Monday was the biggest traffic day this blog has ever seen.
Take a look at the Google Analytics Graph for my traffic over the past few days.
The first bump is what happened when I first started to use Blogging Zoom.
*Update-Blogging Zoom is dead while the domain is now used for something else.*
That last part is Monday.
While I have been adding a reader now and then over the past few weeks it has been very slow growth. I have seen a few traffic bursts from posts that were linked on other blogs.
This is the first time I have had traffic on this scale.
A large part of the traffic came from StumbleUpon with nearly all the rest from Blogging Zoom.
I think the Stumbles also were triggered directly or indirectly from Blogging Zoom. I occasionally get a few Stumbles but never anything like this.
I should also point out that I have only recently put Google Analytics on this site.
I have been using other stats until now. While they were not as accurate or precise and Analytics, I am sure that there has never been traffic close to this on this blog before.
This has been quality traffic as well.
Some have said that StumbleUpon traffic just clicks away. Take a look at the visitor performance from Analytics.
- 293 Unique Visitors
- 684 Pageviews
- 2.29 Pageviews per viewer
- Over 1 minute time on site
- A bounce rate under 30%
Not only did they visit, they looked at more than 1 page and stayed to read.
The bounce rate is lower than most of the Google searches that I get.
This is very good quality traffic.
I am looking forward to seeing what Blogging Zoom is going to be capable of in the future.
It is just getting started. If you are not using Blogging Zoom, sign up now. If not for yourself, to help other bloggers.
One last point about StumbleUpon.
I have made it a new rule not to Stumble my own pages. I’ll leave that to others. I also try to find other post to Zoom and Stumble. I am finding the more you give, the more you get.
Of course, if you like this post please Zoom and Stumble it. 
What have your results been with social networking sites like Blogging Zoom and StumbleUpon? Any others you find easy to use?
I agree. StumbleUpon has huge membership. Two of my posts were stumbled and made the weblog (too bad one topic was put in the wrong category), and I had a huge traffic spike. Up to now, the topic is still picking up visitor from StumbleUpon. Because I didn’t know the rules, I used to submit my own. Like you, I now stopped stumbling my own posts and decided to write quality content.
I just started using BloggingZoom today. As I see it, the community is friendly and warm… new members (like me) won’t be intimated to post.
To summarize, both SU and BZ are effective most especially if you post the right way (good topic, good posting strategy, and good commenting tactics).
*thumbs up for this post*
-Saedel
As I become more active on StumbleUpon there are 3 main places I start looking for great, but easily overlooked, articles to stumble:
1. Comments left by other bloggers on A-list blogs
2. Comments left by other bloggers on OpTempo
3. Blogging Zoom.
I just started using blogging zoom on my site (www.codersquest.com) and it has really raised my traffic
Nice information.Gonna try it soon.
Maybe I’d be more excited if just one person would tell me what is the code and where to put it on my blog so it’s easier for peeps to zoom me???
I think it’s more important to help each other than to merely promote ourselves. I’ve always given so much info to peeps all my life. I’ve written to friends about WordPress and bloggingzoom.com.
But NO ONE has answered my question how to put the bloody zoom button on my site? What’s the code and do i put it on my main index page or what?
So although I blogged about bloggingzoom, I’m not excited til I get it set up correctly.
I’m finding that even though BZ drives less traffic in terms of a raw number spike than SU the traffic is much better quality
Jenny, check on the Blogging Zoom blog for the widget. You install the plugin and then you just put a code in your post (similar to AdSense Deluxe if you have used that).
You do not need the button for people to Zoom you. There is no setting up needed. I Zoom blogs that have not visited Blgging Zoom themselves (that I know). I do most of my Zooming of already Zoomed posts on the Blogging Zoom site after I check the post. There is a bookmarklet you can use to Zoom new page that you find.
The button is nice and may help, but it is not the whole system.
You passed my 5 requirements for subcribing to a blog. Great stuff here. I will be reading your material everyday.
And yes, I found you through zooooooooooooming! ZOOM!
Thanks for the zooming widget info James! I will check it out
Thanks for the help. I also heard from Courtney Tuttle. Sometimes the BZ button doesn’t show up in my WP code, so I manually input it. I like being able to communicate with the peeps whom I admire, like Courtney and Lorelle. They left comments after I thanked them and raised a question (about the Google vs text link ads controversy) on a blog.
