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A Dizzying 2 Weeks of Stumbling and Sphinning
By dana | October 1, 2007
DanaWallert.com is officially two weeks old today. I debated posting stats again so soon. But because I’ve seen so much buzz around about whether StumbleUpon can bring traffic and whether that traffic is worthwhile, I thought it was only right to stand up for my SU and share a Sphinnowledge as well.
I’m just going to put the numbers out there and say that over 70% off this traffic has been from StumbleUpon.
As to the value of stumblers’ visits, as of right now, we have 218 comments on 18 posts. I know for a fact that at least 50% of those commenters found this blog and commented for the first time solely from Stumbling upon it.
I know a lot of the criticism for SU is focused on whether or not it can be a sustainable source of traffic. Sure, the traffic will drop off some if you don’t continue to get stumbled by new or different stumblers. I have noticed that if a post is discovered by a stumbler who has previously discovered other posts, the onset of the stumble rush is a little slower. But as is mentioned a lot, I think one of the key elements is if you get a number of stumbles in a relatively small period of time.
Also, the topic covered in a post obviously has a huge effect on the amount of traffic stumblers can send your way. If you want a huge amount of Stumble traffic, write about something stumblers like…themselves for example. As a fairly strong user, I don’t mind talking about “us” in that manner. We like to see things that we can identify with, and if we are stumbling and see something smart or funny about stumbling…we’re more likely to give it a read and a thumb.
Please don’t misunderstand me though. Stumblers aren’t stupid. Personally, nothing bugs me more than stumbling across page after page of the same old desperate stumble-begging pages. If you want to see the massive benefits about writing about StumbleUpon, you’d better make it something original and fresh.
In addition to all of the Stumble love we’ve been getting, I’d be remiss if I failed to mention the Sphinntastic phun we’ve been having. For those of you who don’t know, Sphinn is the social networking site from Danny Sullivan and the Search Engine Land crew. If you’re into SEM, SEO, IM or any other related acronyms, you should definitely be spending some time over in the Sphinnosphere. I have learned a lot, “met” some great people and am constantly finding some great new blogs every day.
The Sphinnsters (no old maid reference intended) have been very kind to DanaWallert.com, and I’m trying to contribute as much as I can to that community as well. Sphinn is not directly, at least for me, a huge referrer in terms of numbers. In my opinion, it is as, if not more powerful though. These people are the real deal, and if you can grab their attention, you’re probably on the right track with your content.
HINT: Taking a look at the What’s New page over there is a great place to find some possible StumbleUpon discovery gems too.
So that’s what I’ve been up to in these first two weeks. Thanks to all of you sphinntastic, stumblerrific visitors and commentators. I’m having a blast!
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October 2nd, 2007 at 5:22 am
I feel like giving it a try.
Haven’t done it yet.
Great stats.
good luck for the future
October 2nd, 2007 at 8:35 am
Hi Roxi, I’d definitely recommend spending some time at StumbleUpon and Sphinn!
October 2nd, 2007 at 10:00 am
Yeah I will do so as soon as I get some time.
October 2nd, 2007 at 11:31 am
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October 2nd, 2007 at 12:22 pm
70% of your traffic from StumbleUpon isn’t unusual. There have been days when more than 80% of my traffic is SU-driven with just under 60% of my September numbers reflecting SU.
One thing about Sphinn and StumbleUpon I appreciate besides the boatloads of traffic is the maturity and professionalism of the majority of people I come across. Unlike some social networks which are definitely the Kiddie Brigade Zone, members of these two communities fully understand the “sociality” of the internet.
October 2nd, 2007 at 2:56 pm
I completely agree with you Matt. I have spent a little time on most of the big social networks…but I keep coming back to Sphinn and SU.
October 2nd, 2007 at 8:12 pm
My personal opinion is that Sphinn rocks in terms of the professionalism of the people there, and the depth of real knowledge they have with regards to the topics.
StumbleUpon has quite a number of individuals there as well who share the same ideals, and many of them are on Sphinn as well. The additional dimension SU has is in its concept - it’s really fun using SU and sometimes the randomness can spring pleasant surprises. Usability is also high on my chart.
October 2nd, 2007 at 11:15 pm
Dana,
You get traffic because your writing is engaging and you’re obviously a sweet, empathetic, and intuitive person. Take heart lass, terrific content fully transcends any gathering-place-de jour.
Post the words to your SU blog, bookmark it in Sphinn, or SHOUT it from the rooftops…WHATEVER: “Technology is the great equalizer! The most poignant and useful content always WINS the day.”
m
October 4th, 2007 at 2:27 am
Hi Dana,
Congrats on the 2 weeks. I enjoyed this post very much. I am coming to appreciate stumbleupon the more I use it. I am not familiar with Sphinn, but will get on it straightaway.
Cheers!
October 6th, 2007 at 7:14 pm
Dana,
Congratulations on the traffic. That’s great for a new blog. SU is also a top source of traffic for me, and I think it is more of a continual source of traffic than some people think. Of course, you need to keep adding new blog posts.
October 14th, 2007 at 2:30 pm
Those are some pretty amazing stats for a two week old blog. Keep up the great posting.