tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post7881163712286691918..comments2024-03-28T22:21:46.973-07:00Comments on Tossing It Out: Respect by the Numbers: Do Pageviews Matter?Arlee Birdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11663942782929929334noreply@blogger.comBlogger51125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-25945078705269412172013-10-26T00:00:50.343-07:002013-10-26T00:00:50.343-07:00Fascinating post Lee! I try not to focus on pagev...Fascinating post Lee! I try not to focus on pageviews and other metrics too much as it can be discouraging. But I like how you analyzed your numbers and discovered the reasons behind the spikes. If commenting drops, my visits do drop as well. Everyone likes their back scratched, too. So the big question is, which is more productive, commenting on other blogs or using that time to make a very shareable post? Off to see your viral blogger interview!Buck Inspirehttp://buckinspire.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-386388932796169892013-10-24T12:32:36.937-07:002013-10-24T12:32:36.937-07:00Julie -- Please do be here for my Friday post. My...Julie -- Please do be here for my Friday post. My rambling goes on a lot but the best words come from the voice of experience.<br /><br />Susanne -- And with social blogging we never seem to get very caught up do we.<br /><br />Lee<br />Arlee Birdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11663942782929929334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-9673506025014494572013-10-24T12:16:10.840-07:002013-10-24T12:16:10.840-07:00Arlee, very interesting post. I definitely see my...Arlee, very interesting post. I definitely see my numbers drop if I get behind in my blog reading. I notice they pick up when I get caught up. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on your stats.<br /> Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-46886579074691152572013-10-24T10:53:14.562-07:002013-10-24T10:53:14.562-07:00You certainly have done your homework! Interesting...You certainly have done your homework! Interesting points about search engines too. Looking forward to what your guest has to say tomorrow.<br /><br />JulieEmpty Nest Insiderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10074223969046687064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-61621630766953128422013-10-24T10:27:45.838-07:002013-10-24T10:27:45.838-07:00Yeamie-- I'm not concerned about the decline i...Yeamie-- I'm not concerned about the decline in regard to my series since I understand why it happened and it makes sense. I am somewhat surprised about the increase in activity in this post as I thought it would be the one of least interest since it dealt with numbers. More views and an increase in comments most which are rather outstanding. I guess more people are interested in numbers than I had thought.<br /><br />Yolanda -- Confusion can draw unexpected visitors. I'm sure if my URL or blog title contained my real name I would see false hits since I share my real name with so many others and many of those might be searched with some frequency.<br /><br />Jess -- Stats are a science that can be of great use for those who understand what they mean. I wish I knew more.<br /><br />Stephanie -- I'm sure that search results can have a big impact.<br /><br />Rob -- Sometimes I find that leaving comments is the most interesting and creative part of blogging, though it can be very time consuming.<br /><br />Clarissa -- Commenting on other blogs has the biggest effect though I can see that your Facebook promo drew my friend magician/entertainer Chuck Windley to leave a comment. I was very surprised to see his comment on your site. I know he is on Facebook a lot.<br /><br />Lee<br /><br /><br />Arlee Birdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11663942782929929334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-18562789962583206192013-10-24T09:07:29.428-07:002013-10-24T09:07:29.428-07:00Since your post regarding respect and bloggers I t...Since your post regarding respect and bloggers I try not to obsess over the page view count, but try to concentrate on delivering worthy content and interacting with the folks. <br /><br />Nevertheless, I did notice that my latest blog post received more comments than usual and I was very excited about that. I know eight comments (including two of mine I believe) is a small number for many but heck, it was like a landslide for me! Lol! I'm pretty sure it occurred because I've been reading and commenting on other blogs more often and I posted about it Facebook. