Just as some 'Oh My' information, the visitors here have been trending as follows:

http://Elsmar.com/gif/recent.gif

Longer term:

http://Elsmar.com/gif/long_term.gif

Weekends are pretty obviously low activity wise.

NOTE: This summary applies to the entire site - not just the forums.

Key:
Blue are 'Hits'
Green is bytes dowloaded
Red is the number of individual (different) visitors

Now...how to find out why more aren't signing up for membership!

:)

Well, here's another recent view (for the heck of it...):
http://elsmar.com/gif/2001-12-02.gif

Read http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/6.01/bronson_pr.html for some reasons why big siites fail. According to it my site should be long gone.

From: http://slashdot.org/askslashdot/01/11/30/078228.shtml

A Catch-22: how to initially draw people to a community when the a community itself is the selling point and your being drowned in information sea that the web has become? Many people take the popularity of 'people concentrators' for granted. Whole communities are developing, as they have done for thousands of years, on web logs and news sites via reader feedback. Unfortunately, not all sites are well traveled. (Side note: a lot of reseach has apperantly gone into this.) For instance, the special interest publication Dragon Spirit Magazine is closing their doors due to a lack rather than surfiet of viewers. Belfy Comics lists an entire section of online-only comics which are (for lack of a better term) abandoned by both viewer and creator. Probably the most powerful force obliterating free communication is neither fundamentalist nor jack-booted: it's obscurity.
****************************
The Cove has been up so long because it is free and offers what I will call 'Truth'. People can say what they really want. And, of course, I have been willing to continue to fund it (admittedly I'm looking at ways to make it pay for its self, but that wasn't even an issue until about 1 year ago come February). The Cove has gained some popularity as it is really an 'alturnative' to the typical business sites where you're blasted with advertisements from every side, in pop-up-windows and other BS. Nor is there another consulting company (if you'll grant me that status) in the world where a forum is maintained for free and where people can speak the truth.

You may take this as a bit weird, but I think of the Cove site and Forums as a 1960's kind of outcast hangout. The dissenters speak here.

The bottom line is most people who come to the Cove forums do it because it's free information and - for the first 5 years - offered one heck of a lot of free files. And 99% of the visitors are not about to pay because - to a large degree - the internet is supposed to be free.

How to 'get people to 'join'? I'm open to suggestions... I will admit I have some ideas up my sleeve - but have not decided anything definite. One may be to cut off all visitors from the forums and charge a US$15 (or US$20 - some low figure - like subscribing to a magazine) a year fee to access the Forums. That will cut down traffic, however, and there are other negative impacts I forsee.

As of right now, the Forums are funded until the end of March 2002. We'll see what happens between now and then. I can save over US$5000 a year if I just shut the whole site down (not to mention my time which has become somewhat a more serious issue). :thedeal:

Marc and everyone,

I love the Cove!
I've been visiting off and on now for several months, and have informed everyone I work with about the site.
I recently "jumped in" and became a member (today).

I would like to contribute to the ongoing success of the site.
I'm a little confused on exactly how to purchase your files, etc. I can seem to find a purchase page.
What is the best way to purchase these files, or make a contribution?

:bigwave:

Shannon, welcome to the Cove. It is a wonderful place to learn and to teach. We expect both from you! :agree:

As far as payment, there is a green bar up top that reads:
"Support the Cove Fourms..." Click on there, and you will well be on your way. You are far better person than I. It took me about two months of participation before I finally put my pennies in the kitty!

Just as a tidbit - while I still don't sell many 'access memberships' to 'Members' or 'Premium', business has picked up quite a bit for me this year and I don't see any issues with funding the site for the next 6 months or more.

Not to say sales here aren't wanted, but the site does not depend upon sales as was, for a while, a serious issue to me (as some here well know).

To those reading this who have donated (I like that better than saying 'bought' - it's the liberal in me, I guess) - My thanks!

Anyway, I believe I'm leaving Miami tomorrow late and will be back in Cincinnati on Friday.

If you start charging for entrance I will take my custom elswhere.

Long live the 60's

Seeriously (sic) folks Marc has established a forum on quality that puts all other forums on this subject to shame.
Lets tell the other forums to stop and send their funding to Marc.

Marc

Why dont you accept advertising, I think we have all learned to ignore banner ad's.

