5 blogging stats you shouldn't be ignoring.
Although my golden rule for blogging is to put your content before your statistics, it doesn't mean to ignore them altogether. For the vast majority, stats are the main way or measuring success. The problem is, many people focus on pageviews because, that's the one they can brag about. This is true but not necessarily useful. in fact, I think there are five key stats that you should focus on just as much.
5) Who your audience are.
It's a key business concept to know your target market. So why should blogging be any different? If you know who's actually reading your posts, you can work out how to optimise your content for them. For example,if you know the majority of your readers are from a different country, then write accordingly. It will help to generate a loyal following.
4) What your readers like.
This one is simple but often overlooked. Take the time to monitor which of your posts receive the most views, and look out for patterns. If you notice that all your lost articles get way ,ore views than anything else, maybe write more list articles? Having said this, remember the golden rule. Don't post purely to get more views, because you'll end up posting things you don't actually care about, and if you don't care,many should your readers?
3) Bounce rate.
Bounce rate monitors the percentage of people that view your site, and simply 'bounce' straight off (meaning they stay on your page for less than 5 seconds). 100% bounce rate is the worst you can get and 0% is the best. The most common factor that influences bounce rate is time taken to load page. If it takes ages to load, readers will just move on. Avoid this by minimising widgets and media content. Another way to reduce bounce rate overnight is to increase text size. Research shows that readers are more likely to stay on a page with slightly larger font. Just be sure not to take it too far with articles in size 72.
2) Average time on site.
You want people to stay on your site for a long as possible right? Yes, and for so many reasons. First of all it will mean more pageviews. Secondly, readers will be more likely to click adverts, generating revenue. Finally, readers are more likely to share a post.
It's important to look at this statistic regularly. If you see a downward trend, it's time to I prove your content and maybe even layout. It's a great indicator.
1) New vs returning visitors.
You might getting 10000 visitors a day, but if they are all brand new, then it's still a failure. It's I portent your readers like your blog enough to come back the next day. You have to become part of their Internet routine. This is difficult to achieve but can be done by offering incentives to come back. Great content is obviously a ,must, but maybe try a members section?
So there we have it, my list of stats you need to monitor frequently. Better still, the stats are so easy to find you have no excuse!
5) Who your audience are.
It's a key business concept to know your target market. So why should blogging be any different? If you know who's actually reading your posts, you can work out how to optimise your content for them. For example,if you know the majority of your readers are from a different country, then write accordingly. It will help to generate a loyal following.
4) What your readers like.
This one is simple but often overlooked. Take the time to monitor which of your posts receive the most views, and look out for patterns. If you notice that all your lost articles get way ,ore views than anything else, maybe write more list articles? Having said this, remember the golden rule. Don't post purely to get more views, because you'll end up posting things you don't actually care about, and if you don't care,many should your readers?
3) Bounce rate.
Bounce rate monitors the percentage of people that view your site, and simply 'bounce' straight off (meaning they stay on your page for less than 5 seconds). 100% bounce rate is the worst you can get and 0% is the best. The most common factor that influences bounce rate is time taken to load page. If it takes ages to load, readers will just move on. Avoid this by minimising widgets and media content. Another way to reduce bounce rate overnight is to increase text size. Research shows that readers are more likely to stay on a page with slightly larger font. Just be sure not to take it too far with articles in size 72.
2) Average time on site.
You want people to stay on your site for a long as possible right? Yes, and for so many reasons. First of all it will mean more pageviews. Secondly, readers will be more likely to click adverts, generating revenue. Finally, readers are more likely to share a post.
It's important to look at this statistic regularly. If you see a downward trend, it's time to I prove your content and maybe even layout. It's a great indicator.
1) New vs returning visitors.
You might getting 10000 visitors a day, but if they are all brand new, then it's still a failure. It's I portent your readers like your blog enough to come back the next day. You have to become part of their Internet routine. This is difficult to achieve but can be done by offering incentives to come back. Great content is obviously a ,must, but maybe try a members section?
So there we have it, my list of stats you need to monitor frequently. Better still, the stats are so easy to find you have no excuse!