The RubeTube

I haven't been blogging regularly for the past few weeks, but the RubeTube has still been averaging around 50 hits a day despite my inactivity. (I know this is not a very impressive number, but hey, I'm just a small-time blogger.) There are a number of factors contributing to this phenomenon:

1. I have been more "aggressive" in promoting my blog, via different media: email signatures, website profiles, YM status messages, use of Technorati tags, etc.
2. More people are linking to my blog (mostly friends; thanks, friends!) which directly increases hits by providing more entry points, and indirectly by making my blog more reputable in the eyes of search engines (see how search engines work). This is a natural form of search engine optimization (SEO).
   
3. My blog has reached the critical mass of content (quality content, of course) such that people are stumbling upon my blog through search engines. Never underestimate Google's power to drive traffic.

If I were to rate the above factors in order of significance, based on my own analysis of my blog's traffic, I would say that 1 and 2 are almost equal in terms of impact. However, the impact of number 3 (quality content) dwarfs that of both 1 and 2, and is by far the most important factor to consider if you want to increase your site's traffic.

Here are some of the more popular posts on the RubeTube, in increasing order of exposure (by my own estimates):

1. The YM status message trick. Apparently, a lot of people are wondering how their friends are able to put hyperlinks in their Yahoo Messenger status messages.
2. How to remove the Blogger NavBar. "How to" posts are great; not only do you help people out, but they're also great for getting more visitors.
   
3. PoW! Pandora Internet Radio. Visitors stumble upon this entry looking for a way to rip MP3s from Pandora.
4. Taiwanese Guitar Idol. "Canon Rock" is a masterpiece and it's no wonder there are lots of people looking for a downloadable video of it. Also, a number of the visitors to this entry were Googling for "JerryC versus funtwo".
5. Downloading Mozart. Try Googling for "download mozart collection". Everyone's on an MP3 hunt.
6. How to rearrange programs on the Windows XP taskbar. I'm not the only one who wished there was a program like Taskbar Shuffle.
   
7. Entrance of the Gladiators: "The circus music". By far the most popular post on the RubeTube. Now the whole world knows the name of "the circus music", and also, where to get a MIDI of it.

What's the lesson here? If you are an attention-seeking blogger on the verge of breaking down because your blog isn't getting as many visits as you had hoped, here are some handy bite-sized tips:

1. Write unique blog entries. The battle for search engine supremacy is all about finding your own niche(s). Be the first or one of the few to write about something. You don't have to dedicate your entire blog to something totally out-of-this-world like the mating rituals of the Nicaraguan stag beetle; a few "odd" topics once in a while will do. I'd say there are around 5-7 people a day looking for circus music that end up at my blog. Certain categories of entries are also popular, such as the "how to" and the "top N" list. If you have a dozen or so of those "all-star" entries, it all adds up, which leads me to my next tip...
   
2. Don't give up, keep on writing. You don't have to be a full-time blogger for people to visit your blog regularly. Just keep on writing. On some days, you'll just spew out crap; that's okay, blog space is cheap, if not free. On other days, you'll have masterpieces flowing out of your fingers like a blogging Mozart. But the question is: what to write about?
3. Be spontaneous. The key is to just share whatever interests you. Every topic is a potential hit in the making. Your thoughts, observations, conversations, and experiences are probably as boring to everyone else as you fear, but you can make up for it by sheer volume (see tip #2). But that is no excuse to sacrifice quality over quantity. Quality, of course, is also very important, which leads us to my final tip...
4. Pick your words carefully. There are two aspects to this tip. The first one is obvious: watch your grammar and spelling, and expand your vocabulary. Develop your own writing style that is pleasing to the eyes. You may have had the most fantastic near-death experience in the world, but no one's going to want to hear about it if your blog entry reads like a eulogy. The second aspect to this tip is more subtle. Pick your phrases such that people are more likely to stumble upon your blog when doing a web search. From the popular RubeTube entries above, sample key phrases are "rearrange programs on taskbar", "complete mozart collection", and "remove blogger navbar".
   

Forget trying to get dugg; the secret is to write great, high-quality content, and the hits will simply follow. After all, bloggers are writers and if you want your blog to be a bestseller, you better start writing like a pro (which I am not, yet).

Personally, I'm not in it for the AdSense hits, and I have no dreams (for the time being) of making it big in the blogosphere. It just makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside knowing that I made someone's day more interesting because of something he/she read on the RubeTube. That is blogging's greatest reward.

Happy blogging!

Labels: :), blogging, RubeTube, SEO, tips, writing