M Greenaway said:

Why dont you accept advertising, I think we have all learned to ignore banner ad's.
If I do that the site becomes a business site where I have to track hits and such. I started the site as a communications tool and as a way to give back to the community for what I was making off implementations and related activities - not as an income generator in its self.

In addition, if I accept paid advertising it would taint the neutrality of the site (or, as they say in politics, it would put the "...appearance of bias or conflict of interest..." in the site). It may be that one day I will, but right now it's not in my plans.

Besides, you can try to ignore banner ads but they're annoying anyway. I prefer making everyone ignore the birds, 'possums and other stuff I put in the page header graphic... :thedeal:

Speaking as a member who just signed up yesterday, allow me to say thank you for putting this site together and keeping it ad-free and unbiased. This is an amazing source for people in my line of work and I have yet to see anything like it anywhere else. If you wanted to "give back" as you say, you have succeeded!

M Greenaway said:

Why dont you accept advertising, I think we have all learned to ignore banner ad's.


Or, we have ad-blocking software or (my favorite) firewall software with ad-blocking & privacy protection built-in. (It's been months since I've seen a pop-up ad for a wireless video camera!)

Marc - how do you advise members it is time to renew?

Graeme

Well, not all that many people have actually paid for access to the 'Members' or 'Premium' directories and I didn't start charging for those until last September - so it's not a big deal off hand. Technically I can notify through the software but I may be switching some server stuff including the control software. My intention is to keep the forums access free as it is now - I see 'members directory access' as the same thing as a donation so I may not even expire those accounts. If I end up as poor as I was last winter I'll start moaning.

More Continuous Improvement through EVOP (rhymes with BeBop) - at the Cove.

Just wondered,
How is the Cove traffic these days?
I have been visiting the Cove more often now after a long absence and, I have found that the traffic isn't so busy from my view. Am I right or just imagining a streak of lethargy?
Wallace.

I haven't looked at posts per day over time or anything for a while. Atul, have you looked at the stats lately?

Visitors have increased, but in part it's spiders - they couldn't scan the old vB php scripts, but they can these. Went from about 1500 to 2500 'visitors' a day a year or two ago to about 2500 to 5000 a day as of this month. For well over a year I had my apache logs disabled because I wasn't interested in analyzing them. Did that, things were pretty steady so big deal.

The server I've been on since june has analysis software 'built in' so I can see data since I kicked it in about 5 July.

There's a fair amount of activity in the 'business' threads. As always, there's a lot of 'repeat' stuff.

Of course, right now it's 'the weekend' so few people are here.

I haven't looked at posts per day over time or anything for a while. Atul, have you looked at the stats lately?
No, I haven't looked at the stats for quite some time now. I think what you've said pretty well sums up the forums activity.

On the whole I think we now have more number of 'regulars' posting to the forums. Nice to see Wallace back in action. We do miss our regulars when they remain away from the forums and in fact we have a thread (http://www.elsmar.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=6182) or two discussing it.

On the whole I think we now have more number of 'regulars' posting to the forums.
I have noted the same thing, without watching any stats. We have quite a number of great newbies around too, so I think things are looking good for the future.

/Claes

I may be responsible for some of the newbies. During every course I teach (about 10 Lead Auditor courses this year alone) the question about good internet sites comes up, and guess where I tell folks to go. I have probably passed the Cove on to a couple of hundred people this year easy.

the question about good internet sites comes up, and guess where I tell folks to go.
Ditto. I try to promote the Cove anytime I get half a chance, but I suspect that my success rate may be significantly lower than yours. There is the language barrier to consider. Even though most swedes speak reasonably good english these days, some people still feel a bit intimidated by the thought of entering the kind of discussions found here. I strongly suspect that I'm responsible for a number of lurkers, though. :D

/Claes

A few other stats are attached for those interested.

This is a quickie for 2004 to 25 December.

I am a newbie here trying to become a semi normal poster. I found the site while doing some internet reserch for 1 of my MBA classes. This site is definitely a class act place and is very much appreciated.


Murph

These are the 2004 stats, folks.

Here are the stats for January 2005.

Wow! January 10 sure served up a lot of pages.

I noticed that. Search engine spiders are supposed to be filtered out, but I'm betting that was an 'unknown' bot. If it wasn't there would have been more visits.

NOTE: I changed the statistics program the first of January (at almost midnight on New Years Eve) - Well, same program but an upgrade. The prior program version did not filter search bots out of the results. This new one does. For that reason it 'looks' like there were fewer visitors in January 2005 than in December 2004 but that probably is not the case.

