Monday, September 7, 2015

Record page views for August 2015 and other monthly meta


I expected a new page view record at the end of Monthly Meta for July 2015.  I got several.
Normally, I'd look ahead to my goals for this month, but I've already exceeded them. My minimum goal was 389 page views per day for a total of 12,059 page views for the month on no more than 44 entries.  The low goal was 402 per day for a total of 12,462.  My medium goal shot for a five percent increase over last year with 12,679 for the month via 409 per day.  The high goal was to reach 13,000 for the month to extend the streak, which would have taken 420 page views per day.  I hit the first on the 22nd and knocked out the rest on succeeding days.  I'm now at just over 14,000 with three days to go.  I can coast on one entry per day for a total of 38 posts and still set a new monthly record for page views.  Stay tuned to see if that happens.
It did.  The blog received 14,981 page views for 38 entries over 31 days, resulting in averages of 489.26 page views per day and 394.24 page views per entry.  All of those are new records.  There were also 41 comments, the most since February 2014, and a new record for the year.  I was right to be optimistic for more.

To celebrate these records, I'm sharing the top posts for the month, beginning with the most "liked" on Google Plus.  This month, it was "Donald Trump dance remix" posted August 18, 2015, which has 10 pluses on 65 page views.  For once, it didn't earn those "likes" by being shared at a community.  Instead, it got attention from my profile only.  It's the first of four posts about The Penguin Donald in this month's retrospective.  Keep reading for more.

Follow over the jump for the top ten entries, both overall and those posted during August, along with entries earning the most comments, which also happened to be among the most viewed.

Now for the top ten entries posted during August that earned their page views last month.  The tenth most read was "Three areas of expertise"  posted August 3, 2015 with 2 comments and 109 page views according to the raw counter and at least 92 according to the default counter.  It got its readership solely through normal social media promotion.

The ninth most read entry posted during August was "Prices spike in time for Dream Cruise" posted August 13, 2015 with 113 page views.  It earned most of its readers through my sharing it at Kunstler's blog.

A second post about The Donald made this month's retrospective for entries published during August, as "Trump gets a Michigan welcome, good and bad" published August 12, 2015 came in eighth among last month's posts with 131 page views (110 according to the default counter a week into September).  It earned its views from being shared at The Archdruid Report in addition to normal social media promotion.

The seventh most read entry for the month was also the eleventh most read overall during August, as it popped into the top ten on the very last day.  "Science Fiction and Fantasy at the 2015 Teen Choice Awards" published August 16, 2015 ended the month with 113 page views, 133 according to the default counter.  It earned its views from being shared at the science fiction, fantasy, and horror groups on Facebook.

"Trump is Penguin for President" was the third of four entries about The Donald to earn a place in this month's retrospective.  This blast from the recent past, posted on June 17, 2015, earned 125 page views according to the default counter to land in tenth place overall for the month.  My sharing it at The Archdruid Report was responsible for nearly all its page views.  Two months ago, it got into the top ten by being promoted at Kunstler's blog.  Nothing like taking turns to extend the life of an entry.

The ninth most read overall and the sixth most read entry posted during August was "'Pirates of the Caribbean' alignment chart" published August 2, 2015, the first of three alignment charts in this month's overall top ten.  It earned 136 page views, 153 according to the raw counter, by being shared at the science fiction and fantasy groups on Facebook.  The post fell out of the top ten on the last day, as it was the second entry of the month.

"New 'Fear the Walking Dead' promo" published August 10, 2015 earned double honors.  First, it was the eighth most read overall and the fifth most read entry posted during August with 145 page views, 165 according to the raw counter.  Second, it was the second most "liked" entry on Google Plus with 7 pluses at the end of the month.  It earned its views and pluses by being shared at the appropriate groups, the science fiction and horror groups on Facebook and the 'Walking Dead' groups on Google Plus.

