Sunday, May 27, 2007

Google is taking over my life

I have google analytics and I like to look at it every now and then. Sometimes I forget it's there but recently I received an email telling me they made it all fancy-schmancy. And it's great! It's much more understandable for non-technological me, and right on the front page it has what I am really interested in: the keywords people have been using to find my site.

For a long time now, this post has been the biggest hit. This makes me sad, because it means whoever is reading, or contemplating reading, that wonderful book cannot find a more prolific writer's review of it. I google it to check, and there it is, me at the top. (yes yes vicious cycle, I know. But honestly, I don't do that a lot. About every 6 months or so).

The one that is making the most hits of late are split into two: Ghosts and banh canh - and like a tensely run race, those keywords keep leap-frogging each other.

I love my banh canh story. I hope the people googling recipes for banh canh stay to read my story. I aim for more posts like that one, and fewer babbly ones like this one.

My reviews are not particularly objective - I like to put myself into my reviews. I would expect that if people wanted something useful in a review, or some literary criticism, they know where else to do searches, rather than using google or other web search engines. I am trained in literary criticism, but I prefer to provide my emotive responses in this blog. I also enjoy reading emotive reviews. I'm not such a sucker that I don't know the difference between a critical review, and an emotional review - or indeed the parts of a review that are critical and those parts that are emotive. Ideologically, I am a perspectivist (as well as the other things I have declared in the past) - so pointing out my position and perspective is vital to how I present most of my ideas.

I am really pleased that no ew-y people have come by this site by typing in unsavoury things. I'm not going to type any here because then that gives them the keywords - but those of you sensitised to the exoticisation of Asian women will know what I am on about.

For a small period of time, someone had found my site by typing in keywords that suggested to me they were not looking for the types of things I write. Nevertheless, they had a fine old look around my site, but did not seem to revisit. I trust they found something worthwhile ...

6 comments:

Kirsty said...

I seem to have been able to avoid having the ew-y people visit my blog too, for which I'm grateful.

I tend to think that those using google for discussions about books tend to be students trying to find an essay 'short cut'. The most referrals I get along these lines are for the search terms related to The Life of Pi and The Book Thief.

The main recipe I get consulted for is Broccoli and Anchovy pasta. Now you will too ; )

Oanh said...

See at least your Broccoli and Anchovy pasta won't disapppoint. I bet the googlers get here and go "grr".

Hmm - I never even thought of the dodgy student googlers. That just wasn't done in my day!

Anonymous said...

How do you install that analytics thing? They said you have to "install it separately at the bottom of each page" ... whereas MY sitemeter/statcounters go just on my sidebar ...
if you CAN explain, would you be kind enough to drop by a comment at my main blog?
Gledwood "vol 2" - (that's the main one).
OK
all the best
laters!

Hedgehog said...

I just read your post on banh canh and was pleasantly surprised to find another method of making it. I normally rolled it out and cut it with a pizza cutter as I think it's more hygienic to do so :D, as regards to your cooking skills, mine are not much better even though I am the oldest in my family. When I was at home our maid did almost everything and as a result, when I left home for college the only things I can cook were pot noodles and omelette.

Oanh said...

Hedgehog:

I agree that using a pizza cutter is more hygienic but where's your sense of fun and adventure?

:-)

Hedgehog said...

I suppose if I give the job to my niece then she can do it your way, which is more fun. I prefer to cut it with a pizza cutter --> it saves time :D

 
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