Prompted by the Blogging Guru, Barbara Swafford’s post last week called SEO — Are We Getting It All Wrong, I finally peeked at the site stats Wordpress Guru, Kim Woodbridge set up a couple of months ago for me. I’d never checked them ’cause what I didn’t know couldn’t hurt me, right? If new stumblers were fleeing in droves I’d be blissfully ignorant and continue happily blogging away with all you wonderful friends until my dying day.
Well holy cow, it seems more and more folks are not only finding me but are actually RETURNING here! And as I commented to Barbara, here are some of the more “interesting” search phrases that landed folks on my site…
– golden bras
– lightweight drunk
– advanced placement essay naked
– brainwashed by Sarah Palin
– ass kicking bunny poem
– cash in my bra
– contortionism
– how to flounce
– I have lost my Jannie
– milking a cow poem
– migraine guitar lesson
Hey – are those me in a nutshell, or what?!?
I’ll be a total Barbara Swafford copycat here and ask the same of you — what kind of keywords are bringing folks to your site? Do you use your stats and / or give any thought to your Search Engine Optimization? Or do you even have stats and SEO set up?
On 9 February 2009 at 6:46 am K said,
Wow – that bra looks painful.
I love seeing what random searches get people to my site. Who is looking for this stuff? I mean really – ass kicking bunny poem?
K’s last blog post..Guest Poster 2 – The Raisin Chronicles
On 9 February 2009 at 6:54 am Mike Goad said,
Most of mine are pretty mundane:
- something you make people do that they not supose to do
- contract work while on unemployment
- i dont wear a wrist watch?
- what does it mean to you to be a gay american
- stop wearing your watch
- why i wear my watch
- don t wear a watch
- deer photo with tounge sticking out
- fonz fun plug plug ins
- quit wearing panties
I don’t really use the stats for my blog and don’t worry too much about SEO.
Mike Goad’s last blog post..Recycled Tip – Think About The Audience That Reads Your Blog
On 9 February 2009 at 7:10 am Lynn said,
That list is funny!!!! Now I am wondering if there is something like that for Blogger. Hmmm. I’d love to know how I ended up with a reader from Norway.
Lynn’s last blog post..Kirking, tartan and rebellious spirit
On 9 February 2009 at 7:56 am Glenn Buttkus said,
Perhaps E-Blogger just doesn’t offer those Stats goodies, or perhaps I am just too cyber-dumb to figger it out, but no, I never check them. My site, as well you know, is just set up for my own pleasure. I post things I like, that interest me, mostly poetry and articles, movie reviews; early on some biographical stuff.
God, that golden bra is hot, but it must feel cold. What is the “story” connected to it? I haven’t been a Funster long enough to know the back story. The dragon wings look pokey and sharp; don’t fall down in the thing or you could bet a boobalectimy pronto.
Joy Harjo found this great pic of Sarah Palin in a U.S. flag bikini, holding a hunting rifle. I reposted it on my site. I was worth the peek for sure.
If you do the butt of the month feature, perhaps your friend is right, and you should include every kind of monkey, bovine, kitty, doggie, gorilla, and sheep butt you can find. Who knows, you might start a blogger tradition, kind of like that Post a Pic of Your Cat Friday one.
Glenn
Glenn Buttkus’s last blog post..Echoes of Our Own Lives
On 9 February 2009 at 10:42 am Jannie said,
K: It does look a little “pinching” doesn’t it? But pretty. Yes, an ass-kicking bunny poem, indeed. Maybe a desperate Easter bard?
Mike: What’s up with all those watch questions? I’ll have to Google some and see if you come up. Deer with tongue hanging out?! Stop wearing panties?! Well, have you – stopped wearing em, that is?
Joking – joking!
Lynn: Yes I do believe if you can get into your HTML, there is a bit of code you insert once you sign up for Google Analytics, which is free! And perhaps there are
other stats companies you can go with too. Be worth Googling. I couldn’t figure it out so Kim did it for me. And how did you find out about your reader from Norway? Someone leaving comments?