A quick update:
http://Elsmar.com/gif/site_stats_050601.gif

Search engine ratings for several 'key words' (such as "iso9000" have gone down. This is mainly speaking of Google. Google did a ranking algorithm change a couple months back where forums were classified as 'blogs' because of the relatively continuous content change and a few other reasons I have heard speculated about.

Over the last couple of months we have seen an increase in the number of registered users visiting every day. Weekends have been very slow. So - that's the current scoop. Google just did the 'Bourbon' update so we'll see what that brings.

Stats through the end of June 2005:

http://Elsmar.com/gif/Site Stats basic 050705.gif

Stats through the end of July 2005:

http://Elsmar.com/gif/Elsmar Traffic July 2005.gif

I'm curious - for sites like yours with RSS feeds, can you differentiate between the hits coming from browsers versus RSS readers?

In the AWstats program you can. Since midnight starting 1 August the RSS feed has had 400 'hits' (vs. 18608 for showpost.php, 12447 for showthread.php and 1993 for attachment.php).

Site Stats through the end of August 2005:

http://Elsmar.com/gif/elsmar stats 050908.gif

Please bear in mind these are stats for the entire site. The below (August 2005 summary) may give you an idea of where the forums come into play number wise.

http://Elsmar.com/gif/elsmar top pages August 2005.gif

Site Stats through the end of October 2005:

http://Elsmar.com/gif/Elsmar Cove Visitors to November 2005.gif

Please bear in mind these are stats for the entire site.

Here are the 2004 site visitor statistics.

http://elsmar.com/gif/Elsmar 2004 site traffic.gif

Here are the 2005 site visitor statistics.

http://elsmar.com/gif/Elsmar 2005 site traffic.gif

Elsmar Cove Site Stats for January 2006:

http://Elsmar.com/gif/Elsmar visitor stats Jan06.gif

Please bear in mind these are stats for the entire site.

Elsmar Cove Site Statistics for March 2006:

http://Elsmar.com/gif/April 11 06 visitors stats.gif

Please bear in mind these are stats for the entire site and that the April statistics are to 11 April. These numbers do NOT include search engine visits.

As an FYI - We're seeing more new visitors and fewer search engines (especially in the last week).

It's neat to see the volume of traffic your site gets. I suppose that this might really interest your advertisers. Do you know how you compare with other sites, say the ASQ for instance?

Kev

Tim Folkerts just did an update of usage for the ASQ Discussion Board.

As of 3-Apr-06:
10,875 post in 2,029 threads in just under 2 years.

Tim and some of the regulars on the ASQ board having been trying to get more support from ASQ Milwaukee on promotion and use of the board. We have talked about how much better and more used the Cove is compared to the ASQ board. There are lots of things that are better at the Cove but I think ASQ is beginning to realize they should get more use of the board. Quality Progress has even featured some postings from the board in recent issues.

Bill Pflanz

Do you know how you compare with other sites, say the ASQ for instance?
I don't have any numbers, but I'm sure the ASQ site gets a lot more traffic.

Bill,

You and Tim might be in for a long battle. A few of us here gave up a couple of years back doing the same thing you both are trying. The folks there are content to be very average (that might be kind of me). A few years back, I considerably out posted the so appointed moderators. Others like Wes, Steve, and Robert did likewise. I don't know if they go to the ASQ forums anymore, but I haven't been there in a couple of years.

The Cove is far more active from my historical perspective, considerably better moderated, and from what I recall, a higher level of quality experience.

Marc,

Yeah, you're probably right when considering all the things to do at the ASQ site. I was wondering if you had any comparison stats in general, if not ASQ specific. Not important at all: just kind of wondering.;)

Regards,

Kevin

Elsmar Cove Site Statistics for 2006 through May:

http://Elsmar.com/gif/May 2006 stats.gif

Please bear in mind these are stats for the entire site. These numbers do NOT include search engine visits.

http://Elsmar.com/gif/June 2006 stats.gif

Thanks Marc,

I must admit that this is one of the best sites to which I am addicted. Contrary to your week end statistics, I am always glued to elsmar.com on Sat and Sun.

Hope to enrich my knowledge more. Keep going strong ....

