comments: 146
LOOKING FORWARD
DATABASE
The biggest task at hand is to keep expanding the database. I have no wish to be as extensive as some other sites; I’ll be more selective in what brands to feature and keep each entry looking more minimal.
There are about 300 brands completed as of now and I have a list of 580 more brands that I think are important to add/complete, for good coverage (for most enthusiasts). I hope to have added most of those by the end of 2024.
Long term: Once the database is ‘complete’, I plan to revisit the most important brands to clean-up thumbnails, change the way ‘special edition bottles’ are shown and add more info directly from the brands (the way I’ve mostly done with most new releases).
2023 AWARDS
In December I will highlight some of the stand-out fragrances of 2023 and more. The awards will be accompanied by a giveaway.
MONETIZATION
So far I’ve kept the site completely ad free; PR collaborations in my reviews aside. Starting up and running the website and apps comes at a cost however, especially if I want to be able to add features in the future.
I prefer not to run random ads all over, as the site’s light, more minimal and clean character is a defining feature that I want to retain. I will start running some manually picked ads to experiment with.
Instead, I’m considering to sell or commission targeted ad-space (preferably to fragrance stores) to cover the maintenance costs, as well as adding more affiliate codes with a commission, as those are a win-win. There is a donation form at the bottom of the ‘About‘ page for those that are willing to support this project.
FEATURES
To be honest, given the amount of work ahead and my lack of technical skills, I don’t plan to add many more features in the foreseeable future. As mentioned, the focus will be on adding more resources.
• Notes: There will be an extensive database of notes with an explanation for each. I will also include my own thoughts on some. Related to that, I’ve purchased 100 commonly used ingredients to get familiar with in the upcoming months.
• Guest content: I want to open the site up to guest articles and guest reviews (mainly for new or historically significant releases).
• Notifications: I’m exploring the use of push notifications (only when enabled by a registered app user).
• Newsletter: I’m exploring an e-mail newsletter that people can sign-up for to give an overview of new releases each month.
• Profile: Registered users can bookmark fragrances, but I’m not happy with the way this shows up in their profile. The profile application is very limited. This may need an investment and will be a longer term fix.
2024 GOALS
• Visits: I’m happy with the current amount of traffic. As far as I can be this active in posting new releases, I aim for 50,000 visits a month structurally, with a minimum of 500,000 visits in 2024. Lets aim for 750,000.
• Comments: The metric that I’m not happy with, is the interaction/comments. I will explore options to make the site more interactive in 2024 (for example: polls, livechats, giveaways, guest content).
• Database: About 800 brands completed by the end of 2024.