Crazy About Web Traffic
When I first started out blogging, I was just contented seeing my webcounter move by 2 or 3 paces a day. It meant that someone else had found my site. For a blogger who doesn’t have any idea about SEO, social networking and blog monetization, that was already a point of motivation.
But as the years and months passed by, and an increasing knowledge about how the blogosphere works, I noticed that some people had become crazy about web traffic. They cling to the idea that web traffic equals fame equals money. So, some experiments (sometimes crazy ones) were done just to boost traffic.
Sexy girl on ads widget
There are plenty of them in entrecard and perhaps in other blog advertising networks too. Eye-catching, huh! There are some who are really pissed off at this, and so it is safe to assume that those with a sexy girl on their 125×125 ads are actually males. (No, not really as there are sexy moms in there). It actually captures the attention of curious droppers. But in the long-run, if you have great articles to back up your blog, you should consider changing your ads and be just you.
Link baiting
This one is a great SEO technique, and is useful in driving traffic to your site. You write an article, release it in the web by pimping it in forums, article-submission sites, you comment on popular blogs with comment-luv plug-in, etc… But if it’s only the title that is worth the attention, while the content is feeble and would not support the whole idea, better not do it. Why? The credibility of the blogger and his whole blog would be at stake.
Controversies
You write about a controversial topic with a controversial title. You disagree with famous bloggers on both sides and write long comments in their blogs. Then you write a post of your own. It would be good if you can present solid evidences and you have an unwavering stand on the issue. But if you have nothing in your arsenal, but only add up to the confusion, you are on dangerous ground.
Scandals
You highlight it in your title and even post a video or a picture of it. But when readers read and view everything, or may have prior knowledge about it, they just say, “What scandal are you talking about?” There are sites that are actually dedicated to whatever scandals, but if you’re not one of them, you’d better let them take that post. On a worst scenario, you might be banned on search engines.
Hot Trends
Google and Yahoo monitor trends in searches. And some people are quick to write anything about the top searches for the day hoping to get a slice of the traffic. So you wrote about the Ellen Page and Gloria James, two famous names in the top searches lately, people whom you do not know until their names appeared on hot trends. The former is the lead actress of Juno, while the later is LeBron James’ mom.
This tactic actually works for some (even for me at some point in time). And the timing of the post is crucial.
Obsession with statistics
You place widgets here and there that says you got this and that rank. You check google analytics, sitemeter, stat press, iwebtools, technorati, alexa, etc… Every now and then you monitor where your traffic comes from, and which keywords are hot. This is blogging paranoia!
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Anyone of us can be infected of this contagious madness. Some may have already gotten over it. There’s nothing wrong to desire web traffic, but to be obsessed by it is another thing. And one thing, before you embark on a mission to get millions of visitors to your blog, make it sure your servers can handle the surge. Many websites crashed because of this.
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Ceblogger is a CPA trapped in his cubicle while his mind wanders outside watching the world, and exploring possibilities his mind conceived.
May 14th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
i haven’t arrived to the point na ganon ako ka obsessed sa web traffic. enough na sa akin na bumalik sa blog ko yung mga na invite ko.
hope you have a great day!!
May 14th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
pinaymommy, i might get to that point. I’m controlling myself for now.
May 15th, 2008 at 1:06 am
I usually check my sitemeter from time to time, and I will not deny that I am obsessed (on checking lol!) but I haven’t tried any crazy idea to get some traffic. Although I joined the pinay scandal SEO, and honestly it helps my traffic everyday, but I wish I didn’t join lol! It is so sad that I only get my traffic from those people who are looking for scandal (I guess one fourth of my traffic comes from pinay scandal) and entrecards and I don’t know if they are reading my post lol!
I am still hoping that visitors read my post and what makes them to read is writing a worthwhile post.
hehehe..masyadong maraming post tong comment na to lol!
May 15th, 2008 at 8:22 am
as for me ceb, i’m not really bother by the too much traffic that i am getting, LOL!
May 15th, 2008 at 7:16 pm
yup, it’s better to post an article with sincerity and with all of your heart.. to avoid disappointment of your readers/visitors..
May 15th, 2008 at 7:26 pm
For me, the best way to increase traffic is to foster good and long-lasting relationships with a select number of bloggers. That’s what I do. I tried Entrecard but I still focus on bloggers who have been regular commenters on my blog. I visit their blogs whenever I can and give those priority.
In a way, my constant presence on their blogs seem to attract some of their own frequent guests. In a lot of ways, this has boosted visits to my blog.
May 16th, 2008 at 1:18 am
Hi: I still have the Seizure by Robin Cook. You won it, and if you give me a mailing address, I can send the book to you.
http://thisbookforfree.com/?p=47
May 17th, 2008 at 5:28 am
I really should try that sexy girl ad on my site. At least if I can’t stomach reading my own posts, I’ll have a sexy girl to look at.
May 17th, 2008 at 8:05 am
melai, dami mo namang worthwhile posts ah. I do read your posts at minsan pati na yung sponsored ones.
keith, maybe not this time. haha. i’m sure your blog is getting plenty of traffic these days.
freezebox, there are readers who prefer style than truth and sincerity, convincing rather than truthful.
May 18th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
I have written something about monitoring web traffic.
Well, medyo nakakaparanoid talaga especially when you intend to make money out of blogging. Just like you, controlled pa naman ako for now. lol! I hope to keep it that way for a long time. Masakit sa ulo ang traffic analysis.
May 18th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
ceblogger,
naku sori nagkamali ako ng name sa unang comment ko. pangalan mo ang nailagay ko instead of my name. i was thinking of addressing you in the comment box kasi. sori again.
May 18th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
panaderos, i do agree with you. But if you target keyword searchers, you need to do some optimizations. i never cared about traffic in my other blog. but for this one, i’m monitoring the stats.
javi, lol! how about a sexy girl sitting on a fence?
jessie, na edit ko na. nakakaloko talaga tong traffic monitoring. ha ha. sitemeter, google analytics, alexa, page rank, backlink counter, technorati, subscriber count, blog juice, stat press, what else?
June 26th, 2008 at 9:41 am
[...] now, I don’t really care about those stats until recently. I am not yet on the point of being crazy about web traffic, though. But the analysis will surely help you in the long run. Where does my traffic come [...]
July 2nd, 2008 at 10:03 pm
I agree with you. I’m kind of obsessed about web traffic as well. I just started this software which help boost your web traffic and Adsense clicks. I already saw some results on the web traffic, but it’s kinda hard to tell about the adsense for now.
July 4th, 2008 at 2:16 am
nita, welcome to this blog! For general blogs the ctr rate is much lower compared to that of the profitable niches. Hence, the need for more traffic (from whatever source) to get more adsense clicks.