Glenn: See above to Lynn on stats. I think that golden bra is hot too! And not a bad body it’s displayed on. Got it off a Google image. I have NO IDEA how my site came up that way. Well obviously bras were a hot topice here for a while, and I suppose I’ve written gold somewhere on this blog too. Hilarious what comes up! I’ll have to check intermittently and see the new phrases in my stats, if I venture back in there again. Who the hell Googles “migraine guitar lesson” or “advanced placement essay naked?” Could be some people just do it for fun, to see if anything comes up. Like, maybe after I post this I’ll Google “naked rooster river dancer,” or “sunshine freezing buttocks” just for the halibut.
Butt of the month, I might consider but please don’t hold me to it just yet — I’ve got a lot on my plate.
On 9 February 2009 at 10:46 am Dot said,
I have stats but have never seen what phrases people use to get to my blog. Not sure if I have that available to me, but next time I look, I’ll check.
Dot’s last blog post..Time to Celebrate!
On 9 February 2009 at 10:54 am debbie said,
I don’t have that set up to see how people find me. But I do love that photo! Now that is suffering for fashion.
debbie’s last blog post..I am a mother – feel my guilt
On 9 February 2009 at 11:54 am Barbara Swafford said,
Hi Jannie – I have to laugh – “Blogging guru?” – I don’t know if I would go that far, but I do appreciate the link love and knowing I inspired you to check your stats. Although it’s easy to get hung up on the numbers, stats can actually tell us a lot about our blogs.
I just checked my most recent search strings, and “don’t try to reinvent the wheel”, is a new one.
I love reading the search strings of how people find you. I’m guessing when they land on your blog, they’re not at all disappointed.
Thank you again, Jannie.
Barbara Swafford’s last blog post..How Do You Measure Your Success
On 9 February 2009 at 12:15 pm Vered - MomGrind said,
That photo is priceless.
Yes, I do pay attention to SEO.
Glancing at search terms from today:
Skimpy outfits
Actually the rest are relevant to my site so I guess my efforts at SEO are working. But I often get weird ones. I think I’ll post about it too sometime.
On 9 February 2009 at 12:41 pm Jannie said,
Hey Dot, I have Google Analytics and it took me some stumbling through to get to the search words part, and I’ll probably have to stumble some more to find it again when I go back in there. But it’s somewhere under reports or visitors, or something. I suppose it’s how deeply you want to get into it and how important SEO is to you. Every blogger blogs for their own reasons.
Debbie: I wonder how much the bra costs? When I Googled for it I did see a real solid gold bra. And a diamond one valued at over a million $$!!
Barbara: No disrespect to some of the other top people who blog about blogging, but yes you are for sure a blogging mentor to many of us. Your archives alone are a treasure trove of info. And I appreciate that you take the time to get around to other bloggers’ blogs. Once other things slow down for me I intend to delve into the whole stats thing deeper, as I understand one can really use them to grow a site, if one has a clue how to do that.
Vered: Yeah, I kinda like that photo too — it called out to me. That would be cool for you to post about your weird search words sometime, can sure be entertaining. As I just mentioned to Barbara, at some point I’m really going to take a close look at how stats and SEO can work for me too.
On 9 February 2009 at 12:42 pm Lisa said,
Haha! Those are some great search phrases!
About 80 percent of the time, the people who stumble upon my blog find it when they search for an answer to the question, “is comfortability a word?” I have a long-standing disagreement with a friend of mine over this issue, and have written a few blog posts about it. And the second most popular search term seems to be “gummi bears” — and this one I find quite interesting, because most of the time the people searching for gummi bears are from Korea. (Are gummi bears really popular in Korea??)
Lisa’s last blog post..The best-laid plans…
On 9 February 2009 at 1:00 pm Mama Zen said,
Yikes! I’m afraid to even check!
Mama Zen’s last blog post..How To Ruin A Weekend
On 9 February 2009 at 1:30 pm Lane Savant said,
I have been putting provocative comments and provocative names and provocative accusations bordering on the felonious on my site since day one (maybe two) but my hit counter remains steady as a rock and my comment audience consists of 90% old buddy.
Whaddayagotta do to get arrested in this town?
Lane Savant’s last blog post..Ma non troppo
On 9 February 2009 at 1:56 pm Matthew Dryden said,
“ways to masturbate” and “great ways to masturbate”
I’m on the first page for both of these phrases – at least, in Google.
Matthew Dryden’s last blog post..Cee?
