Site traffic statistics

24 June 2004

It’s been well over a year since I last looked at the traffic statistics for this site - to be honest I’m not overly concerned with getting huge numbers of visitors. Things seem to be going smoothly, with plenty of interesting annotations, and that’s what matters most.

But someone was asking me recently about the stats, so I’ve just analysed the logs, and here are the highlights for May 2004. According to webalizer, the site averaged 11,801 page views a day, with an average of 3,309 “visits”. This is slightly less that February last year, but that was close to the frenzied launch of the site - I’m surprised the figures are still so high to be honest! The most page views on a day was 22,863 on 8th May, and most visits was nearly 4,000 on a number of days. The totals for the month were 365,848 page views and 102,596 visits.

Up to today we’ve had 10,708 annotations to the diary and 2,490 in Background Info, for a total of 13,198.

20 Comments

First Reading

Ted Serrill  •  Link

I don't know, Phil. To think that no more than 4,000 people worldwide wish to visit this site daily makes me sad. But I do kind of feel among the Elite.

Bradford  •  Link

But it also means that there are literally (in the sense of "literally," not figuratively) thousands of readers who remain Anon., but plainly enjoy the Diary: you don't return to a place where you haven't been well-entertained and -treated. Cheers, Sam & Phil.

Jesse  •  Link

Page Views per Visit

'The Page Views Per Visit report helps you spot changes in the level of interest in your web site.' (http://www.gjenvick.com/commerce/…)

I'm a little surprised I found this interesting. From above, this value's between 3 and 4. One could guess the average viewer might click on the day's annotations and perhaps a background link or two. I sometimes click on an annotator's link and return. A faux visit?

Laura K  •  Link

"no more than 4,000 people worldwide"

A reading group of 4,000 seems very large to me! With all the choices competing for our leisure time and attention - not to mention work and other obligations - I think 4,000 people regularly making time to read and comment on a 350-year-old diary is pretty terrific.

Pauline  •  Link

"4,000 people regularly making time to read and comment on a 350-year-old diary is pretty terrific"

4,000 "visits." I have to be counted twice on those days my computer suddenly bounces me out and I have to try again. Or those days when I log on a second or third time to see what you all are saying.

Terrific all the same.

Ruben  •  Link

I think 4000 people is a lot.
But I am more interested in knowing if the annotations have real value.
If the annotations contributed to understand SP's world.
If naggets of dispersed information were knotted by the Public.
I can remember one: the Polish annotator with his contribution about the "Turks" during the Coronation festivities.
I think this, my question, has to be answered by experts in Pepys.
In the meantime, I am grateful to all the readers and contributors for the wonderful moments in SP's world. I thank specially Phil, who adventured in uncharted territories, with us, the readers, behind him.
I also thank this obsesive and industrious young man, that 350 years ago, put to paper all his doings and thoughts, in spite of not having QWERTY at his disposal.

Bushman  •  Link

Considering the number of English speaking people in the world I feel honoured to be part of such a small group

Barry Reich  •  Link

I am one of the number who stops at this site to read the daily entry and accompanying comments and annotations but doesn't bother to post. It's just my way of reading the Diary, which seemed daunting viewed as a whole but is both entertaining and manageable in small doses.

Xjy  •  Link

A readers' group with clout
Think of the need to seek the site out voluntarily as a sign of active interest, and then the actual subject matter (historical, 17th century) as a pretty effective filter, and you'll get an idea of how concentrated the readership is. Even if you halve the figure to around 2000 a day, that's a lot of active regular interest. I'm part of a discussion group in another field with around 1000 members that's only slightly more concentrated, and the knowledge clout there is phenomenal (not to mention the number of messages a day, which isn't an issue here... :-)
This diary blog with its annotations, topic banks and archives is brilliant.
Now, if only someone would do the same for Tacitus... :-)

Mary Merivel  •  Link

I think the number of visitors is rather good! This site is very special and I'm personally glad to see that this specialty finds its way to people worldwide.

I'm from Russia and to be honest I don't know how many more people from my country are interested in visiting this wonderful page, but for me it is almost like everyday ritual. Thank you all creating this page and thanks to Mr.Pepys for writing it so vivid and so attractive.

Roger Arbor  •  Link

Liked Ruben's "... obsessive and industrious"... rather like us really. My Home Page for 17 months (the longest ever)... irreplaceable!

Jane Loveday  •  Link

I'm English living in San Diego and I just love this diary - to go to a date and read about another person's daily life who lived on that date hundreds of years ago and learn what it was like for them is invaluable, fascinating and very addicting! Thank you, I love visiting the diary every day.

Patrick Blake  •  Link

This site is a daily "must" for me. A day without Sam just isn't a full one. Thank you all for sharing your knowledge about Sam and his fascinating times. may I suggest you read Neal Stephenson's "Quicksilver" and "The Confusion" for some other occasional meetings with our hero and some of his real, and fictional, companions.

Glyn  •  Link

If you click on Patrick Blake's name (just above) it takes you to a great website that, among a lot of other things, has an exhibition about London in the 1600s by the University of Otago - I love serendipititious discoveries like that.

dirk  •  Link

Patrick Blake's website

On this site I found this "facsimile engraving from Pepys

Michael McKeever  •  Link

Word on the street is that the next Thursday Next novel by Jasper Fforde is to be titled,
"The Great Samuel Pepys Fiasco." Get ready of an up tick in July 2005!

Lloyd Alter  •  Link

I cannot start my day without it. I am sitting by a lake in Northern Canada with loons and moose and an old rotary phone to a slow connection. 4000 people surprises me- I would have thought 10 times that.

Jane  •  Link

I love this site. I've always just read and followed the links, never annotated. This is probably the largest book club discussion in the world. Thank you.

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