Analysis Paralysis...
If you haven't heard the statement, it is summing up the "Ready, Aim Fire, Aim Fire, Aim" menality. Basically, spending forever making the plan, and then never following through and actually "doing" the plan.
And then...
There is the opposite side of the coin... "Ready, Fire, Aim". That doesn't work, either. You can't do the plan before you make the plan...
But in the middle...
There is a balance where we analyze AND act. And this is about the analytics.
We all have our favorites. I personally like Clicky Analytics for my website. I like the way the data is presented. They have a free level, and it is a great alternative to Google Analytics. And GA is a great option as well. In either case, the idea is to see where traffic is coming from, what search terms are being used and tune your content accordingly.
Another great tool in the box is HitTail. It is a site that you can use to track your searches and see what material might be good to write about in the future. In fact, it even offers a "To Do List" for future blogs, based on the previous search volume.
And you are likely to be surprised...
I know that I am often a bit shocked at which posts gather the most attention. On ActiveRain, and LaneBailey.com, on LilburnDwellings.com. in each case, I see posts that I don't expect have great traffic. I see other posts that are never stellar... until looking at 30 days, or even 90 or more days worth of data. I have a post that has over 10,000 views, but it is never on my most viewed list for the day... or even the week.
Other posts have to be looked at OFF the grid. I have a post that garners a reasonable number of views, and few comments... but people call me about that post. Obviously it speaks to them.
So...
- Plan
- Write
- Analyze
- Adjust
- Write some more
- Analyze
- Adjust
- Repeat.
And don't worry that your plan is different than my plan, or Midori's plan or even Mike's plan. We are all different people.
Lane - I use GA to track how visitors make their way to my site. As boring as it is, Market and Neighborhoood reports drive the most traffic. I haven't heard of Hittail before. So, thanks for the tip. I'll have to go check it out.
Lane,
Thanks for putting out these tips - my site is still so new that I'm not using any analytics on it yet - I'll check out all three that you mentioned.
Lane, I can't figure out how to do the analytics. I thought I added the Google Analytics but if it's on my blog I don't know where and I sure don't know how to activate or read it.
Hi Lane, I was not aware of Hittale and are planning to use it tks for sharing
Erik - HitTail is pretty cool. And Clicky is a pretty cool analytics program, too.
Jeff - You still need to get some analytics up... see what brings traffic and then let it fly.
Connie - You read the Google Analytics on the site you signed up at. Did you install the script to allow google to see your traffic?
Barbara - Enjoy.
Lane - You are the man ! It is amazing that some folks are aware of all these options. In regards to the post, I agree, having a plan is paramount ! I do utilize Google for analytics and it is very cool to have that awareness of not only the traffic but how people are making it to your website or blog.
C & S - I'm just a dude...