On 9 February 2009 at 1:58 pm Kim Woodbridge said,
And then you gotta wonder who is searching for things like “ass kicking bunny poem”? And are there a lot of lost Jannies?
Thanks so much for the link – now that you’ve checked your stats try not to get addicted to them.
Kim Woodbridge’s last blog post..Using Conditionals with WordPress 2.7 Sticky Posts
On 9 February 2009 at 2:58 pm Retro Heather said,
tainted peanutbut does not affect jiffy
lea curtes
retro heather
citychiccountrymouse
general mills freebies
tainted jiffy peanut butter
retro toilette
Your keywords are much better! Clearly I’m getting it all wrong. But if wrong is right, I won’t want to be wrong.
Retro Heather’s last blog post..Okay, so I deleted my blog. Twice.
On 9 February 2009 at 3:52 pm Patricia said,
Jannie,
This was fun and the comments are great too….I don’t know how to get my stats or SEO stuff but they must not be very good right now because my IT person isn’t tell me nifty little things about it and I think I might ask Blogger Dad to put a twitter button on my site.
I think it is because I am just too intense. I am always asking folks to do not fun things – except drink champagne and then write on my Tour page?
Maybe if I got one of those bras?
It sure is wonderful to have my email up and working again and Internet service…I think I will just be grateful for your good posts and that!
Patricia’s last blog post..I Request the Honor of your Comments
On 9 February 2009 at 4:04 pm Sara said,
Jannie,
You caught me! I have to admit that I haven’t checked my stats in ages. To be honest, I approach this part of blogging with a bit of fear. My fear is that I will write to my stats, which probably more of issue of confidence. Maybe, as my blog matures, I will be checking the numbers and the keywords more often. Great post!
Sara’s last blog post..A Picture for Your Thoughts
On 9 February 2009 at 5:09 pm robbi said,
Fordstar, I am just so much of an introverted coward I pretend not to know there is a stats page on the blog.There are times when I read my own blog twice just to prove to myself someone has actually read it.Once when I read it to my 8yr old grandaughter she fell asleep so had to finish reading until I too fell asleep. The most cutting remark came from my son when his mother said she had printed out my blogs.He looked surprised and then said”What on earth for?” The short answer is, no I don’t.
robbi’s last blog post..ink marks on a blank page Sun 8th Feb
On 9 February 2009 at 5:54 pm Shay said,
I dunno, but if anyone searches “succubus real estate agent jackboots Arc de Triomphe” they’ll land right in my lap!
Shay’s last blog post..Return Of The Succubus
On 9 February 2009 at 6:23 pm sheila said,
How funny! I posted once on not wanting to fart in front of my hubby, and I get at least 1 search daily for things like “women+farting”. lol.
sheila’s last blog post..Are You There God?, It’s me, Sheila Breaking the cycle.
On 9 February 2009 at 7:01 pm Jannie said,
Lidsa: Are you serious?? Oh I guess you are. And gummi bears too. Which reminds me, Kelly bought some last night and I bought some chocolate covered almonds the latter which I either ate in my sleep or soemone stole during the night – I suspect the thievery!
Mama Z: That’s exactly how I felt. You will probably be pleasantly surprised and / or get a good laugh out of it.
Lane: Would you go so far as to say you’ve been a bordrline “Felonious” Monk? And I do believe I quite know that buddy of yours. And all those dead poets.
Matthew: I’m gonna Google you on those!
Kim: I haven’t been back since that first time but the itch is indeed building.
Heather: Retro toilette. Old plumbing fixtures I guess?
Whoops, gotta run. 7:00. Time to lance my boils!
I’LL BE BAAAACK!!!
On 10 February 2009 at 12:03 am Thomma Lyn said,
“Ass kicking bunny poem” cracked me up!
I have a stat counter thingy set up, but I hardly check it anymore. When I first started blogging, I checked it many times a day. Now I’m lucky if I check it once every two weeks, LOL!
And as to search phrases, a lot of people land on my blog who are searching for information about “wrestling.” Ha! Guess they get a surprise, huh?
Thomma Lyn’s last blog post..Happy Day!
On 10 February 2009 at 12:24 am Talon said,
I look at that bra and all I can think is “ouch”…
The stats on blogs is interesting…sort of random, but definitely interesting.
