Archive for the Category »Reviews «

Aug

Sitemeter is one of many statistical data reporting services for bloggers and webmasters.

When one of my “Blogging Buddies”, mentioned they were using Sitemeter, I decided to give it a try. I was pleasently surprised at the detailed information Sitemeter provides.

Sitemeter contains:

1) Updated stats which shows “who’s on”

2) A map of where your visitors are coming from

3) A traffic prediction based on your current traffic trends

4) Recent visitors, by details, referrals, location, out clicks, entry and exit pages

5) Visits for the current day, previous 7 and 30 days, and previous 12 months

6) Visits and page views for the current day, previous 7 and 30 days, and previous 12 months

7) Page ranking of entry and exit pages

8.) Navigation trends, location tracking, visitor tracking and web browsers

Sitemeter has great maps and graphs, and is a superb tracking tool to help, in watching the growth of your site.

To download Sitemeter to your site, inserting HTMl code is necessary. Once inserted, you’ll see the Sitemeter logo. (You can see mine at the bottom of this post). By clicking on the logo, you will be directed to Sitemeter.

Once you have installed Sitemeter, you can change the privacy level. If set to high, and a reader clicks on the Sitemeter logo, they will be directed to Sitemeter’s home page. If the privacy level is set lower, your readers will be able to see your stats when they click on the logo.

For a free download of Sitemeter, go to www.sitemeter.com. or click on the Sitemeter logo. Sitemeter also offers a “premium service” which offers additonal data reporting information, for a small monthly fee.

Category: Archives, Reviews, Stats Tags: Blogging, Page Rank 2 Comments

Apr

Product Review: WordPress

Barbara Swafford

When I first decided to set up a blog, I did quite a bit of research on the internet about “blog” sites. In a lot of the blogs I read, the authors said they use WordPress. I didn’t know one blog “software” from another, so I, too, decided to go with WordPress. Has it been easy? Not for me, as I am truly a novice. But, now it’s almost three weeks later, my head has stopped spinning, and I love how easy it is to write posts, add categories, change themes, etc.

I still have tons to learn, but find that if I do a search on WordPress, I can usually find the answer. It takes me longer as I am still learning more of the computer language, but I’m trying to be easy on myself and realize I can’t learn it all overnight.

If you’re thinking of starting a blog, check out WordPress. I know there are other programs out there, so check those out too. Be informed of your choices. I didn’t sign up for “an instant blog”, so I probably make it harder on myself. I’m taking blogging seriously, so I wanted to start from the ground floor. Since I love to learn, I figure this will help me to expand my knowledge base, and in the process of posting to my blog, maybe help others as they enter the world of blogging.

If you’re looking for technical information about blogging, check out those I have listed in my Blogroll. I admire all of them for sharing so much information, and it’s all free. They’ll all go far.

And if all else fails and your head won’t stop spinning from all you’re learning, take a break and get yourself a new pair of shoes.