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03842761852069023467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-7696762717606853112013-10-24T05:27:59.736-07:002013-10-24T05:27:59.736-07:00This is certainly a subject people are interested ...This is certainly a subject people are interested in even if most say they don't care. As it happens I am the perfect example of a blogger who is not so good at leaving comments on other blogs, I do have about four maybe five I follow closely and always comment on their posts and maybe another four or five I comment on but erratically. Mainly because I like their blogs but not all the subject matter is of interest to me (such as your own) then the others I follow I sometimes comment but it is very very rare although I do stop by and have a read from time to time. <br /><br />So I am not really very interactive so lucky to get more than single figure comments even at the best of times. At present my blog gets about 100 to 250 pageviews a day but I reckon at least half of that is junk web crawlers even though I have the anon comments turned off. As it happens I noticed a fall in pageviews within days of turning off the anon comments. I also make sure I do not count my own page views. When I first started blogging I though I was doing OK until I realised I was most of my own pageviews<br /><br />I am working on ways to increase views but as I said previously I really only have so much time and while I blog every day commenting on a lot of blogs is hard, and I would rather not just stick bland unrelated comments on blogs just for the sake of generating traffic to my own blog, I would feel like I one of those annoying anon robots. Rob Z Toborhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03570498194207996145noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-66476542709796653362013-10-24T03:03:58.988-07:002013-10-24T03:03:58.988-07:00I wonder if search results isn't the factor he...I wonder if search results isn't the factor here. If you have a term that happens to be highly-searched at the time the blog is posted, wouldn't it make sense that the blog would get more clicks but less comments? Since the curious readers wouldn't have a reason to comment, necessarily, since they're just stopping by to read about the topic.Stephanie Farishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10461865229341760836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-34752013231593806782013-10-23T17:18:22.838-07:002013-10-23T17:18:22.838-07:00It was great reading your analysis of your own sta...It was great reading your analysis of your own stats and what you said made sense to me. I do find page views interesting and I look at the stats for my own blog regularly. I see the number of page views and where they are coming from. I also try to figure them out- because of course we want to replicate whatever we did to get lots of page views and comments. <br /><br />Looking forward to Friday!Jess@The Secret Files of Fairday Morrowhttp://thesecretdmsfilesoffairdaymorrow.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-41361226004770404832013-10-23T16:39:43.144-07:002013-10-23T16:39:43.144-07:00I know my visitor stats are skewed, there's a ...I know my visitor stats are skewed, there's a singer from NY. Yolanda Renee and I think most of my hits are from folks looking for her.<br /><br />When my web page was active it was crazy! But blogger gives the individual blog stats too - still I don't know how accurate those are because I've had more comments than visitors once or twice, and folks need to make sure they don't count their own views! LOLYolanda Renéehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09085436784133103221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-32358406498041201382013-10-23T16:19:51.250-07:002013-10-23T16:19:51.250-07:00I'm not too sure just how much credibility I a...I'm not too sure just how much credibility I associate blog views with to be honest with you Lee, sure they're important but at the end of the day I think the comments are most important, the more the better because it shows generally a reader wants to interact with you, the best comments are the ones from people who you know have read as well because then your written words are being read and that means more than page views can. Interesting thought though, personally if I was you I wouldn't worry about the decline, it's probably just temporary and most certainly is no reflection on your quality of writing, that's for sure.Outcasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03400755239612162157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-77200946502105643272013-10-23T16:10:26.441-07:002013-10-23T16:10:26.441-07:00Mary--From reading some of your recent posts I can...Mary--From reading some of your recent posts I can see your good marketing sense. Content is very important on the blog, but if no one is looking then the content is kind of wasted.<br /><br />Lynda -- You and me both. I think most of us have to stay somewhat on top of visiting around to keep comments coming to our own blogs. Your statement about the two worlds expresses what I've been trying to convey. We need to try to cater a bit to both.<br /><br />Lee<br />Arlee Birdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11663942782929929334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-39172660056899083272013-10-23T16:02:27.991-07:002013-10-23T16:02:27.991-07:00I don't have to slow down for a month to see a...I don't have to slow down for a month to see an impact on my blog. All I have to do is slow down for a couple of days and bam, I get a marked decrease in comments, but not necessarily in pageviews. I do think pageviews matter. There's a bunch of people who are interested in the content, but may not want to spend the time thinking up an interesting comment. I think there are two aspects to blogging--the community (the commenters) and the rest of the world. Both matter to me.Lynda R Young as Elle Cardyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09975442291393246148noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-77888785267239577952013-10-23T15:36:02.145-07:002013-10-23T15:36:02.145-07:00I think topic has a lot to do with views and the t...I think topic has a lot to do with views and the title. It can get me to click on a blog not in my feed.