Analysis of a Blog Reader

Your blog readers will be a mix of people, but it is important to keep in mind that they are real people. Who are they, and how did they find your blog? What did they come here to find, and will they find the answers to their questions? The answers to these questions will help you to build traffic, develop a blog that attracts return visitors and loyal readers, and learn how to attract and keep the readers attention.

1. People who stumble across your blog quite by accident, but the words on the screen are so enticing, they are compelled to keep reading.
   - Are you consistently producing that quality of content?
   - Is your subject matter random, or do you have more content on the same or a similar subject?
2. People who stumble across your blog quite by accident, but either click their "Back" button or click a link to leave your site.
   - What made them leave so quickly? (Some people will leave anyway, it may purely be accidental that they are on your site.) But could your site have poor design, or could the colors be driving people away?
   - Is your site easy to read? Are you using a clear font and is the color clearly visible against the background? (I frequently leave blogs because they use light font colors on a white or light background. There could be great information on the blog, but if I can't see the words, what's the point in sticking around?)
   - Are providing entertainment and/or great information? Visitors commonly leave a blog or website because they are "not getting anything" from it.
3. People who are in search of something specific, and some of the words on your blog matched their search criteria.
   - Again, is your subject matter consistent, or do you have random topics that do not relate to each other throughout your blog?
   - If your subject matter is random, are you entertaining enough to keep readers interested?
4. Loyal readers who continue to read your blog:
   - Because they relate to the subject you are writing about.
   - Because they are learning something they have an interest in.
   - Because they enjoy your writing style, you entertain them.
   - Because they see you as competition, and are studying your methods.

Don't forget, some of the visitors in your traffic stats are also pings and crawlers, especially if you are submitting to or are already listed in search engines, and if you are using pinging services. While it is a good thing to write with search engines in mind, people and your readers should be your main focus. Using a popular name like Paris, Lohan, or Bush might get you in the high ranks of the search engines, but the traffic and the people you draw in might be let down when they find out your blog is about your quest as Mario to beat the dragon in world 8-4 on the old Nintendo 64 as you battle the pain of carpel tunnel and struggle with the medical bills. That's all I'm sayin'.