DISQUS

Daniel J. Pritchett · 1 year ago

I check Sitemeter throughout the day to see who's coming in, where they're coming from, how long they're staying, and where they're leaving to.

Keep in mind that my blog is not quite two months old and I'm still trying to figure out how to make it more useful to others. Since I don't get many comments yet these passively-generated stats are the next best thing.

I imagine once I cross some threshhold of viewership I'll stop micromanaging and just hit Google Analytics every so often to look for larger trends and blog optimization opportunities.

It helps that I'm not advertising on my blog - I don't actually need to worry about time on site and conversion as anything other than an indicator of how much interest I'm generating.

jacobmorgan · 1 year ago

hi daniel,

i used to check my stats often as well, and to be honest it just became a bit stressful because i expected to see certain things that i didn't.

if you have a new blog then setting up goals is especially important for you. if you set up goals and execute on them you will definitely notice an increase in traffic. it's hard not to check your stats all the time, but it's for the best!

Ari Herzog · 1 year ago

Daniel, welcome to the blogosphere. The fact you've been writing for two months but commenting on other people's blogs is indicative (to me) that you've done your homework.

I am sometimes lax on this but I try to read other people's words and comment when inspired 80% of the time and add new content of my own 20%. That's a useful metric you might want to try.

Additionally, I clicked over to your blog and saw that you have a feed counter showing the number of subscribers. Taking the advice of Dan Schawbel, I'd suggest removing that widget until you have over 150 or so subscribers. This is because, sometimes, people won't subscribe or comment on blogs that have a lower number. Additionally, if you want to follow Jacob's advice (which I agree) to not obsess over analytics, then remove any indicator of such, i.e. feed counter.

Daniel J. Pritchett · 1 year ago

Thanks for the helpful feedback Ari. I am conflicted about the widget, some folks say any number of readers helps and others say it doesn't. I think taking it down just so I can focus on what's going on is probably a solid idea especially at this point in my development.

When you say 80% reading 20% new content do you mean 4 out of 5 of your posts are "reblogging" others' content with your comments added or did you mean you spend four times as many hours reading as you spend writing?

Ari Herzog · 1 year ago

By 80-20, I refer to the larger percentage devoted to marketing your brand, i.e. your name, on places where you think other people might appreciate your comments and click your name to get to your blog or Twitter feed or what have you.

Take this time, measured by whatever metric you want, to listen and learn from others. Comment on their blogs when applicable.

Link your name with your portal to all things you, e.g. your blog, your Twitter feed, your Facebook profile, whichever. By the law of social proof, if enough people see your name in enough places relevant to them, they will click over to you and see what you have to say and comment when they feel it is applicable.

Maybe it's not 80-20. Maybe its 70-30 or 50-50 or 20-80. Point is make the web community about "us" and not so much about "me" or "you." Make sense?

Peter Cullen · 1 year ago

Checking your stats daily is really going to give you a headache.

We develop software that lets you check you rankings (amongst other things) once a month, but some people still insist that athey need daily updates to their rankings!

I've just joined the Search Marketing Salon on LinkedIn, think I'll request a connection also.

Starting new companies is tough at the moment with the global cedit crunch impacting everybody.

Good luck with the new company.

jacobmorgan · 1 year ago

hi peter, just accepted your linkedin invitation, glad we could connect. thanks for reading and commenting!