Countries
One important new development for 2011 will be the creation of more regional guides. Thanks to ongoing conversations with new partners, women in Canada, the United Kingdom and parts of Europe, and Australia, can expect to see "mini" Choice Mom resources growing on the website this year. Although the United States drives 10 times as much traffic to ChoiceMoms.org as does Canada, its nearest competitor, this is partly because it is so U.S.-centric. As I've talked about with women in other countries recently, that will start to change as we have the resources to put efforts into useful content for our community in other regions as well, where there is even stronger need to understand donor policies, fertility clinics who will work with single women, and where and how women are networking.

Number-wise, Canada is currently the #2 market, followed by United Kingdom and Australia. After that, in order, the Top 10 list from the past year includes: Italy, Germany, Brazil, South Africa, New Zealand and France. Interestingly, several of those countries technically don't allow single women to build families, which is why our new international guides will become so helpful, helping women find the places they need to go for more information. If you want to be one of the coordinators in those areas to help us build content on ChoiceMoms.org, let us know at info at choicemom.org. I also read that Spain is showing increasing numbers of Choice Moms, so....welcome to the journey senoritas!

Cities
Our top markets, in order: New York City, Minneapolis, San Francisco, Los Angeles, London, Washington D.C., Austin, Seattle, La Jolla, Chicago. Note that this does not include compilations of nearby cities, such as Brooklyn, St. Paul, Oakland, so it is based on sheer numbers in those specific cities. Other areas that have high interest: Atlanta, Charlotte, Baltimore suburbs, Toronto, Philadelphia, Denver, Portland (Oregon), San Jose, Melbourne. Note that here, too, we are starting to work with sponsors who will bring us more regional information of value to women in our top markets. I already have several women in these markets in mind for helping generate content for your own mini-website in those cities, but welcome your interest if you'd like to take part (and earn a little extra cash!)

What stage are we in?
Not surprisingly, Thinkers and Tryers make up most of the traffic from our loyal visitors. Again, that's partly because that is where ChoiceMoms.org focused its efforts in 2010, and we have plans for expansion in 2011 to those women in the Waiting, Becoming and Being stages as well.

Special interests
The strongest single issue topic on the website, interestingly, continues to be Home Insemination. Money (specifically the article on "Can I Afford This?", using a Donor (sperm, egg, embryo) and Fertility (especially the article on "How to conceive as a single woman") follow closely.

Our new Resources section, and the Guide to Support Networks from City-to-City, both unveiled just this fall, are quickly become the most popular places on the website.

Other very popular specific articles: "Our three biggest regrets in hindsight," which is an audio clip from our Choice Chat podcast; "Five steps for at-home insemination;" the overview About Choice Moms; and "Fresh vs. frozen sperm.

Although our section on resources is new, some of the offerings there are pulling in very high numbers, primarily: Our Top 10 Choice Mom Profiles of 2010, Some of the Fertility Doctors We Like,, and Our Best of ChoiceMoms.org Tips from 2010 e-book.

The ChoiceMoms.org Mission
Our goal when we launched the new website on February 12, 2010, was to increase the numbers of women returning to the website. Previously, the website was primarily serving new visitors, with less of interest to entice women to return for ongoing, new content. I'm happy to report that we met that goal very well: 53% of our visitors are coming to ChoiceMoms.org for the first time, compared to 47% returning. I expect to report next year that our Returning visitors are well in the majority.

I am also very proud that women spend an average of five minutes on the website each time they come, which is strong (since the average includes spammers who try, unsuccessfully, to post a comment...I moderate all comments personally). We plan to keep developing more fresh content each week that is of value and interest to you. And, as always, I welcome your help in doing so. Share your stories, recommend service providers that helped you, ask questions of our experts, and respond in the Comments field to articles that move you.

Last year the focus of the website was on finding the insights and resources to help women "Simplify" their life. I look forward to 2011, when we will put a particular emphasis on connecting together in "Conscious Conversation."

Mikki
Founder, Choice Moms®