<br /><br />I want to be seen. If I get a lot of views but few comments, that's OK. Unless it's spammers.<br /><br />I'm out here to be seen.M Paxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14096697282530998519noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-43435163151818368522013-10-23T14:58:57.615-07:002013-10-23T14:58:57.615-07:00Susan GK-- I don't look at my stats too often ...Susan GK-- I don't look at my stats too often and usually only think about them when I see something strangely out of the ordinary.<br /><br />Richard --I think you're correct. Content is surely something especially important to keep new visitors returning.<br /><br />Andrew--True. And there are many ways to read stats. Depends on what you want to know. I typically don't want to know much.<br /><br />Lee<br />Arlee Birdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11663942782929929334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-13680203769794855922013-10-23T14:46:15.406-07:002013-10-23T14:46:15.406-07:00There's also a difference between site views a...There's also a difference between site views and specific post views, and that's important to recognize. For instance, StrangePegs had about 150 views yesterday but yesterday's post has only about 30 specific views (and some of those are from today). That tells you a lot about how people are getting to your blog. The specific page views are from people with some sort of subscription who clicking on a link to that page. Also, there are people that read posts in emails or through a reader and have no intention of commenting so never click through to the actual post. But the numbers are important because they tell you about trends. Trends are more important than the specific numbers for any given day or post.Andrew Leonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13964775673414653644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-36579754756271408332013-10-23T14:03:35.185-07:002013-10-23T14:03:35.185-07:00Stats are indicators that can be interpreted in di...Stats are indicators that can be interpreted in different ways. They are helpful, but what sells is content: are you offering something a lot of people want to know? Is the content offering something new for your readers? People are looking for information. Provide valuable information, especially new info, and the stats will take care of themselves.writing and living by Richard P Hugheshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03814139767151989286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-23976886889311391822013-10-23T13:27:52.321-07:002013-10-23T13:27:52.321-07:00I pay almost no attention to my blog stats. Probab...I pay almost no attention to my blog stats. Probably I should do some analysis and find out what works best.Susan Gourley/Kelleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02669793865290876168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-31623828849496555502013-10-23T13:04:38.245-07:002013-10-23T13:04:38.245-07:00CW -- Yes, I have seen the presence of VampireStat...CW -- Yes, I have seen the presence of VampireStats and I wish someone would drive a stake through their blogging heart. Oddly enough though I recently removed some of the moderation on my site and the spam hits went down. I was sure that I would get inundated.<br /><br />Mark -- I can't imagine that any sensible blogger would argue that comments aren't more valuable. At least they provide us with more precise information about who has visited our site. Like you, maybe even more so than you, I have become a crap commenter. Partly because I get involved in weird blogging missions like this post and the ones that accompany it and also because I've had to start doing other things besides social networking. Life happens.<br /><br />Kelly-- I can see what you're saying. A common bit of advice is that if you want a post that gets a lot of attention then do a list. Book reviews are much more specialized but I can see how they would build a readership loyalty. As far as the stats shown here, this was my point: The more focus on minutiae and topics of limited interest, the less visits I received. Normally my views are much higher than most of these. I was mostly fascinated here to see how as my series progressed the comment to view ratio increased--something I see to be a positive.<br /><br />Lee<br /><br />Arlee Birdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11663942782929929334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-89739538103971101722013-10-23T12:52:10.448-07:002013-10-23T12:52:10.448-07:00Robin- I was tempted to email you since you do the...Robin- I was tempted to email you since you do the BOTB posts to see if your results are lower like mine. I agree--I love those post and I'm in for those for the long haul for now at least. <br /><br />Thanks for the great data feed. I think you've made a very good extrapolation of what has happened in each of these cases. I do think a lot of people Google things like Las Vegas. I often do when I'm going to travel somewhere and I might hit the first 10 or so pages looking for info. There are also possibly a lot of PR people and other such parties getting notified when something goes up on the internet in their field of interest. <br /><br />I tried an experiment on my blog <b>A Faraway View</b> to see if using the word "sex" increased my page views at all. It did not. But I can see where the specificity of your phrase might generate some interest. Maybe because of people looking for info about that show episode?