How a CRA Audit Scare Taught Me to Read Pinterest Analytics More Carefully

This is a newsletter I sent to my subscribers last week. I publish the newsletters on my website; however, I edit out some information from the public versions.

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Picture this: You’re having your morning coffee, lazily flipping through a thin stack of mail…

…then you open a random envelope and see:

“AUDIT NOTICE – CANADA REVENUE AGENCY”

Your heart stops. Your coffee goes cold. Your brain immediately starts calculating worst-case scenarios.

That was me last week 😫

And let me tell you – I went from zero to full panic mode in about 3.7 seconds.

I will tell you everything about it in a sec because first, my new video about Pinterest analytics that demonstrates exactly the principle I will be talking about in the rest of the post:

🚨 The Audit Panic Mode

This was the first audit for my business (I have a Corporation – basically the Canadian equivalent of an LLC in the US), and I immediately went into crisis mode.

I’m sure all of you pay taxes from your online income, too, so you know that sinking feeling when government letters arrive.

I canceled everything, including this newsletter and my planned YouTube video, to focus on gathering documentation.

I spent two days frantically downloading receipts and invoices from various platforms.

My Dropbox folder looked like a digital hurricane had hit it – thousands of PDFs scattered across dozens of subfolders with names like “Receipts_FINAL_v4” and “Expenses_Actually_Final_This_Time.”

But then, I did something that should have been my first step…

🔍 The Reality Check

I re-read the letter. Carefully. Word by word.

Turns out, they only needed me to provide proof for the 10 biggest expenses in one category (external services) 🤦‍♀️

That’s it 🤦‍♀️

I only had 8 expenses in that category, plus one journal record made by my accountant.

When I asked her about it, she said: “We’ll take care of it, don’t worry.”

All that panic… for basically nothing 🤷‍♀️

💸 The Expensive SEO Lesson

But looking at those biggest expenses brought back some painful memories.

Most of the significant costs were for SEO services that ultimately proved completely ineffective.

Here’s why I needed them (or thought I did):

2022-2023 was the largest revenue year for my corporation, but also the year with the highest expenses.

I made a significant investment in SEO services – the one advertised by Matt Diggity. This was for my 🐪 Website several months before everything started going downhill after the HCU (Helpful Content Update).

The services included:

✅ External link building

✅ Technical SEO audits and fixes

✅ Content optimization

Total cost: Almost $20,000 🤯

Results: A pure waste of money 😭

📉 The Pre-HCU SEO Gold Rush

As you know very well, 2022-2023 was peak SEO service madness, but also the beginning of the end for many niche sites.

Google had been quietly testing algorithm changes throughout 2022, targeting what they called “thin content” and “made for SEO” websites. Sites were starting to see unexplained traffic drops months before the official HCU launched in September 2022.

SEO agencies were charging premium prices because the industry was flush with cash – but Google was already preparing to pull the rug out from under us.

The writing was on the wall: they were systematically going after niche websites that relied heavily on SEO traffic.

I totally missed the warning signs and threw money at a problem that was about to become unsolvable anyway.

The HCU was just the nail in the coffin of what had already been happening behind the scenes.

🎯 My Key Lesson

“Read your data carefully and act based on the data, not on your feelings.”

This applies to everything:

⚠️ Tax audit letters (read them fully before panicking)

⚠️ SEO investments (look at the actual algorithm trends)

⚠️ Pinterest analytics (which brings me to the next chapter…)

📌 Pinner Analytics: Secret Tool Pros Use

That’s the tool I am talking about in the video above.

Pinner Analytics is like Google Search Console for Pinterest.

While Pinterest’s built-in analytics only shows about 6 months of data, Pinner Analytics stores your exported files and builds a complete history 😋

Grab your copy through my affiliate link and get 25% off any plan with my promo code 👉👉👉 Loc25OFF”:

👉 https://pinneranalytics.com/?ref=nadya-pa

❗The earlier you start tracking, the more history you’ll have to guide future decisions.

🦃 What’s Next

Thanksgiving is approaching at full speed, and I want to make the most of it and the holiday season in general.

I’ve been digging into the revenue data from my 🐮 Website – specifically the part affected by my Pinterest pivot.

In the next newsletter, which my subscribers have recieved already 😉, I’ll share those findings with you.

After all, I initiated this entire pivot to increase revenue from this website.

The big question: Is it actually working?

We shall see!

🤔 I’m Curious…

Have you ever had that moment where you panicked about something business-related, only to discover it wasn’t nearly as bad as you imagined?

Or maybe you’ve thrown money at SEO services that didn’t pan out?

Hit reply and share your story – I’d love to know I’m not the only one who’s been there!

Meanwhile, have a wonderful weekend ❤️

Nadya

P.S. The audit taught me to read data carefully before reacting – which is exactly what I demonstrate in my new Pinterest analytics video. Maybe I should make a follow-up: “How to Read Government Letters Without Panicking” 😅