There are many types of achievements in blogging.
One of the most important, but not often given the attention it deserves, is reaching a visitor traffic milestone.
Many bloggers are self conscious about their visitor traffic. Some bloggers even avoid having a visitor counter for their blogs entirely.
One of the reasons, often given, is the blog is for their own use, and if someone else reads it, fine. If not, that's still okay. They feel no need to become slaves to their visitor totals.
While ego may drive many bloggers, to read their visitor counter statistics thirty times per day, self importance isn't the only reason for a visitor counter.
For one thing, knowing your visitor count lets you know if your posts are interesting to your readers.
For example, if you are running a special series, and your visitor numbers rise dramatically, you know that the posts struck a chord with your audience. You will know that your readers like the series topic. Perhaps the concept of a group of interrelated posts is intriguing to many visitors as well.
Your visitor counter will often tell you the most important keywords and phrases that helped people find your blog in a search.
The major search engines like Google, Yahoo, and MSN Search are tremendous sources of new readers. If they are searching for certain topics, that are within the theme of your blog, you have an entirely new source of popular posting ideas, free for the taking.
After that rather lengthy preamble, I have finally reached the point of this post. I'm sure you were wondering that yourself.
Will he ever get the point of this digression that never really had a starting location from which to digress.
Well, fear not, we are there.
Finally.
Two of the finest blogs, in the entire blogosphere, reached very important visitor traffic milestones this week.
While the numbers are entirely different, their value for each blogger and their loyal readership, can't be denied.
Jennifer of the always entertaining and informative Drink This... reached the 100,000 hit level this past week.
You may disagree with some of Jennifer's opinions, on political and cultural issues, but there is no denying her honesty and high quality of character.
Jennifer is a first rate blogger.
Combining top notch posts with handy links, with her always winning and charming personality, you have the recipe for a great way to Drink This...
Congratulations on counting the drinkers of this...
Also achieving a monumental level of visitors this week, was my buddy Jeremy Wright of Ensight.
Hold onto your hats and everything else.
Jeremy has just passed the unbelievable 4 million visitor barrier at Ensight.
Using the powerful blogging idea, of infusing his personality into his always interesting multiple daily posts, Jeremy has captured an enormous audience.
Way to go Jeremy. You gave yourself a tough act to follow.
Just kidding, Jeremy!
Note that in both high achieving blogs runs a common theme.
Jennifer at Drink This... and Jeremy at Ensight write interesting and informative posts. They also let their personalities and personal thoughts and values flow freely throughout their blogs.
Because of that openess, both bloggers have regular and very loyal reading audiences.
Other bloggers would be well advised to apply those valuable principles to their own blogs.
Your visitor traffic will soar like Jennifer's and like Jeremy's.
