Michael Shoe

Michael

  • How My Small Personal Blog Hit 100K Impressions—And the Strange Posts That Made It Happen

    How My Small Personal Blog Hit 100K Impressions—And the Strange Posts That Made It Happen

    Got another year working and learning on the side while keeping my day job. I will write an annual recap later but for now, I want to go back to the first project that I created, michaelshoe.com/.

    I started this personal site aka blog in January 2025 (or maybe Feb. 2025, can’t be sure) as a learning project. Since then, I’ve written over 100 articles (107 at this point) in nearly 2 years. This project has two folds of meanings:

    1. I was going through transitions in life and I wanted to use writing to clear my head
    2. I wanted to get better at using tech

    TL; DR

    Learnings summary:

    1. The biggest lesson: 10% of the product drives 90% of the results. 
    2. An even bigger lesson: you don’t know where results will come from beforehand; often they show up in the most surprising and unexpected place. For example, the biggest contributor to my site’s traffic is a series of solutions to Code in Place problems which I didn’t really expect too much from. 
    3. Search engine favors SOLUTION. If you want to leverage search as a discovery mechanism, create SOLUTIONS to peoples problems. This can mean in the most literal sense – like solutions to test problems!
    4. Other than SOLUTIONS, people also want RESOURCES – like transcripts of stories. For example, if you have a voice transcribe AI company you might create thousands of transcripts to different types of stories to drive traffic.
    5. A field such as finance is searched a lot and Google will try to serve as many relevant pages to a keyword as possible. However, this field is so competitive that your chance to rank high is very low.
    6. Search engine is an intent-solution matching entity in nature. Looking from a different perspective, the relationship between the site showing up on a SERP and the user clicking it is very transactional. After solving the problem, the user will quickly forget who you are and may never come back. This is where other types of platforms/ channels such as social media come in if you want to cultivate a parasocial relationship.

    Intro

    Before I started the blog, things just appeared so difficult in my head, and I just couldn’t push myself to even thinking about creating a site of my own. After I started, things were definitely unfamiliar to me, but I managed to navigate the unknowns by Googling and watching a lot of Youtube tutorials. 

    Until now (Dec. 2025), michaelshoe.com/ has generated close to 109K impressions from Google Search and over 1400 clicks. 

    Aside from all the small learnings here and there, the biggest lesson from this project really comes down to this:

    10% of the product drives 90% of the results.

    The imbalance between my input and output is beyond me. And this is what I mean: a handful of articles drive the bulk of clicks to my blog. It’s not like anything I’ve done before where things are just – “linear” in nature. 

    84 of the 124 posts have 0 clicks.

    In other words, 68% of my writing has never been read by anybody other than me. Well, even I don’t read them after the writing. Only 40 posts have generated traffic and most are extremely low (think low single digitals).

    1 post is responsible for almost half of the site’s traffic.

    48% to be exact. Just from this one post: https://www.michaelshoe.com/checkerboard-karel-solution/

    The post (as well as five other posts) were solutions to coding problems from Code in Place – a free online coding course provided by Stanford University. I participated in Code in Place in 2024, and published these solutions on my personal blog.

    This checkerboard karel solution gets a total of 8620 impressions from Google Search Result Pages, and around 8% of those impressions results into actual clicks to the post, or a total of 692 clicks.

    In addition, it takes time for Google to trust you.

    I wrote the Checkerboard Karel Solution (and other solutions) around May 2024 but it took a year until Code in Place 2025 for the posts to get traffic. This was when Code in Place was held again and probably many learners started to Google the solutions.

    The top 2 posts is responsible for 70% of traffic, and the top 10 posts for 93%.

    Outside of the top 10 posts, page traffic soon gets down to below 10. Posts 28 and beyond all have exactly ONE page visit each. 

    There are not only 1, but 5 ‘Code in Place’ solutions in the top 10 posts.

    I have marked all Code in Place solutions in red and as you can see, 5 of the top 10 posts belong to this category and all top 4 are occupied by it. 

    Each of the top 4 posts ranks as the first for its main keyword. For example, my checkerboard karel solution post is currently ranking just below the Google search bar, and before the Youtube results. Here is its SERP in incognito mode:

    My other series – the Financial Analysis – have huge impressions with close-to-nothing traffic

    The post that generates the most impressions among all is this: https://www.michaelshoe.com/how-to-understand-cash-inflow-and-outflow/

    Which has over 25,000 impressions but because its average position is so far below, it never gets clicked, generating a grand total of 0 traffic.

