How often do you check your blog stats?
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?
I have a blog on Blogger, and I track it with the free version of sitemeter. Lately I usually check my stats a few times on a day that I post and every few days when don’t. I find it kind of difficult to read the data in a meaningful way because I have to view each category (referral, location, etc.) separately.
I get a lot of my hits come from Twitter, but more than half are from “unknown” sources, whatever that means. Only a few of the known sources are searches.
What do you use to track your data?
Becca: Both WordPress.com and WordPress.org – the version of the software I’m using now – have a pretty good stats program built in. You can track what sites people are coming in from (referring sites), what sites they’re clicking through to, what search terms they use, what blog posts they’re looking at, and what other blogs have linked to one or another post on the site. All of those stats are available by the day, week, month, year and all time, which makes it really easy to come up with “best of ” posts because you can search your “all time” lists to see what people have clicked on the most.
Michelle
Thanks for this info, Michelle. I also find blog stats helpful because they let me know which sites are referring readers to my blog.
I run contests often, and I try to announce them on various sweepstakes sites. My blog stats have helped me focus on the sites that bring the most interested readers to my web page.
Margarette: I haven’t run contests here so haven’t used traffic stats that way but it makes perfect sense, thanks for the suggestion.
Michelle
Hi, my name is Jesaka and I can be pretty obsessive about my web stats. I love how applicable and no-nonsense your reasons/ tips are. They are especially useful for writers and people who want to analyze their content, not just the traffic. Thanks for such a great post, Michelle!
Thanks Jesaka. I’m pretty addicted to my blog stats too – glad to know I’m in good company.
Michelle
I an usually baffled by my blog stats. But I do know that posts about ugly shoes get more comments than something more complicated.
I wish we bloggers could write about what we WANT to write about instead of trying to boost traffic! In an ideal world….. oh well.
I’m afraid I am not too familiar with following my stats, I have some wordpress sites I will have to look into that.
Thanks also to becca, one of your commenters I am going to download sitemeter.
It is not too often I linger on a site and enjoy reading the content, I am glad I found your site, I’m now following you on twitter, thanks for the useful info,Kathy
I check my stats too much, I am obsessive compulsive when it comes to statistics. I wish I paid as much attention working on the blogs.