Talon’s last blog post..Scenes
On 10 February 2009 at 2:53 am SnaggleTooth said,
What a list, n I thought it was just “bra-flinging” doing the trick…
I don’t currently have the stats set-up on blogger sites. I don’t worry about “meta-phrases” on my blog currentluy. I used seo/hit meters on past urls. I’m into low maintainance these days=
SnaggleTooth’s last blog post..Petals Past
On 10 February 2009 at 4:20 am Belle Bamford said,
Huh?
Belle Bamford’s last blog post..CHICKEN RUN
On 10 February 2009 at 4:39 am Lance said,
Hi Jannie,
“Golden bras” — that’s how I end up here, every time!! Okay, maybe not…But I just did a search of the first thing I thought of for you (don’t take it personally – or if you do – I mean it in a completely awesome way)(because you are…awesome). I searched for “crazy Jannie” — and you come up first! and second! feels pretty great, doesn’t it! Cause you’re crazy in some very cool ways!!!
A quick look at search terms to my site, here’s one:
“our lives are frittered away in detail” — there’s a feel good moment for me…
Lance’s last blog post..What Do I Know About Fabric?
On 10 February 2009 at 5:13 am Georgie B said,
I’m not sure what search phrases land people at my blog (although judging from the “Feedjit” widget people are reading some of the more off the wall blog posts), heck, I don’t even remember how I landed at your blog.
But I mostly use my Google analytics to watch the increase and to help me think of ways to keep what I got.
Georgie B’s last blog post..I Think, Therefore, I Rock And Roll*
On 10 February 2009 at 6:03 am Jannie said,
Ahhh, my boils all nicely lanced now.
So where was I? Oh yes, golden bras…
Patricia: fun and less fun are all part of the game of life balance. I hope you will keep on doing what you do because your writing is valuable to many. And dang, I need to drink some champagne and get to your tour page!
Sara: It is good I think, to write for YOU, not your stats. All else is gravy.
Robbi: Your wife is sweet to print out your blog. Your son may need a respectful boot to the arse. And I READ YOUR WONDERFUL BLOG, as you and Hortense well know.
Shay: I did and I got to Johnny Depp’s page? Nope, just kidding – that’s you, right up top of the Google search for that one!!! Succubus jackboots and hardware store spirit too.
Sheila: And a fine thing to be net-famous for, indeed!
Thomma Lyn: Ah yes, text wrestling indeed. Any cat wrangler searchers out there too?
Talon: Do you know about Statbrain.com? It’s a site where you can punch in anyone’s URL and see how many visits a day they are getting. Doesn’t to my knowledge do much else but it find it intriguing.
Snag: I hear ya on low maintenance. Your blog is just for fun and expression I believe, not to take over the world like Google, Yahoo and I are vying for.
Belle: Yep! You’ve seen it here on JF.com, you gotta believe it.
Lance: Crazy Jannie!!! Yeah, the truth is out and I feel so free, you olde detaile fritterer awayer, you!
Georgie: I read somewhere that people love off the wall stuff, relieves them from the daily hum-drum. TEh sillier teh better sometimes. I remember how you landed here — I found you first and you so nicely followed me over here! (So I lured you, as I have to so many unsuspecting souls.)
On 10 February 2009 at 8:32 am Glenn Buttkus said,
Lane Savant’s blog is really “The Dead Poets Society”,and a bunch of other dead bloggers and commenters as well. It is the damndest thing to get comments from George Custer, and Patton, and Michael, and Gobel, and Foreman, and Liberace’s brother too. His love affair with Emily Dickinson is way cool as well.
I found my way to this wunderbar world of Funster by tracking you from some of your comments. Since you blog on what, 75 sites per day, it is no wonder that you have amassed several hundred loyal Funsters in less than a year. Probably this site is up for about 37 blog awards but you haven’t been notified yet.
Thanks for informing us that that is NOT you in the metal bra. For a few golden moments many of us thought we were getting a shot of Jannie cleavage, and how silly is that. Like waiting for the Butt of the Month featurem, I guess.
I will, thank you, go out an look at Statbrain.com, and find out if more than three people are visiting my site. Some of us old farts are just not too technically oriented. Hell, we are lucky to be able to type, and find our own houses at night.