    I have written many posts in this series and seeing that none got read definitely doesn’t excite me. However it doesn’t really surprise me that much. 

    An unexpected surprise – my Matthew Dicks transcript series have some of the highest click through rate

    I learned storytelling by reading Matthew Dicks’ book “Storyworthy” and got really fascinated by the subject. I went on to watch some of Matthew telling the stories on Youtube and then created transcripts of the stories for further studying. 

    Even though this series of posts don’t have lots of impressions – like the one post with the most impressions only has 345 ranking at 31st – the CTRs are all surprisingly high. 11 of the 20 highest CTR posts are from this storytelling series.

    What to do with all the analysis

    Moving forward, I think it is important to understand all the learnings but I shouldn’t revolve all my writing around it. Like only write about solutions or create resources for people to find. We humans do have the drive to create things and writing can be just purely therapeutic. 

    However, I also have sites that I want to promote via writing, and these learnings can be very useful. This way I won’t waste time writing things with low traffic potential.

  • How to File a Complaint with the CFPB (Step-by-Step Guide + Screenshots)

    How to File a Complaint with the CFPB (Step-by-Step Guide + Screenshots)

    Bank of America froze me out of my bank account a while ago due to some technicalities and now my account is in danger of being treated as abandoned property because it hadn’t been accessed for some time. Even though I have been calling their customer support consistently – which is outright useless and disrespectful most of the time – the problem persisted. Thanks to Reddit community r/BankofAmerica, I filed a report on Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and within one day, I heard back from Bank of America via email and a phone call. I don’t know if the problem can eventually be resolved, but I do want to document the process of filing the report online on CFPB so more people can know and understand how to do it. In the meantime, will just keep my fingers crossed!

    First, find the site – CFPB

    CFPB is in charge of consumer financial protection (as its name suggests) and the first step is the locate the right website. You can Google CFPB or click the link here or use the link above to go to the sign up page directly. This is what the website looks like (and the “file a complaint” option is down when you scroll):

    cfpb official site: you can see it’s official coz “An official website of the United States government”

    Second, sign up

    Then there is the sign up process which doesn’t require too much info and is very straightforward. Then you go to the file process which has 5 steps to follow. Do notice that the site doesn’t really have a “save” option so it is better to prepare in advance and file the complaint in one sitting.

    Third, the actual filing steps

    Step 1: what is this complaint about?

    Then choose the product or service that best matches your complaint.

    After that, choose what type of banking product.

    Step 2: What type of problem are you having?

    Choose the topic that best fits your complaint.

    Choose which option best describes your problem.

    Afterwards, choose actions you have already taken to make things happen (but obviously failed).

    Step 3: What happened?

    First, describe what happened, and CFPB will send your comments to the companies involved.

    Then you suggest a fair solution to the issue.

    Optionally, you can attach any document you think might help.

    Step 4: What company is this complaint about?

    Basic contact info. You don’t have to fill your demo info if you don’t want to since this is just helping CFPB better understand the people they are serving.

    After submission, you will get to this page:

    I don’t know why banks still function like this even when so much technology exists (and they still declare they care about tech advancement in their org!). Life is hard enough, and these large corporations are making it harder for the everyday people. Hope everybody can get out of the issues they are facing! And don’t loose faith! (follow me on X if you want for any reason @themichaelshoe.)

  • You Don’t Need More Time — You Need Energy

    You Don’t Need More Time — You Need Energy

    There are days when I can do absolutely nothing.

    Not because I don’t have time — but because I lack the energy.

    Even the smallest tasks, like replying to an email, feel heavy. Every action demands more than I have to give.

    It’s not burnout, exactly. It’s more like my mind hasn’t recovered. My body might be fine, but my head isn’t there.

    In my younger years, I would force myself to push through it.
    I thought that was discipline — being tough, staying on track no matter what.

    But it’s not discipline. It’s denial.

    Because in life, there are things that drain our energy and things that restore it. The real discipline is in knowing which is which.

    Everyone needs energy to function, especially if you’re trying to perform at a high level. You can have all the time in the world, but if you don’t have the energy, nothing moves.

    So what should you do when you have no energy?
    Simple: do things that help you restore it.

    For me, that’s writing. It’s my way of thinking clearly — a way to rebuild mental order when everything feels scattered.
    When I write, my thoughts realign. And slowly, energy comes back.

    For someone else, that might be cooking.
    Or making tea.
    Or spending time with people who refill your tank instead of draining it.

    Time isn’t an absolute thing.
    It only matters when it’s paired with leverage and energy.
    That’s when you see progress.