:bigwave:
AB

http://Elsmar.com/gif/July 2006 Visitors-a.gif

http://Elsmar.com/gif/August_2006_Stats.gif

Elsmar Cove Site Statistics for 2006 through October:

http://Elsmar.com/gif/September_2006_Stats.gif

Elsmar Cove Site Statistics for October:

http://Elsmar.com/gif/Elsmar Stats Oct 2006.gif

Wow! Big spike in March 2006.

Same spike in 2005 during March and same drop during July.

Same spike in 2005 during March and same drop during July.

July drop is probably due to automotive shutdown.

Elsmar Cove Site Statistics for 2006 through December:

http://Elsmar.com/gif/Elsmar Stats Nov 2006.gif

http://Elsmar.com/gif/December 2006 Stats.gif

Some 2001 statistics for perspective:

http://Elsmar.com/gif/recent.gif

Longer term:

http://Elsmar.com/gif/long_term.gif

Weekends are pretty obviously low activity wise.

NOTE: This summary applies to the entire site - not just the forums.

Key:
Blue are 'Hits'
Green is bytes dowloaded
Red is the number of individual (different) visitors

Recent statistics:

Here are the 2004 site visitor statistics.

http://elsmar.com/gif/Elsmar 2004 site traffic.gif

Here are the 2005 site visitor statistics.

http://elsmar.com/gif/Elsmar 2005 site traffic.gif

Here are the 2006 site visitor statistics.

http://Elsmar.com/gif/December 2006 Stats.gif

Elsmar Cove Site Statistics for January 2007

http://Elsmar.com/gif/Elsmar Cove Site Stats January 2007.gif

Please bear in mind the Monthly History summary is stats for the entire site. These numbers do NOT include search engine and 'bot' visits.

General Statistics for January 2007
http://Elsmar.com/gif/Forum visitor stats 070131-pm-b.gif

Action speak better than words. Truly Great, Marc :applause:

I agree. This thing really seems to be taking off.

And why not? I have found no equal to it as an unbiased information source. :applause:

Action speak better than words. Truly Great, Marc

Your Thanks are due entirely to the Moderators and all the other regular visitors who answer folks questions and share their files. I just keep the store open these days.

I could name names, but then.... 'Regulars' know who they are.

Here's a 'Benchmark' (of sorts), if the 'mod' is working right. It appears that an average of 283 people register in the forums each month, but I don't know if it's averaging from June 1998 when the messages that were imported date back to, or from 2001 when the software was installed.

http://elsmar.com/gif/Registered Visitors Benchmark 070207a.gif

Too bad vBulletin doesn't have a data output that I could do a line graph with. I'll have to look into a way to get that data out of the database.

Any MySQL query experts here?

EDIT ADD: I was able to get a data dump going back to 2003. It may have started there due to data problems after a major vBulletin software upgrade. For those interested, here it is.

http://Elsmar.com/gif/Visitors Registering in the Forums to 070206a.gif

Wow! It just keeps on growin'!!! Well done, Marc and the mods, and thanks again for all your help since I joined.

Passed the average today for new posts and new threads:

http://elsmar.com/gif/Forum Stats 070214.gif

Passed the average today for new posts and new threads:

Great ;) and we are just in the middle of the month :cool:

This cove is going stronger day by day; month by month. :applause:

Well Mark, you are definitely the spirit of this site. Please keep it going for 20 years or so until I retire! I am sure you have had "suggestions" from people to make this a pay site, and I am greatful and relieved you have never went that route.
The numbers speak for themselves and it is purely due to the model and ideals of free exchange of knowledge, and participation through free will of well experienced moderators that has kept this site thriving. The idea that knowlege can be free is truly revolutionary in this period of history and American culture.:applause:

The idea that knowlege can be free is truly revolutionary in this period of history and American culture.:applause:

Pl donot say so. We Asians are also contributing :)

Elsmar Cove Site Statistics for February 2007

http://Elsmar.com/gif/Elsmar forum stats 070301-main.gif

Elsmar Cove Site Statistics for March 2007

http://Elsmar.com/gif/March 2007 Stats-a.gif

http://Elsmar.com/gif/March 2007 Stats-main.gif

pretty impressive, Marc! :applause:

The 'bad' part is that while the number of visitors is rising, Google AdSense income (cents for each click through) has dropped over 30% since January... :( I'm not sure what the reason is. There are so many variables and 'unknowns' that I cannot determine exactly what is happening. It may be that companies are bidding lower for related key words, which is what I suspect is the reason.

