#writingtips – Page 6 – Jean's Writing

How to understand keyword and blog ranking

Published on December 27, 2017December 29, 2017 by Jean M. Cogdell9 Comments

Well, it’s the end of another year.

And as your reading to ring in 2018 you may want to see how your blog did during 2017.

First, do what I did, Check those WordPress Stats.

In 2016, I published 222 posts, with 16,046 views. In 2017, I published 172 posts with 14,636 views. Not too bad, considering, in 2017 I cut back my blogging to 3 times a week.

Understanding blog ranking, blog stats, and keywords can help improve your blog views.

There are lots of ways to check your blog stats and ranking. Websites that show which keywords work best for your posts.

Some of these tools I understand and some I are a bit over my head. But most of them are a big time suck. So bloggers, beware. Look, if your curious but don’t get mired in the muck. Or like me, you’ll end up with a big headache.

There are a few free services and free trials to help you figure out all this stuff.

For instance…

GOOGLE TRENDS – Find out which keywords or subject are trending.

SERPSTATS – Website analysis and Domain ranking. Plus which top page/posts on your blog had the highest visibility.

KEYWORD RANK CHECKER on SERPS website- Discover the average monthly searches for a keyword and the cost-per-click (CPC).

KEYWORD RESEARCH – Helps discover which keywords are working on your blog.

WORD TRACKER – Find out which words are searched the most.

Bloggers, tell me…

Did you check your stats for 2017?

Did you fare better or worse?

Do you understand Keywords and Stats? (I’ll be honest, I don’t.)

I HOPE YOU’LL TAKE A MINUTE TO FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA, JUST CLICK ON THE BUTTONS BELOW. I’LL LEAVE A LIGHT ON.

Here’s hoping you have a wonderful holiday filled with reading

Published on December 20, 2017December 17, 2017 by Jean M. Cogdell10 Comments

Are you looking for additional books to read by the fire?

I’ve found a new favorite book on writing. This is not a quick read, but it’s good information about the style of writing. Click on the image to read an excerpt from Amazon.com.

A couple of favorites I’m going to revisit. These images will take you to Amazon where you can read more about the books.

For entertainment, I’m gonna continue with the Outlander series.

I’m ready for book #6

What books are you reading this holiday?

Have you finished a really good one recently?

I’m always looking for a great book, so share.

I HOPE YOU’LL TAKE A MINUTE TO FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA, JUST CLICK ON THE BUTTONS BELOW. I’LL LEAVE A LIGHT ON.

Do you think Bestseller lists have lost value?

Published on December 13, 2017December 17, 2017 by Jean M. Cogdell6 Comments

Do you know what it means to be a bestselling author?

Well, for one thing, it may no longer mean a lot of books were sold. Think about that for a minute.

These questions, plus a few more, bounced around in my mind after reading a blog post on the Texas Authors website. (If you live in Texas be sure and check out this great organization.) Now back to the blog post that caught my attention.

Does Anybody Know What a Bestseller Is? By John Maher, with reporting by Rachel Deahl and Claire Kirch | Nov 03, 2017

The post pointed out something I’m sure most of us have noticed or read about, an overabundance of categories and subcategories on Amazon. You name it and the giant e-tailer most probably has a subcategory for the subject. Under Art & Photography, I counted 17 subcategories, one named Vehicle Pictorials.

Before the gold rush of ebooks, there were two main categories for bestselling books—fiction and non-fiction. These two categories were broken down further into three major print formats—hardcover, trade paperback, and mass market paperback. The simplicity of this system made for easy tracking of bestselling books.

But then came ebooks, a new fourth category, and sold online. Online sales aren’t monitored or cataloged by brick-n-mortar stores, therefore, sales are not tracked in the same manner as print books.

While Amazon reports print sales, provided by Nielsen BookScan, it does not, for the most part, disclose sales of e-books. This sales number also does not include, sales to libraries, purchases by wholesalers such as Ingram, sales of used books, fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) sales or pre-orders—orders for a book before the book is released.

So who provides the most reliable guide for a bestseller list?

From John Maher’s article, I learned…

The two most transparent and reliable tracking organizations are:
- NPD BookScan’s and PW (Publishers Weekly) point-of-sale data, tracks 80%–85% of print sales in the country, but there again doesn’t (or can’t) track ebooks. Which, although good, provides an incomplete overall view.
Due to the number of lists, and Amazon’s decision not to share its e-book sales figures, it’s next to impossible identify what the top-selling books are across all formats in a particular week.
Which Bestseller lists carry weight with bookstores and readers?
- NPD, PW, USA Today, Wall Street Journal and NYT.
I know it would stoke my ego, but having a book dubbed a “Bestseller” may not always translate into sales. Not like in the past. But what does translate into sales are:
- Good reviews, coverage in high-profile media, and word-of-mouth.

Okay! I’ve got a few questions for you…

Do you think the term “Bestseller” or Bestselling Author” has become watered down by Amazon?

Do you believe it helps book sales? Print or ebook?

Did you know Amazon doesn’t report ebook sales?

Have you been disappointed after buying a book listed as a “Bestselling Novel?” (I have.)

Want to read more on the subject? Click on these posts!

Behind the Scam: What Does It Take to Be a ‘Best-Selling Author’? $3 and 5 Minutes. By Brent Underwood

How Many Books Do You Need To Sell To Become A Bestseller?

I HOPE YOU’LL TAKE A MINUTE TO FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA, JUST CLICK ON THE BUTTONS BELOW. I’LL LEAVE A LIGHT ON.

Which social media sends you the most readers?

Published on December 11, 2017December 10, 2017 by Jean M. Cogdell8 Comments

Is WordPress Reader, Google, Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, or Twitter the best choice?

Or how about Reddit, StumbleUpon, Medium, or a market I’ve yet to discover? Seems a new one pops up every day. So how do we discover which is best for our blog?

Do you have a favorite you search engine?

Okay, Bloggers hold on to your hat! Deep diving for answers today.

All of these questions were rolling around in my head this past weekend and got me to thinking…

Am I wasting my time on the wrong platforms? Should I concentrate on just one or two and not spread myself like mayonnaise on bread.

Time for research. Which translates into dropping down the ole rabbit hole.

The first place I started, of course, was the Stats page in WordPress. But that was just a starting point. You can see from my image, according to WordPress, most of my referrers come from WordPress Readers.

But, does that tell me how readers actually discovered Jean’s Writing? I’m not sure. The term “referrer” is referencing online sources – specifically sites or services that the referring page or link clicked on to get to my site. Clear as mud, right?

Look at this section on your STATS page to get a better idea of how many people are seeing your blog. Below is how many views, visitors, likes and comments made to my blog.

However, that still doesn’t let me know which social media gets me the most bang for my time.

So, I did a little more digging.

Another great source is Google Analytics. Takes a little while to set it up but once you do you can see which social site is sending the most people to your website. I set up my account last year but hadn’t checked on it since. So, I headed over to see what was what.

Holy Cow! Google Analytics had zero stats for my website. Please don’t judge me too harshly. Because I’m embarrassed to tell you, I’d forgotten one very important step. The freaking Accept button. You know that button that says you agree to terms, yadda, yadda yadda…