    Until then, it’s okay to pause — and let yourself come back to life.

  • A Wandering Mind is An Unhappy Mind

    A Wandering Mind is An Unhappy Mind

    The being is not a philosophy.
    It’s not something you think about or debate.

    It’s a state of mind.

    It’s doing the first thing that pops into your head — without hesitation, without second-guessing. Just do.

    A wandering mind is an unhappy mind. You don’t get progress from thinking, and you don’t get clarity from waiting for the perfect moment.

    Clarity comes through action.
    Action squashes anxiety.
    Action moves the needle.

    You might say, “What if it’s just a thought with no action required?”
    Then write it down.

    A thought not recorded is nothing. Writing gives it form, and form gives it space to become something later.

    That’s what being is — not theory, not philosophy, but practice.
    Doing what arises. Writing what matters.
    No overthinking, no delay.

    Just being.

  • The Hidden Factor That Determines Career Pay and Growth (It’s Not Passion)

    The Hidden Factor That Determines Career Pay and Growth (It’s Not Passion)

    When I was in my early 20s, I believed that passion was the single most important factor in choosing a career. I thought:

    • If I work in an area I love, I’ll stay motivated.
    • Even if it doesn’t pay well, I’ll figure it out.
    • And if I make it to the “top” of the industry, I’ll be fine.

    My passion was sports. I wasn’t an athlete, but I wanted to work in the sports industry. I was willing to grind it out, even working for free to get experience—just like countless others trying to break in.

    What I didn’t realize back then was that passion alone isn’t enough. There are other forces that shape your career trajectory—forces that are much bigger than your own motivation. Over time, I came to understand three of them: geography, competition, and value creation.

    The Geography Factor

    Where you work matters more than I ever imagined. Certain industries are highly concentrated in just a handful of cities. Sports is one of them—there are only so many teams, league offices, and opportunities.

    And this goes the same for other industries too. Tech has Silicon Valley. Finance has New York and London. These hubs create dense ecosystems of opportunity. I wasn’t in any of those cities—and that alone limited my options, no matter how passionate or capable I was.

    The Competition Factor

    I underestimated the difficulty of making it to the top. Sports attracts young, passionate people who are willing to work for free just for a chance. The supply of labor is endless, and the demand is limited. That imbalance keeps pay low, even for higher-level positions.

    The Value Creation Factor

    This was my biggest realization.

    In sports, the core value is created by athletes. Without NBA players, there is no NBA. That’s why they earn unbelievable salaries. League office staff and executives add value, but they’re not the reason fans buy tickets or tune in to watch. Even top roles at the league office pay a fraction of what you might expect.

    I remember seeing a job posting for a director-level position at the NFL league office. The salary? $100,000–$160,000. Sounds decent, until you compare it with other industries.

    A Palantir engineer intern makes about $120,000.
    A Jane Street engineer intern makes $250,000.

    At first, I thought: that’s just tech and finance vs. sports. Different industries, different economics. But then it hit me: those engineers are part of the core value creation in their companies.

    Palantir is a software company. Without engineers, it doesn’t exist. Jane Street is a quantitative trading firm. Without technologists and quants building the algorithms, there’s no business.

    In other words, engineers in those firms are the equivalent of NFL players. They’re the ones driving the value engine.

    A Story That Stuck With Me

    Dharmesh Shah, CTO and cofounder of HubSpot, once told a story that hammered this point home for me. Early in his career, he worked as a tech in a traditional industry. He quickly became the best at what he did. But a senior colleague told him: “It won’t matter how good you are in this industry because tech isn’t the main value driver here.”

    That was a wake-up call for him—and it became one for me too.

    The Big Lesson

    If you want outsized returns in your career, it’s not enough to be good. You need to be good at something that sits at the core of value creation in your industry.

    • In sports, that’s being an athlete.
    • In tech, that’s being an engineer or founder.
    • In finance, that’s being a trader, quant, or engineer.
    • In healthcare, that’s being a physician or innovator.
    • In entertainment, that’s being the artist or creator.

    Everyone else can still have fulfilling careers, but the leverage—and the money—will always flow to the core.

    Looking Back, Looking Forward

    If I could go back to my 20s, I wouldn’t tell myself to abandon passion. Passion matters. It keeps you going when things get tough. But I would tell myself this:

    “Make sure your passion intersects with value creation. That’s where you’ll find both meaning and upside.”

    That’s the framework I carry with me now—whether I’m evaluating industries, jobs, or even side projects. And it’s the one piece of advice I’d give to anyone just starting out.