As to the increase in visitors and page views (etc.), please applaud the folks who answer people's questions every day.

NOTE: This is NOT a 'come on' to get people to click ads!!!!!! Please do NOT try to help by clicking Google ads. Please! Only click on an ad when an advertisement really interests you.

If you want to help, please take a minute and Contribute / Donate / Subscribe as a $ Contributor (http://elsmar.com/subscribe.html).

I will say that I am happy to see the increase in visitors. All the more people are getting the help they need and sharing what they have with others.

Elsmar Cove Site Statistics for April 2007

http://Elsmar.com/gif/Forum Stats 1227am 070501.gif

http://Elsmar.com/gif/Elsmar Stats April 2007.gif

Elsmar Cove Site Statistics for May 2007

http://Elsmar.com/gif/Forum stats 070531-10pm.gif

http://Elsmar.com/gif/May 2007 Forum stats-full.gif

http://Elsmar.com/gif/May 2007 Forum stats-pages.gif

http://Elsmar.com/gif/May 2007 Forum stats-from_where.gif

Please bear in mind the Monthly History summary is stats for the entire site. These numbers do NOT include search engine and 'bot' visits.

Hi Marc,

Another good month but as a matter of interest, what is the position of your income from Google AdSense? Any improvement?

Thanks & regards.

Naw - Sitting at about 40% of last year's gross. Not terrible, but quite a drop. I think companies are bidding less than in the past but there are so many factors that it's really just a guess. % Click through rate has been stable for a couple of years, as would be expected. Cents per click appears to have stabilized as of now, but it's way down from last year.

Please note: This is NOT an invitation to click ads to help out. Click fraud isn't right and could get my account canceled.

Some 2001 statistics for perspective:

http://Elsmar.com/gif/recent.gif

Longer term:

http://Elsmar.com/gif/long_term.gif

Weekends are pretty obviously low activity wise.

NOTE: This summary applies to the entire site - not just the forums.

Key:
Blue are 'Hits'
Green is bytes dowloaded
Red is the number of individual (different) visitors

Recent statistics:

Here are the 2004 site visitor statistics.

http://elsmar.com/gif/Elsmar 2004 site traffic.gif

Here are the 2005 site visitor statistics.

http://elsmar.com/gif/Elsmar 2005 site traffic.gif

Here are the 2006 site visitor statistics.

http://Elsmar.com/gif/December 2006 Stats summary.gif

Elsmar Cove Site Statistics for June 2007

http://Elsmar.com/gif/Forum_Stats_070630-11PM_a.gif

http://Elsmar.com/gif/June_2007_site_stats_a.gif

Please bear in mind the Monthly History summary is stats for the entire site. These numbers do NOT include search engine and 'bot' visits.

Marc,
Maybe it's just me but lately I seem to be seeing a noticeable increase in (good quality) posts by "newbies" (single and low double digit post counts) to the Cove in some of the more active forums like TS16949. Do you have any stats or am I just imagining a trend?
-Icy

Marc,
Maybe it's just me but lately I seem to be seeing a noticeable increase in (good quality) posts by "newbies" (single and low double digit post counts) to the Cove in some of the more active forums like TS16949. Do you have any stats or am I just imagining a trend?
-Icy

Icy, I have been noticing the same thing, seems like recently we have a lot more inputs, and good ones at that.This is truly a world class professional forum. What a great testement to Marc's creation.

Icy, I have been noticing the same thing, seems like recently we have a lot more inputs, and good ones at that.This is truly a world class professional forum. What a great testement to Marc's creation.Not that I don't value and respect the opinions of my regular cadre of inputs like you, Bill P., Steel, Wes, Brad, Jim, hjilling, etc. with the monster post counts, but lately there seems to be a wider representation of opinion, especially from the "new guys". Kind of like meeting some new people that you like in your favorite watering hole where all your old friends hang out.
-Icy

FWIW:
I also note the good replies and often determine I have nothing new or better to add - very pleasant for me to see the new generation taking over the reins - I don't feel the pressure to jump in and be the "answer guy" I used to feel when a thread seemed to be wallowing in good wishes, but no workable solutions.

Marc,
Maybe it's just me but lately I seem to be seeing a noticeable increase in (good quality) posts by "newbies" (single and low double digit post counts) to the Cove in some of the more active forums like TS16949. Do you have any stats or am I just imagining a trend?
-IcyIf you are imagining it, then so am I.

