Top 10 Ways to Get Hits
Tuesday, Nov 22, 2005
When you know that nobody reads your site, it can be troubling. You might as well stick to an old-fashioned paper journal, as it will never mock you with a 404 File Not Found Error. It’s like telling the kids we’re going to the fabric store talking when nobody’s listening. I know this because I padded my site meter by starting it at 50. I admit it. But I was a newbie blogger back then, and I care a lot less now. I could pontificate that my self-worth isn’t dependent on hits, but that wouldn’t be very humble (or very true). It would just be boring. Plus, my descriptive site name forbids such self-aggrandizement. And so in the spirit of Thanksgiving and giving back, I offer the following suggestions for launching your blog into exponential growth:
10. Name your site “A Aardvark’s Adventures” so that you can be first on every blogroll. Sorry, folks, the genuinely creative and catchy title of “Amy’s Humble Musings” is already taken.
9. Win a contest or two or three.
8. Just start your stat counter at one million and display it prominently. People will wonder what they’ve been missing.
7. Complain about Phil Johnson.
6. In lieu of content, insult people everywhere by saying something noncommittal, like, “I can’t believe people actually eat cranberry sauce. Only heretics eat cranberry sauce.”
5. Set up an automatic daily PayPal donation program to Challies for inconspicuous links.
4. Blog on the emerging purpose-driven contraceptive movement of Arminian Iraq war protesters and you’ll have it made. Include important words such as “Jessica Simpson”, “cheap ipods”, and “How to Cook a Turkey” in your post for Google purposes.
3. When you’re not feeling too inspired, just add your two cents on some of the old stand-bys: Calvinism vs. Arminianism, Mac vs. PC, or organic vs. conventional. Try homebirthing vs. hospital birthing if you’re low on female readership. Bonus hits if you’ve never even given birth.
2. Act like you have something figured out. Even if your theory is correct 99.98% of the time, I personally guarantee that the .02% exceptions will find your site and tell you all about it.
1. If the above suggestions fail to launch you to Mortal Human status with a book deal as proof, just write worthwhile, interesting content and use your spel-cheker.
Happy Blogging, friends.
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Amy, you just crack me up. lol
Comment by Jenna (November 22, 2005 @ 5:12 pm )
so THATS what i’ve been missing! the cranberry sauce discussions!
Comment by Heidi (November 22, 2005 @ 5:25 pm )
Re: #3 - I blogged on modesty…Wanna firestorm? Try discussing that with all of your purpose-driven church folks…
Comment by Karen (November 22, 2005 @ 6:12 pm )
Hey, complaining about Phil Johnson really works! Knocked my average up to 50 for a week….
Comment by kyle (November 22, 2005 @ 6:31 pm )
Amy, this is SO funny! And, poor ‘ole Phil Johnson. Everyone seems to pick on the guy.
To Karen - I need to jump over and read your post on modesty! That probably has gotten some shook up! I wish it would come back to ‘life’ - be politically correct (laugh) to be modest!
Comment by Barb (November 22, 2005 @ 11:55 pm )
HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAahahahahahahahahahahaHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHahahahahahaha…..
That was good, Amy…

Comment by Molly (November 23, 2005 @ 1:28 am )
I should have seen #10 on the list about two weeks ago. You were right, I should have named my blog A Monk’s Wife instead of THE Monk’s Wife. Oh well, live and learn. Not everyone is destined for Blogosphere Superstardom like you my dear! heehee! However, a shameless link on your comment page might help. Hey, that could be #11 !!
Comment by Michelle (November 23, 2005 @ 1:38 am )
That is really funny!!! Mac vs PC is a common one in our house of MAC lovers!! That sounds like a sure fire way to get noticed!
Comment by Martha (November 23, 2005 @ 1:42 am )
I must be out of it! WHO is Phil Johnson?? I still visit . . . does that count?!?!?!
Comment by Loni (November 23, 2005 @ 1:58 am )
I got roped into the no one cares my site exists type thought process. I mean…my own husband doesn’t read my blog.
I entertained the thought of padding the stats, but then yikes the conscious wouldn’t let me. I even displayed my pathetic numbers and found later that most of them were spammers from Mexico, Arabia and Mars.
I thought I had crossed the great language divide…I was reaching the U.K. for Christ and Agrarianism. Even martians were being persuaded to go back in time and train oxen.
