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Thursday 2 March 2017

There is something odd going on

Over the past week my blog seems to have been experiencing a rather larger number of 'hits' than usual. The daily 'hit' counter for today is currently registering over 2,600 'hits' ... and yet when I look at the statistics provided by Blogger, this doesn't seem to be the case.

The statistics from Blogger for the last week look like this:



The statistics from Amazing Counters look like this:



I know that the Amazing Counters 'hit' counter that I added to my blog not long after I started back in 2009 works on a different daily start time from that used by Blogger, but even so this doesn't seem to account for the differences. The single statistic that does surprise me is the huge number of 'hits' my blog had in the last week from the United States. Usually it is about the same as the number of 'hits' I get from the United Kingdom, but over the last week it appears to have been larger by over 600%!

The only other time that I have experienced something like this was when I wrote an obituary for Edwards Woodward in November 2009. This was picked up by someone at FLAMES OF WAR, who provided a link to that particular blog entry with the result that I had nearly 1,500 'hits' in a single day.

22 comments:

  1. Rogue search engine(s) indexing everything is the most likely explanation. It happens to us all at some point. Most often they're in Russia or Ukraine but occasionally in the US.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TamsinP,

      That sounds like it might well be the case. I somehow thought that it wasn't down to a sudden interest in wargaming in general and my blog in particular!

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
    2. It's worth looking at the stats for referring URLs and page/post views. The web-crawlers that the search engines use normally won't show up in those as it will be a single page/post view from a single source before it moves onto the next one.

      If it's a spike in interest, you should see a similar spike in both the referring URL and page/post view stats

      Delete
    3. TamsinP,

      I've looked at those statistics, and the vast majority of referrals come from Google (both .com and .co.uk). The only URL that I don't recognise is www.domain2008.com, which appears to be registered in Princeton, New Jersey, USA ... and it only seems to account for 43 'hits' in the last week.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
    4. > If it's a spike in interest, you should see a similar spike in both the referring URL and page/post view stats
      And presumably visitor comments also. I long ago abandoned using anything else as a serious reflection of visits.

      Delete
    5. Michael Mills,

      Having checked the 'hit' figures again this morning, it appears that there is a major 'glitch' with the 'hit' counter. I must therefore assume that the sudden upsurge in apparent interest in my blog is nothing but a phantom.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  2. I've had similar experiences on my blog and have usually attributed the problem to a rogue search engine in Russia. Others agree.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jim Duncan,

      My first thought that it might be those pesky Russians again ... but that doesn't seem to be the case this time.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
    2. It's not always Russia (although it is the most frequent source). I've had similar spikes from the US (not too far behind Russia) and Ukraine in the past year

      Delete
    3. TamsinP,

      I knew about Russian - and the occasional Ukrainian - induced spikes, but not ones from the US. Judging by the very sketchy evidence, this spike seems to have eminated from the USA.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  3. I've got two random posts spiking at the moment - every day they pick up a few hits, but over the course of a month it's stacking up and they show as my two most popular for the past 30 days.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kaptain Kobold,

      Any idea where the 'hits' are coming from?

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  4. Hmmm--I was thinking all those hits might be the result of my telling everyone you've been printing a lot of "Fantasy Babe" artwork--you know, the kind of stuff that depicts some incredibly endowed young woman fighting orcs or dragons in a mail bikini.

    Helpfully yours as always,

    Chris

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chris,

      But that's my OTHER blog ... and that hasn't had any 'hits' for weeks!

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  5. I'm sure I'm not as popular with Russians, Ukranians, Chinese or Americans as Mr Blogger insists, so I don't take much notice. As the blog is more of a whimsy than anything else and, as One 'follower' pointed out is "all over the place" I'm not bothered either, though a high tally is good for the ego, I guess.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gary Amos,

      I think that all blogs have an element of self-indulgence (I know that mine has!) but what surprises me is the number of 'hits' mine attracts from non-English-speaking countries.

      All th best,

      Bob

      Delete
  6. I've has this happen twice before, and both times the source was Russian. Pity, really, I rather liked the idea of a sudden large interest in my blog from Russia. I used to have a steady traffic from there, but that seems to have dried up lately. But then I have been rather neglectful of my blog in the last couple of years.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Archduke Piccolo,

      I've had 'blips' of increased interest in my blog from Russia from time to time in the past, but never anything like this. I am beginning to wonder if there might be some sort of 'glitch' in the 'hit' counter that is causing the apparent increase.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  7. The thing is, regardless of who is doing this, I can't understand why--what does he/she gain? There's no money involved. Inasmuch as the person does it anonymously, I can't see how his/her ego would be boosted either. Weird!

    Chris

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chris,

      I can't fathom the reason why it has happened either.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  8. It is likely referrer spam. The link blow has rather more information than you should need.

    https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!topic/blogger/FsyX8tL8fcs

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Pat G,

      The link was very helpful, and I think that I now understand what is happening. That said, I still think that there is a 'glitch' with my Amazing Counters 'hit' counter which may be due to a different cause.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete

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