Post with a view

I think the view counter on here is somewhat broken. You see, it’s saying Saturday’s post already has 3,375 views. But Google Analytics is showing only six pageviews since Saturday. Period. I trust Google more, frankly. Weird. (I did notice — through Google Analytics — that my Facebook virus post has gotten a lot of traffic in the last few days, however.)

Two thoughts. First, I’m not sure why I even have the hits counter up for public display. Does it really mean anything to you, the reader? No. The only way I can foresee it being somewhat useful is in determining the popularity of a post, but I think the number of comments is more useful for that. Could be wrong. :)

Second, Google Analytics rocks. Seriously, it’s amazing. I’ve been using it for a while now but hardly ever check in on it, but using it just now to figure out the views counter thing has opened my eyes. I’ve got to use it more often — particularly in planning out future editions of my websites. If you have a website and you aren’t using Google Analytics, it’s time for change. You won’t regret it. (And no, Google isn’t paying me to say that. ~wistful sigh~ :P)

Even better than google analytics: pmetrics.performancing.com
Seriously. So much better. I’d say it’s the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me, but that might be exaggerating a little.

Hey, maybe your counter gets hit every time an RSS reader looks for an update. I know google reader updates frequently enough to know how many comments have bee made.

On second thought, it’s only that one post, so maybe that is not the problem.

I use (and prefer) Clicky. I use GA as well for some other things, but Clicky is far better and more granular reporting - I can track individual visitors, tag their IPs w/ a name (so I can know who they are), and view all of their history in visiting my site. Clicky is also immediate whereas GA is delayed. And Cicky has a “spy” feature which shows me in real time who is coming to my site - I always have it open on the corner of my screen to observer what’s going on. Yes, it costs money, but I think it’s worth it. :)

@Julie - Ha, looks like that site you sent is a clone of Clicky (or, most likely sub-licensed out). Clicky is the original and main name behind the amazingness you’ve experienced.

I agree about google analytics. Too bad every time I read your posts on my gmail account, you can’t see that as a hit. You should assume most RSS feeds you send out with every post are read.

P.S. I like free (for now).

Julie: Hmm, interesting.

Thomas: Yeah, I still don’t know why it was way up there. Oh well.

Connor: Sounds like it’s worth the price. How’s the UI? I love the look/feel of Google Analytics, but I’m not sure from Clicky’s screenshots whether it’s comparable.

David: True, email subscriptions aren’t counted. (But they are counted in my Feedburner number, so it’s not a wholly lost cause.) And I like free, too. :)