<br /><br />As far as the visitors from Russia? Maybe they are spammers? Someone trying to hack your site? I'm always suspicious of the views coming from Russia.<br /><br />Thanks for indulging my interest!<br /><br />Lee<br /> Arlee Birdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11663942782929929334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-33357810263064454782013-10-23T12:51:28.723-07:002013-10-23T12:51:28.723-07:00The posts I have that have really taken off are ea...The posts I have that have really taken off are easy to understand. They have mass appeal. (Things like the 25 reasons ... post.) They're the type of posts that get linked a lot of places and shared multiple times on Facebook.<br /><br />Those aren't my favorite posts, though. I care more about my book reviews, and while they get fewer views initially, they seem to gain me more regular readers that enjoy the same type of things I do.<br /><br />The most illuminating thing about this post for me was seeing your views, Lee. I thought they'd be much higher based on your subscriber number. <br /><br />I don't get a ton of comments, but I don't mind. As far as which I care abut most, views or comments, my answer is neither. I care most about links. If another writer enjoys my piece enough to link to it, that makes me quite happy, and it always translates into more views, and ultimately more readers.Kelly Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01752857506190488860noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-83745208921559926512013-10-23T12:38:59.018-07:002013-10-23T12:38:59.018-07:00Phil -- It's a topic worth discussing, but not...Phil -- It's a topic worth discussing, but not of interest to a lot of bloggers. Thanks for visiting and letting your presence be known.<br /><br />Lee<br />Arlee Birdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11663942782929929334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-22286658694570068802013-10-23T12:38:29.052-07:002013-10-23T12:38:29.052-07:00I'm going to sit on the side of the table that...I'm going to sit on the side of the table that leans toward comments are more important than page views.<br /><br />I know one of my biggest concerns is I am a *crap* return commenter and I feel I've lost a lot of goodwill over the last year.<br /><br />Very interesting post, by the way - and thanks for showing us your research :)Mark Koopmanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03634424953074803816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-27383704185322455252013-10-23T12:37:29.864-07:002013-10-23T12:37:29.864-07:00StMc-- These long comments today were kind of unex...StMc-- These long comments today were kind of unexpected for this post--I actually wasn't sure that I'd generate many comments at all with this content. The long comments are good from the standpoint that it means I need to respond individually to many of them thereby inflating my comments for the post. It looks good on the stat page.<br /><br />There are a lot of similarities between your blog and mine, not so much in content, but in results achieved and stats--at least stats before the ones cited in this post. Your comment discussions are much bigger and ongoing than mine, but I still get them and this is something I don't see on most blogs. To me it represents investment by the reader instead of fly-by obligatory commenting. I know it's what you prefer and what I like as well. That's why I like to go for topics that are conducive for debate and conversation.<br /><br />I still am convinced that you have a lot more potential for audience reach than you ascribe to your abilities. Your personality may be off putting to many in the blogging community that I have fallen into and connected you with, but I think your subject matter has more potential for wider readership if only it would get picked up by the right media sources. You've got the stuff, but not the proper outreach. I'm hoping you'll find it.<br /><br />Thanks for great data and commentary.<br /><br />Lee<br />Arlee Birdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11663942782929929334noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-149224757183756660.post-34524200658648113142013-10-23T12:27:50.188-07:002013-10-23T12:27:50.188-07:00Point #1: You are correct that pageviews go up as...Point #1: You are correct that pageviews go up as comments on other's blogs increase. Pictures bump up the traffic, too.<br /><br />Point#2 Well more than 50% of visiting sites are from spam outfits like vampirestats and their low-life cronies. However, I will say that spam comments have went down once I set up moderation.CWMartinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06798867734074134647noreply@blogger.com