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Discussion on: The trouble with blog post views and vanity metrics

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waylonwalker profile image
Waylon Walker

I put most emphasis on the discussion. I get the most value from a good discussion, and its a good sign that the article impacted someone in a good way.

I've taken all trackers off of my personal website so the only thing I can see is click rates from google. This one is definitely in that vanity category, but can give me something to go off to see what articles get picked up and how I might get others to get picked up.

One issue I have had is co-workers will ask me a question about something they have been trying to figure out for days. Often something adjacent to our work like bash or tmux setup. I'll share an article with them and get a response, "this is exactly what I was looking for how did this not show up in the 100 google searches I just did?".

This is the main reason I care about seo, hitting numbers is cool I guess, but being able to help out someone without even having any active input is super cool.

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helenanders26 profile image
Helen Anderson

That's a really good point. Humans like big numbers, and so do the search engine algorithms.

It's disappointing to see so many 'clickbaity' articles bubbling up to the top of search results in favour of genuine ones. All the more reason to be a part of the community and sharing your knowledge personally with those who can benefit from what you've learned.