Glenn
Glenn Buttkus’s last blog post..One Meadow
On 10 February 2009 at 12:36 pm AndreaMai said,
Mine aren’t nearly as funny, but man, oh man- I love my stats. It doesn’t take much to make me giddy- and they always cheer me up or point me to the direction I should be going.
novella publisher, money publishers novella, guidelines for designing a book cover for the book you read
Thanks!
AndreaMai’s last blog post..My Fellow Blogger
On 10 February 2009 at 12:42 pm Momisodes said,
Wow. That’s an awful lot of searches for bras
I am so addicted to my stats. Like I could use a patch or something. But I stopped looking at search terms. They totally creep me out sometimes.
Momisodes’s last blog post..Hangin’ Tough…but starting to sag
On 10 February 2009 at 2:04 pm Tess said,
Jannie,
I’d rather be blissfully blogging to my dying day! Ha and I love the photo of the two loves of your life.
Tess’s last blog post..What Was Your Biggest Insight In January 2009?
On 10 February 2009 at 2:34 pm Miladysa said,
Believe it or not very few people arrive at my sites via search engines. Those kind of visitors stopped arriving after google took over blogger – I think they divert people away from sites that do have any advertising on them
Then again… I’m into conspiracy theories *twitch*
On 10 February 2009 at 3:24 pm Liara Covert said,
The keyword investigation idea will appeal to many people who do not necessarily know what kinds of reasons prompt readers to return to their blogs.
Liara Covert’s last blog post..13 Illusions to shake up your awareness
On 10 February 2009 at 6:09 pm Georgie B said,
Now I remember.
Reciprocity.
Something I still do once in a blue moon when I have a comment from a first timer to my blog.
I still search out new blogs to read. Whenever I come across someone who appears interesting enough when they make a comment on a blog that I happen to be reading, I’ll check out their profile and their main blog.
Georgie B’s last blog post..I Think, Therefore, I Rock And Roll*
On 10 February 2009 at 7:00 pm louise said,
have no idea abt the stats – but now i know what i WON’T be wearing next halloween!
louise’s last blog post..
On 10 February 2009 at 7:57 pm Natural said,
i don’t have a clue how people find my blog. some people say they found it from a google search, but they never tell me which words. i’m not doing any stat checking at the moment. there’s a song – originally done by brenda russel – called get here. lyrics: i don’t care how you get here, just get here if you can. i think that’s how i feel. i’m just happy to have a visitor or two, the route you take is up to you. of course i do find these keywords interesting when other people talk about what brought people to their blog. it’s funny too.
Natural’s last blog post..Incognito
On 10 February 2009 at 8:08 pm Renee said,
Ha! My favorite is “I have lost my Jannie”…. they’ve lost their Jannie and they’re looking for her online?
Hmmmmm…..
I laughed at your comment on my post… I wonder how many peoples’ bathroom smells make them think of me?
Renee’s last blog post..Goodbye Evil Mother-in-Law…
On 10 February 2009 at 9:17 pm VeRonda said,
What a list, right? LOL! I’m cracking up.
On 10 February 2009 at 10:07 pm Jannie said,
Holey Cow – is it ever raining here as I write this. Thunder, lightening, hail. Lights flickering. I love it. Shoot, will I get to post this, or will the power go out?
Glenn: I wrote a really really strange and meaningless but somewhat interesting song a few years ago called “Drinking With Famous Dead Guys.” Savant’s blog commenters remind me of it. I do have about 95 blogs I read now, but I only get ’round to them once or twice a week on average. I feel sad I cannot read every word every one of my buddies has written just as soon as they have posted. I actually I could vist 300 a day and comment (maybe a poem to post on that tomorrrow or Thursday.)
Andrea: See, I envy that – you have a real niche going for you. That should take you as far as you want to go with it, maybe even farther – a nice little nuggety novella niche to mine indeed.
Momisodes: I now what you mean by the creepy ones, too weird or gross to mention. Thank God we’re adults and can deal in passing with that kind, I cringe for some teenager who may be blogging and run into the weirdoes. The Internet is not a good place in many ways, shortens childhood, unless severely monitored by parents.
Tess: I’m going to stay with the bliss element too, but may study my stats at sometime to see what pages and kinds of posts are popular and such. Someday when I get 36 hours a day to do with as I wish.
