Once a week? A day? An hour?

I’ve been known to obsess over blog traffic, especially if I’ve written something I think is especially profound and want to make sure the whole world shares my opinion.

Checking your blog’s traffic stats is actually quite useful, and not just for massaging your ego. By carefully studying what people are reading, where they’re coming from and where they’re clicking through to you can learn a lot. Including:

1. What topics are popular, so you can write more of the same. Based on a careful reading of my stats, I know that the most popular posts on WordCount have been on writing basics, blogs for writers, market intelligence and the fates of specific freelancers, good or bad.

2. What post formats work best, so you can write more of them. Based on stats, WordCount readers like posts that are lists, best ofs and how tos, plus posts on controversial subjects such as whether or not to write for content aggregators. Armed with that information, I now look for opportunities to do more of those types of posts. I’m also thinking of ways to aggregate those types of blog posts into an ebook or something else I could self publish.

3. What days of the week get the most eyeballs, so you can be sure to post on them. I get more traffic on weekdays than weekends, so unless it’s the May blogathon I sponsor every year and I’m blogging everyday, I blog M-F and take weekends off.

4. What reader-commenters are also fellow bloggers, so you can befriend them by leaving comments on their blogs or adding them to your blog roll, helping boost traffic for both of you.

5. What keywords are bringing readers from Google or other search engines.  If you know what people search on to find you, you can be sure to tag future posts on similar subjects with those same keywords. Top keywords and phrases that bring people here: word count, michelle rafter, qualities of a good editor, freelance story ideas and hyperlocal news.

How often do you check your blog stats? How has checking your blog stats changed how you blog?

Best month ever – When I decided to write a post a day during the month of May I thought it’d be a fun way to celebrate my birthday, which falls during that month. Little did I know my blogathon would make May my biggest month ever for unique visits, more than 3,000. It also helped me expand my circle of freelance acquaintances, which led to a couple posts about interesting things other freelancers are doing on their blogs, such as Jane Boursaw, who blogs at Reel Life with Jane. I also did my first stint guest blogging, writing Making life work as a writer and mom, for Susan Johnston’s Urban Muse blog.

Recognition – WordCount is getting more exposure. During the last quarter, I was interviewed by Paula Berinstein, producer of The Writing Show podcast, about a post I did on writing short. When I interviewed Paul Brusso for an IncTechnology.com story on how small businesses can create a podcast, he taped the interview and turned it into a podcast. Earlier this week, I announced that I’d sold the rights to a WordCount post about conducting tough interviews. The essay will be included in The New Writer’s Handbook 2008, an anthology set to be published in August.

Growing numbers – Visits to and comments on WordCount continue to rise. Unfortunately the same holds for spam. Since the beginning of the year, WordCount has received more than 10,400 unique visits and 216 comments. Still pretty low numbers by some estimations, but it’s enough to boost my Technorati authority to 61 and put the blog eighth in Google searches of the phrase “Word Count.” The site’s also attracted more than 1,600 spam comments – thank goodness for Askimet for catching the vast majority of them.

Indirect revenue – The amount of money I’ve made directly from my blog is still tiny. But the research I’ve done on podcasts, social networks like LinkedIn and other Web 2.0 topics and tools for posts for this blog led me to successfully pitch stories on those subjects to several magazines and Websites. Total revenue from those stories: close to $2,000.

During the last quarter I also reached my 100th blog post milestone, reorganized my blogroll, updated my clips page and settled into a Monday through Friday blogging schedule.

Thanks for being part of the WordCount experience – happy reading!