Wednesday, March 4, 2009

March On Index Page


It’s nearly time for my monthly chronicle on the Index Page for Blogger In Middle-earth. I started this project in January this year.
Shown above are the stats graphs for the five most popular posts on this blog for the period 2 Feb to 4 March 2009. They include graphs for the Index Page and February’s report on it.

Only recently the Index Page slipped from first position in Google Analytics’ popularity stats. It has held this position steadily for over a month. Such a slip is to be expected, as the initial flurry of interest that usually accompanies any new post is now no longer part of the statistical total.

The Content Detail graph for Index Page is distinctly different from most other post graphs, with the exception of last month’s report which has a similar profile. The graphs for both these posts, the index and its February report, mirror one another over the past few days.

On 24 February the February chronicle for the Index Page found its way onto Tony Karrer’s Hot List – 2/1/2009 – 2/14/2009 and I have no doubt that this mention may well have contributed to this mirroring.

The three other typical graphs shown above indicate clearly the standard peak with tail. The Index Page does not show this tail, however, and appears to be stablising in its activity over the period recorded here.

I am pleased with how the Index Page is shaping up. A total of 116 hits over 4 weeks represents a significant usage by visitors, and is certainly a portion worthy of consideration.

( 6 ) ( 5 ) ( 4 ) << - related posts - >> ( 2 ) ( 1 )

Ka kite anō – Catch ya later

2 comments:

Paul C said...

Hi Ken,
Congratulations on your successful use of the Index page. You are obviously engaging readers.

How do you balance the index page with the Google search feature which could be used for your blog?

Blogger In Middle-earth said...

Kia ora Paul

The Google Search on the blog is useful for searching on a particular criterion or set of criteria.

When I put the Index Page together, it was really meant to permit a visitor to see the range of topics (or categories) the blog offered and to enable access to posts in these categories.

A search facility does not permit this in the same way. There is no real opportunity to browse and get an overview or 'feel' of the topics on the blog.

I know by the way the Index Page is clocking up other stats that people are using it to take sample dips into the blog. Average posts looked at per visit using the Index Page is in excess of 3 - often in varied categories.

The Google Search can be tracked but not so easily, for I've really to do it for each post - not so useful.

Catchya later