I also like knowing people are actually reading and responding to both questions and compliments from everyone. So many are really reaching out.
I love bloggingzoom and am learning a lot. It’s the most interactive community I’ve ever found. Lots of smart, thoughtful people and good blogs.
I don’t have time yet to build a bigger online community, to attract the readers who get off on my topics, the focus of my blog. That has to wait til after Thanksgiving and into the next year.
I can see two main topics: my classic, rare punk photo archive, who are my loyal friends and fans, and a whole new wonderful community: those who write about blogging and help each other reach out. Bless you and thank you all on bloggingzoom and elsewhere!!!
SU drive loads of traffic to me but I don’t think many of them stay or return. It makes sense since it’s totally untargeted. For that reason I wonder about the usefulness of it. But I am still learning about SU. Oh… and I stumbled your site. Blogging Zoom – 6 hot posts, very little traffic. Not the most popular subject matter some of them tho’, too narrow a niche. That may be why. I find that most of the people that Zoom my posts don’t go further and continue to the blog! !
Thanks windyridge,
Blogging Zoom is still just getting started. You have some good points but I think the traffic will increase quickly. Also, there is some SEO advantages with BZ that will eventually also send you traffic.
Using social networking traffic will take some new learning to those of us used to trying to make money from Adsense and SE’s. We will need to change getting the social network visitor to read below the fold and avoid too many ads above the fold. Next, using plugins like related posts or favoite posts to get them to read further.
It’s a new world, it’s more than just web 2.0.
I would love to use the related posts plugin but unfortunately it doesn’t work for my themes in 2.3. Not sure if it’s the themes (2 different ones) or 2.3.
It could be something with the the new way tags are handled. I’ll be switching plugins in the next week or so, I wonder if I will need to back and re tag everything.
I use “Similar Posts.” Works fine in 2.3.1.!!
“We will need to change getting the social network visitor to read below the fold and avoid too many ads above the fold.”
The fold?? Explain in layman’s terms please. thanks!
Above the “fold” is the part of the page a visitor sees without having to scroll down to read. We have always been told to put ads above the fold (even by Google) for income. In fact, Adsense ads that come first on a page are usually the higher bid ones.
John Chow’s blog is nearly all ads above the fold. Not too many can get away with that, but his readers know he has good content so he can.
Below the fold is the point that a reader would have to scroll to read.
SU visitors will typically stumble off your site if you do not get them to read below the fold.
The term comes from the fold of a newspaper and the reading it gets above the fold or below.
Thanks re above the fold, that’s what I thought and that’s my dilemma. I wonder how others deal with this? I am posing these questions not to promote my site amongst you all, but because I’m really struggling with cpu, ad and marketing issues.
I don’t want ads above the fold. I designed my site to promote my punk photos, and because I have soooo many photos, stories, events, I need the top as an expanded “sitemap.” ALL the links on top need to help guide peeps around my site, quickly.
Downside to scrolling is cpu capacity. If I add recent comments, most popular posts, mybloglog, etc, plus more photos, I will bring down my site very quickly, with a small audience.
I will have more photo oriented posts, like I did for an upcoming photo show at La Luz gallery. I am recoding and posting my photos/stories from my old html site. To see all the photos/read the stories means scrolling. Example: my Clash page (under the Bands link: http://jennylens.com/bands/clash). I wonder if it’s too long and should be several pages. Probably).
Problem: build up the site/blog, reach out/gain more traffic, get ads/affiliates, but balancing that is tough. My ISP says I should pay more, I say others have interactive plug-ins and bigger audiences. It will be interesting to see how it plays out.
Any tips are greatly appreciated! I have content, but money is minimal. It all goes into my work, which is why I need ads, but am taking that slowly, not to dilute my brand, my archive and the serious photo researchers/customers who come to my site.
I need ads to keep it going, but not turn them off. I’m sure there’s a few out there who go through this or have some thoughts.
Thanks and appreciate ALL you are doing! Learning a lot, but gotta get back to my first solo book. My editor is mad at me for being online and not looking at the first color proofs! Ah, the life of a rock photographer.
I saw an increase in links in when one of my posts was stumbled. I was surprised to see how many folks visited!