Friday, June 10, 2005
How do you measure your blogging?
I've been blogging for a few months, and I realize I haven't blogged enough about blogging, so I thought I'd start to remedy that a little.
As I've picked up a few of the tricks of the trade, one thing that has astounded me is the sheer quantity of measurements available to chart one's progress through the blogosphere:
While I'd like to say that the number of posts, especially the better ones, is my most important measure because I care only about my craft, I have to admit that my ego has grown somewhat attached to the "number of returning visitors per day" stat. To those of you who have come back, or plan to, my ego thanks you.
What's your measurement mascot, the stat you turn to first when you want a little boost?
If you really, really liked this -- or even really, really hated it -- there's lots more:
As I've picked up a few of the tricks of the trade, one thing that has astounded me is the sheer quantity of measurements available to chart one's progress through the blogosphere:
- Number of posts writtenReflective of the true and pure heart with which I started blogging, caring only about developing my writing, kind of like counting out how many times you've written "I will not talk in class" on the board in detention.
- Total unique viewers?Measures how many people in my blog's history have been infected by my hideous font selection, regardless of whether they actually read anything.
- Unique viewers per dayAll else being equal, I'd rather attract those thousands in a day than in a year. Fortunately, I have developed the psychic power to force people to visit my blog just by checking my hit counter frequently enough.
- Page loads instead of viewersI'd rather be read than visited.
- Return viewers per dayHow many have read my work and would still come back again.
- Number of external links pointing to youI'm torn whether this measures how much honor others have bestowed, or just how effective the reciprocal linking strategy is.
- NZ Bear traffic rankingsI don't really care how many visitors I get, as long as it's more than the Joneses
- Number of comments to typical postNotice me, notice me! Even moonbat criticism is attention.
- Number of Instalanches (or Little-Green-Spikes, or other major events)?We all love the sound of the slot machine jackpot, the flashing lights and the sound of the coins dropping into the metal tray. Or at least we dream of it. Well, maybe you don't, but I think about it sometimes.
- Google page rankIt's not completely like trying to maximize the output of a random number generator, but it's close, and I'm not just saying that because I've been stuck at zero for three months.
- Google search position for key termsThis one is nice because we all get a little wiggle room in terms of what we consider our key terms. In my case, I finally get top billing for my own blogname. Are you paying attention, Swedish pop fan? I beat ya.
- Number of foaming-at-the-mouth death threatsI wanted to toughen my hide and develop courage in my writing, but these no longer sound as much fun as they might have been back in the pre-Theo-Van-Gogh days.
- Success with advertisers = $$$Who wouldn't like this kind of feedback, but I'm still in the phase of trying to win the lottery without buying a ticket. Maybe someday.
- Number of mainstream media appearancesSome bloggers reach the point of receiving "credentials", the real publicity, the big fish that finally manages to leap out of the small pond. If this is your goal, good luck, but remember, at some point, you might become one of them.
While I'd like to say that the number of posts, especially the better ones, is my most important measure because I care only about my craft, I have to admit that my ego has grown somewhat attached to the "number of returning visitors per day" stat. To those of you who have come back, or plan to, my ego thanks you.
What's your measurement mascot, the stat you turn to first when you want a little boost?