The second alignment chart entry as well as the second entry about zombies to make August's top ten was "D&D alignment charts for 'The Walking Dead'."  This blast from the past, posted March 29, 2015, earned its 159 page views by being first searched for during a marathon of "The Walking Dead" to promote "Fear the Walking Dead," and then shared on the science fiction and horror groups on Facebook that same day.  Nothing like striking while the iron is hot to return it to the top ten, where it placed seventh overall.

"Gas price spike prompts outrage and analysis" published August 15, 2015 got its 182 page views, 197 according to the raw counter, from being shared at Kunstler's blog.  That was enough to land it in sixth place overall and fourth among entries posted during August 2015.

"Drinks for the candidates in tonight's debate" published August 6, 2015 was the lower ranking of two entries that I shared at both Greer's and Kunstler's blogs.  I decided readers of both blogs deserved a chance to have fun drinking during the first Republican debate.  Between the link being included in comments and being shared with the political groups on Facebook, it earned 215 page views, 245 according to the raw counter, enough to place it fifth overall and third among entries posted during August.  It also was the second most commented on entry of the month with seven comments, so the post earned double honors.

The fourth most read entry during last month got on the top ten completely by accident, as it wasn't promoted at all during August.  There was a link to it in another entry that was promoted and more than 300 people who read the first entry clicked on it.  The result was that "WXYZ previews marijuana legalization for the 2016 ballot" received 316 page views, placing this entry from the back catalog (barely, as it was posted July 29, 2015) in the top ten in fourth place overall for the month.

The second entry I shared at both Greer's and Kunstler's blogs as well as all the political groups on Facebook was "Drinks and drinking games for Donald Trump and the GOP debates" published August 2, 2015.  This was the most read of both the Trump entries and the drink entries last month, earning 317 page views, 346 according to the raw counter.  It was the third most read overall and either the second according to the default counter or the first according to the raw counter among all entries posted during August.  It earned another honor, being the most commented on entry with 10 comments.

"'Star Wars' alignment charts" published August 16, 2015 was the second most read entry overall and either the first according to the default counter with 320 page views or the second according to the raw counter with 327 page views among all entries posted during August.  Since I usually use the default counter and the other contender won the most comments award, I'm giving the new entry trophy to this post.  It earned its page views by being shared on the science fiction and Star Wars groups on Facebook along with web search.

The most read entry last month not only earned the back catalog trophy (barely, as it was posted on July 30, 2015) but also was the most read entry both last month and for the entire history of the blog so far.  I shared "WXYZ on redistricting reform" on the Coffee Party USA Facebook page, which earned it 2529 page views during August.  Added to its page views during July, and it ended the month with a total of 2578 page views, 2606 according to the raw counter, enough to knock "Corn questions from 'Food, Inc.' worksheet worksheet" out of the top ten.  Between the 2500+ people clicking though from Facebook and the 300+ who clicked on the link to "WXYZ previews marijuana legalization for the 2016 ballot," along with the rest of the day's traffic, the blog had its best day ever with 2,994 page views.

Before I share my goals for September, I'm noting a trend in the past two months' reports.  During the first half of this year, the majority of entries that got into the top ten earned their page views from being shared at either or both of Greer's or Kunstler's blogs; posts promoted at Facebook and Google Plus only made up only a minority of the most read entries during most months.  This month and last, posts promoted in the appropriate groups on social media composed the majority of entries in both retrospectives.  That's a trend worth noting.

I conclude with my readership goals for September, which aren't very high.  September 2014 saw only 11,785 page views.  To beat that will require 393 page views per day for 11,790, which is the minimum goal.  The low goal of ending a day ahead entails 406 page views per day for a total of 12,180 total.  The medium goal of a five percent increase over last year would be 12,390 total or 413 page views per day.  The high goal would be at least 13,000 page views to keep the streak going, which would mean 434 page views per day.  As of tonight, the blog is exceeding all these goals, but it's only the first week.  There are 23 days left in September.  Stay tuned.

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