So this is Reassembler’s traffic story, by month. Although this isn’t a professional blog, obviously I have a professional interest in understanding Web traffic, and, frankly, how to manipulate it. But I have intentionally avoided implementing some of my more extreme ideas about attracting new readers because I’m interested in observing the natural, not artificial, rhythms of a blog.
The spike in May (+170%) is partially explained by a big link from Mig Greengard’s Daily Dirt chess blog, but more generally it appears that I started blogging more consistently about chess around the end of April. No question that chessplayers are the biggest part of whatever “regulars” swing by. Although, let me reiterate, this isn’t a chess blog. It’s a chess/food/fungus/pseudoscience/language/whatever blog and will remain so. (Yes, I understand that focused blogs generally do better in terms of traffic. I’m trying to learn stuff here.)
Subsequent readership gains went
- June +16%
- July +34%
- August +50%
So will Reassembler continue its accelerating growth path? Check back several times per day to find out! (Heh.)
Actually, if you can remember, it’d be interesting – not just for me, but perhaps also for other bloggers - to hear from anyone and everyone as to how and when you first wandered over here.
Hey Derek, I came over to read a language post, but I don’t remember where I saw the headline. Maybe the WordPress front page.
Not particularly interested in chess, but you’re an interesting person. You’re on my feed reader, so…I guess I’m a regular now!
Don’t know if you saw my latest post, but it also has to do with stats.
Hi Sherri – just read your post. Interesting story! There’s just no way to predict “breaking news” (if we must call it that)…
In June, when I started getting up to speed with WordPress, you showed up on the Tag Surfer on WordPress’s global dashboard under the “Chess” tag. Your stuff was interesting, and the rest was history. Proud to be one of the +16%!
The other two tags I check for are “North Korea” and “Uncomfortability”. Most of the former is boring (often the posts are just copy/paste from an AP story), and it’s possible no one else on Earth uses the latter.
Thanks, I have always thought of the Liquid Egg Product solely as a statistic. :)
Ha ha. You may also be the only “grilled cheese” or “weaksauce losers” tagger. I’m pretty sure I’m it for “reassembly” – can’t say I’ve ever bothered to check!
Anyway that’s two votes for the usefulness of (non idiosyncratic)Wordpress tags.
I found you when WordPress featured your article on Top Chef, so I’m wandering in your blog world.
Hi and welcome. WordPress’s tools provide a nice form of serendipitous discovery, though they don’t seem to “drive a ton of traffic” for the most part. (As if people were cattle.)