I’ve just been looking at my stats and have finally realised why my numbers aren’t looking so good this year. I still seem to be getting comments and visitors, and the site seems busy enough by my standards (which are, admittedly, not as high as the standards of some sites). The difference, as far as I can see, is that I wrote 465 posts in the 365 days of 2017.
I’m not sure if that’s really possible, but it’s what the numbers say, so I’ll have to accept it. It’s either that or go back and count the posts.
| Year | Total Posts | Total Comments | Avg Comments per Post | Total Likes | Avg Likes per Post | Total Words | Avg Words per Post |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 44 | 22 | 0.5 | 49 | 1.1 | 11,285 | 257 |
| 2015 | 252 | 850 | 3.4 | 1,657 | 6.6 | 80,901 | 321 |
| 2016 | 288 | 2,539 | 8.8 | 3,812 | 13.2 | 99,157 | 344 |
| 2017 | 465 | 8,431 | 18.1 | 10,725 | 23.1 | 155,383 | 334 |
| 2018 | 325 | 5,893 | 18.1 | 7,345 | 22.6 | 101,535 | 312 |
This, of course, raises another question – how important are the numbers?
When everything was going well last year I was happy to think I had a growing audience but as they’ve gradually declined I haven’t really noticed any practical difference in terms of interaction. I really only need to see a few people, and I can’t follow and read too many other blogs.
It’s a bit like followers. I have 1,500 followers but get an average 18.1 comments per post. That tends to suggest my real number of followers is nearer 18 than 1,500.
It’s enough. I’m happy with the followers I have and don’t need the other 1,450 fictional followers.
What does anyone else think?