One thing you forgot to mention is denounce feminism. You don’t even have to do it directly.
You can just exist supporting biblical feminity and let a Kiwi blogger do it for you. Feminists diehards will fictionalize you and start a whole scandal about the reality of your blog to distract from the real debate. If you are not real you can’t threaten their paradigm. Kiwis will spend hours reading your archives to determine if you are real in effort to uphold intellectual integrity. Then they will debate among blogs about the reality of your blog supplying evidence to convince the causual reader of their point. The causual reader will try to sort the truth out on their own, causing even more hits. Wish people were this passionate about biblical truths.
Course, then they get bored and moved on to some other frenzy to feed on. I have two trackers now…keeping an eye out for those Kiwis. The one that lists geographics is public. Everyone can see my site is…well…not visited often. (Slick aren’t I?
) Mostly, it has settled down. Two Kiwis visited today, two from Austrialia, two from the U.K. and three from the United Stat
es. All three were me checking to see if anyone cared to read my rants. Even the martians don’t visit my new site.
Well…I have all the moral support I need. Hank the cow dog loves me. My husband, on the other hand, snores….heaving a big sigh and going back to check on those Kiwis.
Neat new smileys btw.
Comment by KS Milkmaid (November 23, 2005 @ 2:53 am )
[…] stance. So that’s probably why I like the humor found at this site. In particular, this post amused me quite a bit! So, if your site needs more hits check ou […]
Pingback by A Picturesque Life :: Life in Pictures » Need More Hits? (November 23, 2005 @ 8:42 am )
Exactly.
Comment by Amy (November 23, 2005 @ 9:03 am )
Like I already commented at Choosing Home: Give that girl the vote for Best Humor site!
Too funny!
Comment by Lisa B. (November 23, 2005 @ 10:30 am )
Loni - you have to do that on your own site for it to work.
Comment by Greg (November 23, 2005 @ 10:34 am )
Amy - You crack me up. Greg, you’re kinda funny too. :)(Off to check out who in the world Phil Johnson is.)
Comment by Holly (November 23, 2005 @ 11:19 am )
Okay. I get it.
Comment by Holly (November 23, 2005 @ 11:25 am )
Amy, not so sure how to take #13. Care to elaborate? Just curious.
Comment by Janet (November 23, 2005 @ 1:09 pm )
Janet,
It’s a Top 10 list…there is no #13.
Oh…you mean comment #13–”Who is Phil Johnson?” Phil Johnson was unfairly catapolted into Blog Stardom before he even got his first post up…thanks to everyone linking him to kingdom come when he hadn’t even done anything yet. I’m assuming it was by virtue of his reputation outside of the blog world. You mean people have lives outside of the blog world?!?
I didn’t have a clue who he was either–and still kind of don’t–but I know it has something to do with John McArthur. (I think he’s on staff at that church and I’m supposing he writes books.–?) I know who McArthur is because I read a book awhile back by him about lordship salvation. McArthur is/was on the radio too, but ya’ll already know that I listen to Rush. In fact, I don’t even read the Pyro’s site. For shame, for shame…but I promise that I’m still a good reformed girl. When I clicked through to his site awhile back, I saw a picture indicating that he likes Homeschool Moms. So, he’s pretty alright in my book.
As far as why people complain about him, they do that because he usually links back to them.
Comment by Amy (November 23, 2005 @ 1:34 pm )
Thanks Amy. It’s funny…I think you might have been the one (and Challies) that got me interested in Pyro’s site. I don’t quite remember. I’m a faithful reader and fan of the Pyromaniac. He is in charage of the radio program “Grace to You” and an elder at Grace Church. He has edited many of John MacArthur’s books. He loves to pick on homeschool moms even though I think his own wife homwschooled for a time.
Have a blessed Thanksgiving!
How are you feeling these days?
Comment by Janet (November 23, 2005 @ 1:51 pm )
Post forthcoming when or if I get the ironing done.
Comment by Amy (November 23, 2005 @ 1:56 pm )
I got (and still get) a shocking number of hits when I posted a whole thing about gross long toenails and when I mentioned that I iron my husband’s pants. Weird, but true.
