So back in August I went to the San Francisco WordCamp. I learned a lot, and when I got home that day immediately started to make some small changes to my site. Today I was going over my analytics, and though besides my regular number checks, I would see how the numbers reflected after I had made some changes to my blog back in August.
Comparing Previous Averages to Post WordCamp Averages
So I wanted to see if my changes that I made back in August 16th and 17th had any real impact on this site. Here are the numbers comparing the month and a half before August 16th, and after.
| Site Usage | Changes from July 1st to August 16th |
Changes from August 16th to September 30th |
|---|---|---|
| Total Visits | +16.19% | +32.25% |
| Total Pageviews | +22.69% | +20.44% |
| Pages/Visit | +5.59% | -8.93% |
| Bounce Rate | +0.60% | -3.45% |
| Avg. Time on Site | -1.49% | +4.62% |
| Direct Traffic | +11.05% | +2.64% |
| Referring Sites | +24.25% | +72.72% |
| Search Engines | +27.96% | -26.93% |
Well if you look at total visits my numbers increased by 32% instead of the previous 16%. Initially I will have to say glad I went, and it appeared well worth my time. When I compared total page views and pages per visit, there wasn’t enough substantial change for me to see any effect. My pages a visit changes often, and it could be the difference of just one popular post that gets comment reactions/page views.
The bounce rate went down by almost three and a half percent, and if you are like me, always looking for a way to reduce it by just one percent, I was pleased to see this. I credit this to spending more time writing the articles, and working on my encouragement factor to get visitors to make a comment. Less bouncing also often equals more time spent on the site, and those numbers improved slightly as well.
The last three stats may be misleading, but I wanted to include them. Don’t let the search engine percentage drop fool you. The actual numbers still went up slightly for search engine traffic. The percentage shows as a drop though because of the huge increase in referring site traffic I have been getting. I have been using some of the things I learned about social marketing, and it seems to be working. Look at MyBlogLog Members in the left sidebar. That number was zero a month and half ago.
Loved WordCamp
Anytime your site grows by 32% in just a month and a half be happy. It is substantial, and is a good indicator that you made some positive changes to either your site or marketing. Seeing that bounce rate go down is also a welcomed addition. The fact that I did not spend any money marketing over the past three months also indicates the changes I have made, did indeed benefit my site.
I must say I loved going to WordCamp. I met a few unique individuals like Chuck, the “SEO Rapper”, and learned a lot. One thing I would have like to see though, and I am not sure if it happens at other WordCamps, is to have a few more booths or sponsors. It could help them out in hosting a bigger production, and could give the visitors something to do when they don’t feel like seeing a presentation. Will be going to the next local one when that happens for sure.
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