sitelights
07-10-2003, 05:25 PM
The current (02.23.07) address is: http://lowvvolt.org/cgi-bin/awstats
The post below has not been deleted since it may have some minor archival significance.
In an earlier post I disclosed access to lowvolt.org statistics so that members and guests could gauge how much interest there is in a site that serves a very narrow constituency. Keying in /reports/ at the end of the URL will take you to the "General Summary" page; on that page line 17 indicates the number of individual addresses that have accessed the site during the past seven days. This is a much more accurate measure than the usual "hits" number generally used to characterize the popularity of a web site. Clicking on "Monthly Summary" you will note a steep decline on the graph that heads the page. The monthly list of "number of requests" and the "number of page requests" are not exactly "hits" but do measure the activity coming to the site. Unfortunately all of the site statistics have dropped alarmingly since September 2002.
The decrease in the monthly numbers for requests: August 2002 (36,279), September (26,873) and October (11,176), November (8,237), December (5,848) and page requests during the same period: 1,467, 1,414, 1,114, 952 and 677 respectively is striking. This decline in activity should not be construed as a lack of interest: it is simply a measure of the current difficulty in finding the site on a search. The real reason for the decline has to do with the method of ranking sites by the search engines (ask me) that took effect during September 2002. A glance at my commercial web site statistics (accessed by going to <http:www.sitelights.com/reports>) will show a similar rate of decline during that same period.
This has been quite a blow to me in terms of the effect on lowvolt.org and on sitelights.com. My web-derived business has dropped by 80%. This fact had consequences for my business and (since I fund lowvolt.org solely from profits) this web site. (Here I refer to to my post at "Gallery"). The funding of lowvolt.org is in no danger but technical improvements may have to wait for a more benign business climate (just over the horizon).
Reading over this post I think that it could possibly be interpreted as a hard luck story. It is not; nor do I intend to solicit handouts. What I want to communicate is my commitment to the site while explicating some possible causes for the apparent decline in membership growth and postings.
The post below has not been deleted since it may have some minor archival significance.
In an earlier post I disclosed access to lowvolt.org statistics so that members and guests could gauge how much interest there is in a site that serves a very narrow constituency. Keying in /reports/ at the end of the URL will take you to the "General Summary" page; on that page line 17 indicates the number of individual addresses that have accessed the site during the past seven days. This is a much more accurate measure than the usual "hits" number generally used to characterize the popularity of a web site. Clicking on "Monthly Summary" you will note a steep decline on the graph that heads the page. The monthly list of "number of requests" and the "number of page requests" are not exactly "hits" but do measure the activity coming to the site. Unfortunately all of the site statistics have dropped alarmingly since September 2002.
The decrease in the monthly numbers for requests: August 2002 (36,279), September (26,873) and October (11,176), November (8,237), December (5,848) and page requests during the same period: 1,467, 1,414, 1,114, 952 and 677 respectively is striking. This decline in activity should not be construed as a lack of interest: it is simply a measure of the current difficulty in finding the site on a search. The real reason for the decline has to do with the method of ranking sites by the search engines (ask me) that took effect during September 2002. A glance at my commercial web site statistics (accessed by going to <http:www.sitelights.com/reports>) will show a similar rate of decline during that same period.
This has been quite a blow to me in terms of the effect on lowvolt.org and on sitelights.com. My web-derived business has dropped by 80%. This fact had consequences for my business and (since I fund lowvolt.org solely from profits) this web site. (Here I refer to to my post at "Gallery"). The funding of lowvolt.org is in no danger but technical improvements may have to wait for a more benign business climate (just over the horizon).
Reading over this post I think that it could possibly be interpreted as a hard luck story. It is not; nor do I intend to solicit handouts. What I want to communicate is my commitment to the site while explicating some possible causes for the apparent decline in membership growth and postings.