Since the start of the new year, almost like flicking on a light switch, the web traffic to this blog has skyrocketed. I'm trying to figure out who the hell you people are.
When I say skyrocketed, I mean that literally -- a typical day is earning somewhere between three to five times as much as my historic average over the eight-year history of Captain Critic.
Glorious, of course, but discomforting in that I don't know why it's happening. When good things occur, you want to sustain and replicate it. So I'm trying to understand the how's and why's of this unexpected turn of events.
I've looked at the traffic sources, and it doesn't appear there are any new traffic revenue points -- just everything is attracting exponentially more from the same old places. Google searches and Facebook remain the top sources. Almost all of my traffic is from the continental U.S.
And why exactly did this start on January 1? Some new Google algorithm? As I said, Google isn't accounting for a larger share of traffic -- every source has exploded.
New posts almost always do great, and even older stuff is attracting a lot of attention. One of my current top five posts is a video review of "The Hollars," a tiny film that did little box office, which I published almost two months ago.
The really weird thing is that I don't even try to generate traffic for this blog. Everything I link and share is to The Film Yap, aside from a few infrequent personal columns like this. And I've seen no corresponding rise in traffic there.
Frankly, I'd prefer if you read my stuff at the Yap -- so please go there now.
Or come to both. I'm not picky. I just wish I knew who all these new readers were.
--Chris
P.S. I've been noodling with changing the name of this blog. I came up with "Captain Critic" in the midst of a flurry of life changes, most of them unfortunate, and I was desperate to continue my film writing and open up new avenues of distribution. It was meant to be fun and snarky and that's fine. Seems a little... well, too 2008 now. Suggestions?
I have always followed you because you know how to write good, often great, copy. For me, it is that simple.
ReplyDeletePerhaps people are catching onto your huge lack of "alternative facts." They're looking for a reason to pounce!
Don't overthink it; enjoy it.