Reddit: Discussions on Blogging

I’ve read through a number of posts regarding blogging, and there are essentially a few recurring questions that every beginner tends to focus on:

First:

In 2026, is blogging still necessary? Is it still worth the effort?

Second:

If the goal is to make money, should one choose YouTube or a blog?

Third:

What is the actual income of someone who runs a blog full-time? How do blogs generate revenue? What are the various monetization methods available?

Fourth:

Roughly how long does it take for a new blog site to get indexed by search engines? A day? A week? A month?

Fifth:

What specific actions need to be taken to ensure a blog site gets indexed by search engines? For instance: creating a sitemap, using IndexNow, building backlinks, leveraging social media, etc.?

Sixth:

Which framework is best for building a blog? WordPress? Hero? Astro? Or something else? And which web hosting server should one choose?

Seventh:

What kind of content works best for a blog? Technical topics? Business insights? Food and recipes? Or perhaps a personal journal?

Eighth:

How can a blog quickly gain traffic? How should one go about setting up SEO?

Ninth:

Should AI be used to assist in writing blog posts? Or should one attempt to create a fully automated, AI-driven blog?

My Experience

I deployed my blog yesterday evening and, at the same time, submitted it to both Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools.

Yesterday, I manually submitted the URLs for several articles via Bing Webmaster Tools; I also published three new articles that day. I chose Astro as the framework for my blog, deployed it on Cloudflare Workers, and am hosting it on my own custom domain.

Today, I configured my sitemap and submitted it to both Bing and Google Search Console.

Also today, I set up a Cloudflare Workers script to utilize the Bing IndexNow API, through which I submitted five specific URLs. Here is the conclusion:

Both Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools typically take around 48 hours to analyze data for a new blog site (at least, that is the timeframe indicated within their respective administrative dashboards).

Therefore, you should not expect to see any indexing status updates or traffic data until at least two days after you have submitted your site to these webmaster tools. However, that alone is not sufficient; as I mentioned earlier, you must also pay close attention to your sitemap and the IndexNow protocol.

I recommend prioritizing the creation of a sitemap and submitting it to both Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools. This is because sitemaps are a universal standard recognized by all search engines, whereas IndexNow appears to be a feature exclusive to Bing Webmaster Tools.

I will not go into further detail here regarding the specific steps for configuring a sitemap within Astro. For such technical procedures, it is far more efficient to consult an AI assistant (such as ChatGPT), which can help you resolve any errors in real time.

I am merely pointing you in the right direction; I do not wish to take the time to compile a dedicated tutorial on the subject.

The image below is a screenshot of the Bing sitemap interface; you can simultaneously submit your sitemap to Google Search Console as well.

I used Node.js and my own website to submit an IndexNow request to Bing, but so far, there has been no visible effect—no data is being displayed.

I suspect I’ll probably have to wait until the day after tomorrow; the data will likely appear in about two days. For the time being, I’m relying solely on my sitemap.

Incidentally, reflecting on my own habits: how do you typically use search engines?

I’ve spent the entire day today researching one specific question:

How can I get Bing and Google Search Console to index my site quickly?

Roughly how long does it take for Bing to index a new blog site? (If it takes several months to start generating traffic, then I won’t bother obsessing over my blog’s analytics right now. Instead, I’ll just update it gradually, wait a few months before checking the data again, and allocate my time to other, more critical areas.)

How can a new website boost its indexation rate and increase traffic? (I’d prefer not to rely on social media; if I’m going to spend that much time on it, I might as well focus on managing social media accounts directly rather than worrying about the blog itself. My primary goal is to research SEO—specifically, SEO strategies that exist outside the realm of social media.)

To summarize:

Currently, I only turn to search engines for answers when AI tools fail to provide them. Specifically, I look for answers that require input or data provided by real human beings—for instance: “How many daily visits does Blog A receive, and how much revenue does it generate per month?” or “What are the daily traffic figures and monthly earnings for Blog B?” These are questions that ChatGPT cannot answer—and even if it tried, ChatGPT is prone to fabricating information and cannot be trusted. On platforms like Reddit, however, users often share such details; while the information isn’t always 100% reliable, one can generally distinguish between credible and non-credible claims.

For example, once two days have passed and Bing finally starts displaying data for my site, I’ll be able to share screenshots of my Bing Webmaster Tools dashboard.

Furthermore, once one of my blog posts finally gets indexed, I’ll be able to document exactly how long it took for that first article to appear in search results, outline the specific steps I took to achieve it, and offer some key tips that newcomers should know in advance.

Blogging and YouTube

Only children distinguish between right and wrong; only children limit themselves to an “either/or” choice.

If you are an adult, the best approach is to want it all and do it all—the only variable is the specific ratio or balance between them.

Is it still worth writing a blog in 2026? Is it worth running a YouTube channel?

My answer is: Yes, it is worth it—and the sooner, the better. This is because every endeavor comes with a time lag; you need to prepare for this in advance. As I’ve mentioned before, it takes two days just to see initial data, and a month before your content is likely to be indexed by search engines. This time barrier alone is enough to deter—and shut out—a great many people.

Blogging relies on text as its medium of expression, while YouTube relies on video. Each has its own suitable context, and the two serve to complement one another.

Regardless of whether or not it generates income, my answer remains the same: It is worth it—and the faster you start, the better.

Roughly how long does it take for a new blog site to get indexed by search engines? A day? A week? A month?

I don’t know. This reminds me of the approval process for Google AdSense; I have two websites:

One site had been applying for six months; I updated the blog daily, and it had decent traffic, yet it was rejected several times before finally getting approved.

The other blog had been open for just one day, during which I posted three short journal-style entries. By the third day, it was immediately approved for Google AdSense. I hadn’t done any extra optimization—no privacy policy, no SEO tweaks, nothing—I simply wrote some casual content, submitted it for review, and it passed.

There seemed to be absolutely no logic to it.

I won’t be able to give a definitive answer regarding exactly how long it takes until this specific blog of mine gets indexed for the first time by Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools.

Other Questions

I created this blog specifically to support my YouTube channel.

I use it as a visual aid or presentation script for my videos; this saves me from having to create separate PowerPoint decks or capture individual screenshots for my demonstrations.

Secondly, I plan to use it in the future to drive external traffic to my YouTube channel—specifically from search engines like Google and Bing.

I want to conduct an experiment: How can I leverage a blog site to generate 2x—or even 10x—more traffic for my YouTube channel? (Of course, this assumes the blog site gets indexed by search engines relatively quickly.)

Down the road, I may also release e-books or paid courses.

For example: How to set up a site using Astro? How to optimize a blog for SEO? How to optimize a YouTube channel for SEO? How to generate “passive income” (via blogging or YouTube)? How to become a digital nomad? How to run a “one-person business”? How to set up your own creative studio? How to utilize AI (for creating short-form videos, other creative projects, or monetization)?