12 Months of Elfshot

Heading into a new year is a good time to consider plans for the next 12 months and review the past year.  On blogs that usually means top 10 lists and a review of statistics.  I spend as much time obsessing over my page views and post stats as any other blogger.  Here's a peak.

These are my monthly stats for 2012.  It was a pretty steady year, with each month of 2012 having a little more traffic than the corresponding month in 2011, although the spring had a bigger increase in activity than the fall.  A lot of that traffic came because of a couple posts on cuts to archaeology at Parks Canada in May.

Here are the yearly stats.  Its good to see that returning visits are still climbing (up to 8,144 from 6,410 in 2011).  The page loads (108,624) and unique visits (63,316) have their own momentum, because old posts show up in search engine searches and people can run across them at any time.   As the blog grows, it casts a wider net for those types of search engine visits.  Its nice to see that some of those people are sticking around for return visits.

So who are the returning visitors?  This is a snapshot from the Elfshot facebook stats page.  The folks who "Like" Elfshot on Facebook probably make up the biggest percentage of returning visitors.  At the moment there are 468 people who like Elfshot on Facebook.  Most of them are English speaking men between the ages of 35 and 44, living in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.   In other words, they are me.

Top 10 Elfshot Posts of All Time

Entry	Pageviews
Baleen Wolfkiller: Fact or Fiction? May 7, 2010, 15 comments	7725
How does a Thule Harpoon Work? Jan 11, 2010, 12 comments	6519
Patinating Copper Experiments Jul 22, 2009, 18 comments	6063
Nikon Coolpix P100 Review Aug 25, 2010	3113
iDraw Archaeological Features on the iPad Nov 9, 2011, 13 comments	2462
Copper Inuit Arrow Reproductions Feb 4, 2011, 2 comments	2317
What is Happening to Archaeology at Parks Canada? May 13, 2012, 5 comments	2078
Copper Inuit Harpoon Reproduction Mar 16, 2011, 2 comments	2055
Gate Post Aug 6, 2012	1754
Fort Garry Tobacco Tin and Quartzite, Again, Final... Oct 23, 2009, 3 comments	1504

Baleen Wolfkiller: Fact or Fiction?

May 7, 2010, 15 comments

7725

How does a Thule Harpoon Work?

Jan 11, 2010, 12 comments

6519

Patinating Copper Experiments

Jul 22, 2009, 18 comments

6063

Nikon Coolpix P100 Review

Aug 25, 2010

3113

iDraw Archaeological Features on the iPad

Nov 9, 2011, 13 comments

2462

Copper Inuit Arrow Reproductions

Feb 4, 2011, 2 comments

2317

What is Happening to Archaeology at Parks Canada?

May 13, 2012, 5 comments

2078

Copper Inuit Harpoon Reproduction

Mar 16, 2011, 2 comments

2055

Gate Post

Aug 6, 2012

1754

Fort Garry Tobacco Tin and Quartzite, Again, Final...

Oct 23, 2009, 3 comments

1504

Gate Post

What were people viewing?  The Wolfkiller, Thule Harpoon, and Patinating Copper experiments are still the three most viewed pages on the site.  Two posts from 2012 made it into the Top 10. "What is Happening to Archaeology at Parks Canada" made the list at number 7, because a lot of people were confused and concerned, like me, by the cuts to federal archaeology positions across the country.  That one makes sense, but I have no idea why the "Gate Post" photo became the 9th most visited page of all time.  Usually I can track the stats and figure out where all the traffic is coming from for a particular post, but that one is still a mystery to me.  Its hard to plot a course for the new year based on the popularity of those two posts - one was an uncaptioned photo and the other was a spur of the moment bit of political angst.  Although, I guess pictures and opinions are really what blogs are about.  Photos aren't a problem - maybe I should stick more opinion into my posts?

Photo Credits:
1,5: Tim Rast
2,3: Screen Captures from www.statcounter.com
4: Screen Capture from www.facebook.com