Comment by Mel (November 23, 2005 @ 3:02 pm )
And if mentioning Phil doesn’t work, try your hand at iMonk. Just ask centuri0n.
Comment by Carla (November 23, 2005 @ 3:12 pm )
Okay, so where I’m cyber-stupid. How do you know how many hits you get?
Comment by emily (November 23, 2005 @ 3:20 pm )
laughing so hard all my innards hurt!
‘Blog on the emerging purpose-driven contraceptive movement of Arminian Iraq war protesters and you’ll have it made. Include important words such as “Jessica Simpson”, “cheap ipods”, and “How to Cook a Turkey” in your post for Google purposes.’
Comment by tanya (November 23, 2005 @ 3:43 pm )
Carla, I’m sooooo confused
I tell ya, you miss Cent for one day and POW!
Comment by Janet (November 23, 2005 @ 4:09 pm )
Oh, dear. I’m not picking up at all on the “purpose-driven Arminian Iraqi war protester” thing. Too American for me, I guess–can you elaborate?
Comment by Mrs. P. (November 23, 2005 @ 4:33 pm )
I read Phil Johnson for a little while. I like his graphics, don’t care for the comic strip things though. I plan to post here so maybe I won’t grab his attention and find myself on his blog. But, He seems a little too sharp tongued for my liking. Wit is good, but his wit has a bit ofunrestrained pride/arrogance to it. His tone seems to be a bit at odds with Ephesians 4:29. I hope that is the right one. It could be 5:29. But, if you listen to Rush, I can see why his blog might be appealing to you.
I will pray for you Amy dear. 
Comment by Christina (November 23, 2005 @ 5:15 pm )
Amy, you forgot one: Post a comment on Amy’s Humble Musings.
As far as naming your blog…The only search engine hits I get are for ‘bioluminescence’. Usually from either universities or research facilities. They don’t tend to hang around very long.
Shameless plug:
Everyone come and visit me over at Bioluminescence!
*giggling*
Comment by Firefly (November 23, 2005 @ 5:22 pm )
Emily,
To see how many hits your blog gets, you need a site meter. Bravenet.com has some free ones, and a google search would show others, I imagine.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Comment by laura (November 23, 2005 @ 9:17 pm )
That’s great, Laura, thanks. I wasn’t sure if there was something innate in blogspot that I was missing. Didn’t know I needed to sign up for it!
Comment by emily (November 23, 2005 @ 11:24 pm )
The Soap Opera Called “Blogging”
Like so many others, I started blogging for personal reasons. I thought it would be a good way of keeping family and friends informed of my where-a-bouts and doings. I also thought it would be beneficial for posting family pictures, e…
Trackback by TheIrvins (November 23, 2005 @ 11:57 pm )
I hate to mention it, but there are a few other keywords to drop to increase hits. I once blogged about a blog named Worship Naked and finding old pictures of my wife and myself. It didn’t take long for the searches to pop up using “naked” “wife” “pictures” and various combinations of the above. It’s almost a bit scary when you stop and think about it.
Comment by rev-ed (November 24, 2005 @ 1:10 am )
You can thank Tim Challies for his link to you under his “Best of the Best” category in his blogroll. We’ll see if Phil Johnson links to you on his next blogspotting post, given your list of top ways to get hits.
Keep up the good writing.
Comment by Steve (November 24, 2005 @ 12:38 pm )
Bahahaha! That was a good-un! Happy Thanksgiving, Miss Amy!
Comment by Kim (Coffee and a Muffin) (November 25, 2005 @ 12:49 am )
you are such a sill. (noun for a silly person around these here parts…)
Comment by lindsay (November 25, 2005 @ 2:24 am )
Loved this. Too funny. I read something similar (yet much more twisted) on Basil’s blog not long ago… something about him posting with a “naked girl” title and watching all the creeps hit his blog to find nothing but talk about creeps. Ha!
Comment by heather (November 29, 2005 @ 2:21 am )
ha HA. I’m going to totally entitle my next post, Free Gift Certificate to Outback.
Comment by Heather (December 10, 2005 @ 12:52 am )
LOVE IT!! I just switched over to a new blog from my HomeschoolBlogger one, and am so bummed about the lack of traffic. Maybe I’ll have to try one or two of these ideas.
Grace and Peace-
Jess
Comment by Jess (December 20, 2005 @ 10:04 pm )