Miladysa: Nothing from Google would surprise me – they are intent on taking over the world it seems. And are darn good at coming up with ways to do it.
Liara: exactly – thre is a wealth of info to be gleaned and put to good use in stats for blog / site growth.
Georgie: That’s how I found you – went surfing and liked what you wrote. And .. history was made!
Louise: Oh, I’d love to prance around downtown Austin in one of those golden bras next Hallowe’en! Maybe have a mermaid skirt to go with it. And 5″ golden wedge heels.
Natural: I so know that song! “You can get here by caravan, cross the desert like an arab man, I don’t care how you get here, just get here if you can.” I remember the Oleta Adams version in 1991. She can freaking sing!
Renee: “I have lost my Jannie.” Millions and millions of people on the Net, with millions and millions of thoughts and desires in their hearts. Strange things being Googled each and every moment. Oh, such a great big world full of wonderment and bizarre longings.
VeRonda: Hello again! So nice of you to pop in. It was a pretty funny list, yes! I was cracking up too. And how are you today? You are on my list of bloggers to get ’round to soon. And I will!
On 10 February 2009 at 10:42 pm Patricia - Spiritual Journey Of A Lightworker said,
Well now, everybody has me curious as to what search words are used for people to find my blog. I have Google Analytics but haven’t checked it out in a very long time. Think I will do that now before we get some of that storm that you were talking about. So far it is just rain and wind here but after midnight is expected to get much worse.
Patricia – Spiritual Journey Of A Lightworker’s last blog post..Kindness—Why Is It Easier To Be Kind To Strangers?
On 10 February 2009 at 11:44 pm Jessica said,
I just had my google analytics set up today. I’ll have to get back to you but I can promise you, one of those search terms will likely be neurotic
On 11 February 2009 at 1:27 am J.D. Meier said,
Your outfit looks bullet proof, or is that Wonder Woman?
There are some posts I want to be found by searches, but so the bulk of my energy is just compressing knowledge into little chunks of things you can use.
I do like it when I can find my posts quickly just by searching. For example, to find my productivity quotes post, I just search for productivity quotes and it pops up. I wish some of my other posts were that easy to find.
J.D. Meier’s last blog post..Avoid Mental Burnout
On 11 February 2009 at 9:46 pm Mia said,
That’s awesome and funny. I use some stats, but since changing my blog over they’ve plummeted and I don’t want to look at them anymore. I don’t have the time or energy to put into a ton of seo, but one day, I’ll figure something out.
Mia’s last blog post..The Journey to Hysteria ~ (I Didn’t Know)
On 12 February 2009 at 1:12 am Dorothy said,
I just wanted to say thank you for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment. I sure wish I could get the traffic that you have.
You have a wonderful blog! It must be a full time job.
Cheers,
Dorothy
http://www.neverenoughrubberstamps.blogspot.com
P.S. You did say Canadian a? lol
Dorothy’s last blog post..Blog Help Please!
On 12 February 2009 at 10:28 am Jannie said,
Patricia:; Did you check them? And are you getting Golden Bras too?
Jessica: I had noticed you popping up first in Google searches under that, but didn’t feel it was my place to bring it up first.
J.D. Yeah, to me it’s amazing to me that we get found at all with the amount and scope of articles that are here on the web.
Mia: Don’t worry – you’ll get it back up there and no doubt surpass it in time. You can’t go wrong with the switch to Wordpress, as you know.
Dorothy: How nice of YOU to pop by here. Welcome. I do spend an average of 2 hours a day blogging, 4 hours would be my goal. (Seriously.) You can get a lot of traffic simply by reading and commenting on other peoples’ blogs. (Seriously, also.) Oh yeah! I’m a Maritimer born ‘n bred.
On 23 February 2009 at 10:17 am Rhett said,
There are two set of key words that will invariably bring you to my page. One is useful so I have like given it a major face-lift, the other is a sham so I politely direct ppl to other more relevant pages. yeah, I do monitor and aon a regular basis, the kind of traffic I get and form where.
Many times, I have had Mountain View, California come to my page, and well, the internet provider of that computer was — Google.com!
I reckon those guys working at Google have on occassion usesd my site to do some research work of their own.
Rhett’s last blog post..Just Like That
On 16 May 2009 at 4:27 pm Funny SEO Words | Jannie Funster said,
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