I can’t believe I’ve been blogging blind for so long. I had no idea how many visitors we had every day, or what they looked at when they visited. We seemed to get a few comments on every post, so that was enough, right?
Well, there’s a whole lot more information available than that! I can see into your *soul*, dear reader. For instance, I know Todd in Calgary checks out forgetful.ca on a gargantuan 3200 x 1200 pixel monitor. While eating yogurt. Raspberry yogurt. With a fork. Do I need to know that? NO! But Google Analytics insist I know.
One useful feature is a display of where our visitors are on earth, here’s the graphic for last week. Hello Warsaw!
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Most of our visitors are from Ottawa, but we have a healthy cross-section from across Canada, a sprinkling from our fair neighbors to the south, and a soupcon from elsewhere. Welcome all.
Also, it’s not my place to say, but for all you that are checking from work, are your employers really paying you to check forgetful.ca? And by employer I mean me for all you government folk. My taxes pay $0.000032 of your salary every hour you’re reading this!
Finally, you can track how people got to forgetful.ca. For instance, forgetful.ca may show up as a hit when someone searches for, say, “valentine playmate jpg”, which someone from Willis, Texas searched for on Monday, Feb. 12th. I don’t recall that topic ever appearing on forgetful.ca, but Google works in mysterious ways.
If you have a blog, check out Google Analytics. If you don’t, continue to enjoy forgetful.ca. I’ll enjoy watching you enjoy!
Sonja - I think I’m the orange dot who checked forgetful.ca from Las Vegas.
Kris - I actually find my own stat tracker really creepy. I may check this out though…
…and no, my employer doesn’t pay me to read Forgetful.ca. But I bet if they knew about the POTD, they’d think twice before slapping me on the wrist.
Alicia - So do you know that I check you three out every morning on my drive in? I was in the car wash today, the Esso on Innes @ Belcourt. See me there?
I usally check on my way in and if there isn’t an update at that time I check when I get to work..then usually on my lunch and sometimes on my drive home. I often check back before bed. A little bit obsessed? Perhaps…
So as much as I haven’t ‘seen’ Jaia.. I have seen her. I am anxiously awaiting my visit. Hopefully tonight? or Friday? Or Saturday?
Ben - anti-spam word: Spoinky. Yep, spoinky.
Forgetful.ca has made it into my rotation: hotmail, gmail, pitchfork, cbc, forgetful – which I repeat a few times a day, and by a few I mean a thousand. I’m a creature of habit. But are you surprised at how often we surf this site? with all those lovable baby photos, insightful observations, and strangely interesting tidbits of handy knowledge, how can we resist?
Todd - Yogurt with a fork!!! Never.
The huge monitors makes it much easier to surf at work. Your browser window just blends in with all the other open windows on the desktop.
Google analytics is a great tool, especially for a business, but how much information do you really want to give to google.
Todd - Found this blog post.
http://blog.v7n.com/2006/08/22/adwords-analytics/
shannen - I’m impressed by how often our friends and family check us out. Be not embarrassed. The stats aren’t *that* specific. Or maybe they are, but I don’t care. I like that you like us. Keep on reading on.
(And Al, I’m holding you to your ‘visit soon’ promise. My fingers are crossed.)
contributor mark - I had no idea there was so much traffic.
I should probably write something.
Jessie - What?? The possible return of contributor Mark?!! How exciting!
contributor mark - quiet, you.
Kel - Wah. I signed up for Google analytics and haven’t a buggery clue how to work it. I’m on Xanga! Can anybody help me here? I copied the text Analytics tells you to copy, and I managed to get into the code (I think), and I stuck it right up in the corner before the word “body”. Is that not right?
rachel - Hello from Edinburgh (I found you through Kris, but you probably already know that). Question – I’ve been trying to get stats on my livejournal but can’t figure out how – do you know any that work with livejournal?
dan - Hi Rachel,
Welcome! Always wanted to visit Edinburgh. We enjoy your blog too 🙂
I don’t know much about livejournal. A search of livejournal + analytics brings up people discussing how livejournal should allow analytics or some other stats tracking application, so it sounds like right now it’s not possible.
Sorry …
rachel - Ah. I could have/should have thought of that but didn’t. Maybe I should switch, or get over my compulsive curiosity about my web traffic!
Thanks for getting back to me anyway, and Edinburgh is a wonderful place to visit. You can get cheap flights on http://www.flyzoom.com so when the wee one is a few years older…