July 15, 2007

What Happens When A Blog Takes Over?

If you've ever wondered how much a blog can increase the amount of traffic to a domain name, then here's a killer example. It's based on the actual traffic data for this blog, and the results are definitely impressive.

Friday the 13th To Friday the 13th

First, a little Aaron Cook dot Com™ history...and if you're of the superstitious type, then you might want to watch out for these facts!

1. The Aaron Cook dot Com™ blog was first launched in April of 2007 on Friday the 13th.
2. The three-month anniversary for Aaron Cook dot Com™ was two days ago...also on Friday the 13th!

OK, perhaps a tad eerie for some, but what's that got to do with site traffic? Well, three months is also the magic number when it comes to the Alexa traffic rank. And this post will show you just how much the web traffic to AaronCook.com has jumped ever since I launched it here on this blog.

Who owned it before? Well, the AaronCook.com domain name used to be owned by a successful defense attorney based in Virginia. But thankfully, and after four long years of waiting, I acquired it for myself - the real deal when it comes to complete and total Aaron Cookness. ;)

The Alexa Rank - What The Heck Is It?

Quite simply, Alexa's traffic rank is based on three (3) months of aggregated, historical traffic data. This data is derived from Internet users who have the Alexa Toolbar installed on their computers. The traffic rank of a site reflects both the number of users who visit that site, as well as the number of pages those users have viewed on that particular site.

Alexa's three-month change is determined by comparing the site's current traffic rank with its traffic rank from three months ago. The three-month change is very important as it'll show you precisely how much the traffic here has gone up in the last three months since I've been blogging.

What Happens When A Blog Takes Over

OK, so now it's time for the moment of truth. As most bloggers know, blogs are the best when it comes to driving site traffic. So how much has the traffic for AaronCook.com actually increased? Let's take a look...

  • Reach - up 14,650%
  • Traffic Rank - up a whopping 7,303,713
  • Page Views - up 40%

Now those are some pretty significant traffic increases. And as far as Alexa traffic rankings go, such increases are nothing short of astronomical.

Aaron Cook Dot Com™ Worldwide

So where exactly am I across the globe? Here's an interesting look at the percentage of readers I have from other countries.

Not surprisingly, the majority of my readers come from the United States. But what is surprising is the percentage of readers I have from Romania! It's definitely a much larger-than-normal result for that region, and I have absolutely no clue as to why. All I can say is thanks for being my friend! :)


If you notice, the percentage of readers I have from countries other than the United States is quite a lot. This explains why the overall Alexa traffic rank is somewhat lower than it should be for a site that receives 200+ visitors per day.

One of the well-known issues with the Alexa rank (Alexa even mentions it themselves) is that the traffic data is derived solely from the Internet users who have the Alexa Toolbar installed on their computers. Unfortunately, that excludes a large percentage of foreign users.

Nonetheless, it's pretty clear how much the traffic here has increased ever since the domain name was moved from a static website to a blog. And so, my great and wonderful friends, that is what happens when a blog takes over!

11 comments:

  1. AnonymousJuly 16, 2007

    Wow Aaron, that was really a lot of growth over such a short period of time. Congrats to you!

    Tom

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  2. Many thanks Tom. I've worked hard for it, so let's hope that some of it actually sticks!

    Shine on,
    Aaron

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  3. AnonymousJuly 16, 2007

    Can I sometime explain you about romanian traffic ?

    Valentin,
    Romania

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  4. Hi Valentin,

    Absolutely. The amount of traffic that I get from those in Romania is indeed far beyond the norm...so any explanation is certainly most welcomed.

    Shine on,
    Aaron

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  5. AnonymousJuly 16, 2007

    Nothing better than watching your Alexa stats soar!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Indeed Bush, indeed. :)

    Thanks for stopping by, my friend.

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousJuly 16, 2007

    Congrats on the jump there. I'm sure you'll get an ever bigger increase in the months to come.

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  8. AnonymousJuly 17, 2007

    wow! that's astonishing result.. congrate! is it due to the domain name only? is other strategy that you apply which can be share here?

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  9. Brown Baron - Thanks my friend, I can only hope so.

    Dani - Thanks. :) That's only due to the domain name being used for this blog as opposed to the site it used to be used on.

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  10. AnonymousJuly 18, 2007

    That is because blogs are everything a search engine loves plus they scratch a need to see something fresh on the return visit.

    ReplyDelete
  11. You hit the nail right on the head Matt! Thanks for visiting, my friend. Good to see things are hopping nicely over at your site. :)

    Shine on,
    Aaron

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Shine on,
Aaron