They say objective self-analysis is a healthy thing, so let’s do some! Then we might conduct a little experiment.
THE NUMBERS
My blog has been running since 2014, and while I’ve tweaked the appearance and themes a couple times, it’s been visually static for seven years. I’ve never revealed my identity, though I’ve hinted hundreds of times, and I’ve never endorsed a product. I have never allowed advertising on my blog, and never received one cent of revenue from of it.
Writers are the beggars of Western society, as they say.
This beggar has published 488 posts, with 10-20 banked in various stages of draft at all times. I’ve had 16,049 visitors, with 2021 my most popular year. My site is like tourists visiting Cumbooglecumbang, NSW, during COVID — the locals are reaping the benefits but know they won’t be back…
My generous visitors have generated 24,334 views. Because I cull comments, the 42 which remain are not representative of the total received. Of my 180 stalwart followers, ten remain rusted-on from the earliest days in Oct-Nov 2014, and I’ve picked up 37 new friends this year so far.
Thank you all.
Because Google started encrypting search terms in 2013 (to make you pay for SEO) the most popular detectable search terms driving traffic to my site were ‘cadifor’ and ‘big ass selfie’ and (WTF) ‘Ed Stafford penis’.
Please do not now go and Google ‘Ed Stafford penis’ …
My most popular posts of all time are house of cadifor by a city-kilometre, followed by survivor bear naked and selfies circa 2020. Posts named after real people performed well — with papinis in bikinis (rank 5) after Sherri Papini, sophie monks boobs (9) after Sophie Monk, and Norman D. Shinkle (12) after Norman D. Shinkle.
I was guiltiest of excess verbiage in 2015 (936 words per post), then went on a fasting diet in 2017 (450), and now have average a healthy 523 words per post these past three years.
The most popular images were both from cadifor:
My most-clicked link was to a Wayback document purportedly written and posted by Sherri Papini in October 2007 on a Skinheads site:
Monday 6am is apparently when almost a quarter of my readers tune in, which I find hard to believe, but probably just reflects timezone equivalence across the globe. In June 2015 I had 60 view, and in May 2021 had 1800 views. My single best day for traffic was May 19 2021 with a grand total of 203 discrete views, even though it was a nil-post day.
The single biggest difference? I am writing a LOT more, and I am writing regularly.
THE EXPERIMENT
So much for data.
What can I reasonable deduce from this hodge-podge of interrelated information? Well, it depends what I want to achieve. Is this really just an online diary cum writing practice, or do I want people to read it? Assuming the latter, I should examine the success of the cadifor post.
Firstly, it was timely.
I’d just read an article by an investigative reporter into the sex-cult, so when the arrests were made and the allegations surfaced, I was right there. As a result, I am on page 1 of Google!
Not bad for somebody who spends exactly zero-dollars on SEO.
What also drives the cadifor post is that it’s lurid — sordid sex-cult heavily into bondage and impact sado-masochism that has enslaved at least five women. It’s the titillating story you want to read, like peeking voyeuristically through the heavy curtains at a bordello.
Plus it’s well-written IMHO! But mostly it’s Google…
So my next experiment is to replicate this.
Update my site. Get some book-learnin’ on this here new fandangle SEO thingummy. Then get out ahead of a breaking story, and get it out there first. Add two teaspons of boobs, a cup of selfies, and just a dash of sleaze.
And maybe let some people in. This isn’t Crusoe’s island.