Not posting as frequently as I'd like but sort of muddling along and making a bit of progress. There has been some talk and sharing of stats of late and I thought I'd get in on the topic as I am a stats nerd at heart, even if I have little aptitude for being a true statistician.
First off the page view numbers, while they can give you the warm fuzzies, are never going to be a true reflection of the "success" of your blog. There are too many bots and vagaries of the internet to really know how many souls are actually reading your stuff. Also take into account that feed readers tend not to give you page views it is all together possible that people are actually reading your stuff and it's just not tracking. So what I'm trying to say is that don't let your page views numbers get in your head for good or bad.
Numbers of followers. This number feels a little more personal. "They like me, they really like me." It is nice to get new followers, and it does feel a tad sad when one drops off, even if I can't tell who it was, but keep in mind that people can also follow your blog without actually subscribing via the followers widget. I also try to follow back everyone who follows me, so let me know if I've some how missed your blog.
Comments. To me it is the interaction with other bloggers via comments that is the true fun of blogging. I know that it can seem daunting to comment on some of the more popular blogs, and you may really not have anything more to say than "me too" but it's a simple way to show that you actually read and care about what someone had to say.
So on to the numbers. As of writing this I have. 131 Followers and 82484 page views.
I added the flag counter in September as I was interested in more than just the top 10 countries. The top ten all time are:
Well on my way to be New Zealand's fourth most popular 1/72 scale fantasy blog promoting Two Hour Wargames.
My views took a hit when I ditched dynamic views, you can see the time I used it between January and July of this year.
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| Getting back to respectable monthly numbers of a little over 3K per month. |
It's interesting to see what you all like:
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| Most popular search terms |
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| Most popular posts. |
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| Not all bots. |
So thanks for reading the blog and commenting. I just want to encourage anyone who has started a blog to not worry about the numbers. Share yourself and your passion and get out there and network with other bloggers. It's easier than all that painting and modelling. ;)
Now, if your still here, you need to know about Monty's giveaway here. He's passed 50K views and has a great blog. So follow him, leave a comment and possibly win some kit.
Welcome to Sun of York. Thanks for following and commenting. You friend connect doesn't list your blog so please let me know if you have one.
That's it for this one. Kids homework and Football practice before going to the gym. Bleh.
Nice one Sean!!!! I love stats!
ReplyDeleteThanks Ray. Stats are fun to see where people are coming from and what they are looking at when they don't comment.
Deleteits all lies :)
ReplyDeleteI like many have stopped looking at my stats anymore its just not a reflection of how active your blog is.
Peace James
Hi James. You are correct. I try to look at the stats as a bit of fun and not get too hung up on them.
DeleteInteresting thoughts on statistics. I like that flag counter... Where is it on the blogger interface to insert?
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for the promotion. ;-)
Hi Stefan. You have to go to flagcounter.com and input your blog url. They will spit back a bit of code for you to put in an html gadget on your blog layout. The main thing is it starts from when you input your url, You can't go back in time. No problem on the promotion, your blog is great and I'm happy to do it.
DeleteAnd there was me thinking i was doing well with 28 followers!
ReplyDeleteHi Snickit. 28 followers for only a couple of months open is actually pretty good. My blog has been going for almost two and a half years and I've pretty much bribed many of the followers to join with giveaways. So don't worry about it too much, just blog about what interests you.
DeleteI do, no worries, I'm just glad someone out there reads it, however many souls that may be!
DeleteGood attitude Snickit. I enjoy your blog.
DeleteFlag counters are nice :-) , but I agree that the real fun (and measure of success?) is the quantity and quality of the comments.
ReplyDeleteAs for the drop after ditching dynamic views, that's natural, I think. If my experience was anything to go by, I'd have to reload your dynamic-view posts 4 or 5 times each before I could see them properly. It doesn't mean that you had 5 times as many interested people before...
Hi Hugh, yeah I'm definitely more interested in the comments, thanks for commenting. There were definitely some wonky things going on with dynamic views and I'm glad I ditched it for a whole host of reasons.
DeleteAbsolutely fascinating, I've noticed recently that I'm getting less spam and wondered if Blogger have tightened up there control?
ReplyDeleteHi Michael, I'm glad you enjoyed the post, For some reason I get zero spam so I am baffled as to why people put so many controls on their blogs. In a few days I will unleash what I hope will be a campaign that will catch on.
DeleteAlways a pleasure to drop in here Sean, keep it coming my friend.
ReplyDeleteThanks Fran, I'm glad you enjoy your stops by here and that you take the time to comment.
DeleteHi Andrew, the flag counter is interesting. I just wish I was able to see past 10 countires from the beginning. Oh well.
ReplyDeleteA great article. I always worry about the numbers on my blog. Furthermore, getting new people to come to my blog and comment is something I seem to always have a problem with.
ReplyDeleteOh well. bit by bit, i guess I have to work my way through. Need to do more networking I guess.
By the way, Great stats Sean! Always a pleasure dropping by. (:
HI Jiaqi, networking will definitely help to increase your traffic. When I've cross posted to forums I get a lot more views. I try to get people to come to the blog rather than post the full text at the forum or wherever. Conversely if I post on another blog I usually post a link on my blog to that post. That way I'm not double dipping.
DeleteGiving people an opportunity to win something if they follow your blog does get you more followers. So if you have some stuff on hand you're willing to part with or can get a donation of a product, that works pretty well.
Glad you enjoy the blog.
Thanks for the tip Sean! :) much is appreciated!
DeleteNo problem Jiaqi.
DeleteYou're absolutly right about comments. I sometimes neglect them and just browse by, but you got me thinking. Anyway, great work you're doing here, keep it up! Best regards, Tobi
ReplyDeleteHi Tobi, thanks for commenting. Sometimes I only have time to just look, and sometimes I don't really have anything to add. I just know that I get a lift from people commenting so I try to give that back. It also doesn't hurt to show your face on blogs here and there so other bloggers get to know you, so to speak.
DeleteSean your right about comments, a much better way to track the popularity of your blog
ReplyDeleteHi Scotty, thanks for commenting. Comments at least are a concrete measure. Views seem to be a little more ephemeral. The real trick is figuring out what will start a conversation.
Delete