It’s been three months and 40 posts, since I first put Google Analytics on my blog (installed 15 July). Observing the trends shows me a lot.
What I found was not what I expected. Here’s a summary of seemingly unrelated things I discovered by watching Google Analytics (GA).
- No weekly pattern has arisen.
- The average blog popularity shown by GA increased steadily over 3 months from about 12 to 25 hits per day.
- Stories are uniquely popular. People like to read accounts of my family and me but do not usually comment.
- People like reading about (and commenting on) blog statistics.
- The number of comments on a post doesn’t necessarily indicate its popularity. One of my most popular posts didn’t get any comment.
- Leaving a comment on another’s blog post can make a significant difference to my blog’s popularity during the following 3 to 5 days. If it's a popular blog, the increase can be quite noticable.
- Inclusion of links on a new post to related posts (as shown at the top of this one) can revive the popularity of these posts over the following 3 to 5 days.
- The average time viewers spend reading my posts has substantially increased from just over 1 minute to 3 minutes. There has not been a significant increase in the text length of posts over the same time.
- Site hit rate drops steadily during a period when I don’t post. For instance, the graph shown above indicates clearly this decline from the date of the last post, 10 Oct 2008, from 30 visits to 16 over a period of 4 days.
- The average bounce rate for all posts has decreased slightly from 59% to 57%.
- Unusual post topics incur a surprisingly low bounce rate, reaching lower than 12%. Some of those are about the blogosphere.
- Topics that show a bounce rate of 0% (and there are a significant number) have no common theme. Some of those are about the blogosphere.
Posts
4 comments:
I have been using both Statcounter and Analytics. It is interesting that I have different data from both. Statcounter gives me more detail as to who is viewing my blog and it does capture RSS feeds which I don't think Analytics does.
However, as I mentioned before, statcounter captures when I go into my blog (my fault I set it up that way and now I've forgotten the pass word to change the settings!)
Like you, I am surprised that some of the most popular postings don't have comments. In addition, those that have the terms "define" and "organization" seem to be the most popular.
Kia ora Virginia!
Thanks for the info on Statcounter. I am interested in pursuing the use of that analytical device. But not before I complete a cycle with G Analytics.
I'd be very interested in comparing the two, after I'd also looked closely at Statcounter.
I am aware that any analytical tool has its own limitations, as much as how what it yields is interpreted.
Statistics have a habit of being interpreted every which way - usually the way the observer wants to. It is very difficult to avoid that.
Ka kite
Hi Ken!
Well this is just a comment to say "Yes you are right, leave a comment on someone else's blog and the popularity of yours will increase" - I'm living proof of that statement as I visit your blog in response to a comment you left on mine :+)
I'm pleased you were shocked to see Poetry taught within a classroom :+) Actually it has been a most pleasing topic as it has enabled students who haven't showing a lot of creativity, to blossom! I hope you enjoyed reading them.
Jamin
Haere mai Jamin!
I listened to the E3's speech semi-finalist on your blog. She is an excellent speaker. What a great speech - well planned and delivered, with wonderful expression and body action. A class performance!
I also listened to the poems spoken by, presumably, their authors - all brilliant speakers AND poets. Long may the young learners in your school practice their wares.
Ka kite
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