FWIW:
I also note the good replies and often determine I have nothing new or better to add - very pleasant for me to see the new generation taking over the reins - I don't feel the pressure to jump in and be the "answer guy" I used to feel when a thread seemed to be wallowing in good wishes, but no workable solutions.I hear you. I still read most threads, but post less than I used to. The main reason is that I have been putting in quite a bit of overtime in the last year, and posting takes more time than reading...., However, I'm also often beaten to the punch by people with similar views. :agree1:

/Claes

Another good month but as a matter of interest, what is the position of your income from Google AdSense? Any improvement?
Something happened on 2 July. At least for 8 days now there has been a slight improvement. Sort term. We'll see what happens over the next couple of months.

Marc,
Maybe it's just me but lately I seem to be seeing a noticeable increase in (good quality) posts by "newbies" (single and low double digit post counts) to the Cove in some of the more active forums like TS16949. Do you have any stats or am I just imagining a trend?
-Icy
I don't have any stats other than what you see posted in this thread and on the forum home page. There does appear to be an increase, but I'm not sure the numbers show it yet.

I hear you. I still read most threads, but post less than I used to. The main reason is that I have been putting in quite a bit of overtime in the last year, and posting takes more time than reading...., However, I'm also often beaten to the punch by people with similar views. :agree1:/ClaesI'm glad I'm not alone. Speaking of monster post counts, I knew I would leave someone out when I started typing names. Sorry, Claes. At least you gave me an excuse in that you haven't been posting as much lately.Something happened on 2 July. At least for 8 days now there has been a slight improvement. Sort term. We'll see what happens over the next couple of months. I don't have any stats other than what you see posted in this thread and on the forum home page. There does appear to be an increase, but I'm not sure the numbers show it yet.I wonder if your site got reviewed or posted somewhere that is suddenly bringing in a wave of people from another significant forum or blog? Once again, I'm glad that others are seeing the same refreshing trend.

I wonder if your site got reviewed or posted somewhere that is suddenly bringing in a wave of people from another significant forum or blog? Once again, I'm glad that others are seeing the same refreshing trend.
I'm not looking at raw traffic per se, but most traffic comes from Google. I of course watch raw traffic (which is what I post here, so you can see the flux from month to month in this thread), but the cents per click (which I'm not allowed to reveal) is what went way down. Why it did is a matter of guessing because Google's algorithms are not public. I don't even know what any specific ad pays. All I get is an average. All I know is it involves bidding in AdWords. But, there are things like 'smart pricing' that I don't fully understand.

I do know in June Google killed off thousands of 'MFA' (made for adsense) sites and arbitrage sites (just Google "adsense arbitrage site") because all they were were 'non-information' sites people made (such as you do a search and come up with a page/site which has little or no significant content, or is just a site with a listing sorta like another search page). One guy who did arbitrage put up a photo in a forum last winter of a 1 month check from adsense for over US$150,000! I'm sure the guy has a lot of sites and has a fair amount of overhead, but that's a lot of cash. There has been a lot of speculation on what would happen, one of which was payout would rise for 'legitimate' sites as 'garbage' sites would be significantly (supposedly) reduced. But again, it's all speculation. The best I can say is that on 2 July something changed. But again - This is a very short term observation, the change is not terribly large (gained back about 15 to 20% of the 40% down trend) so what appears to be a change might just be a short term aberration. The decline started last December - January and seemed to stabilize at the low by April.

Having a site which for all intents and purposes depends upon advertising as the Cove does is risky, and it's totally a guessing game. To be honest I don't monitor what's happening much any more in the web site owner/admin forums I sometimes visit because it's almost like going to a precious metals forum. I own a lot of gold coins. Right now the dollar is dropping significantly but gold is not going up 'as expected', so you have a lot of people guessing why it isn't. No one knows, but everyone has a theory.

Same with Google. Even when they redo search ranking algorithms everyone throws in their 2 cents about what changed and why, but it's all guesses. Some sites drop out of Google's index completely. Other sites get a big gain in rankings. Some sites rankings don't change at all. So everyone sits around and guesses why. There is some flux, but usually Elsmar.com stays about the same, probably in part because it's been on the internet for so long.

Pay per click is a weird game. Some say AdSense (and other online advertising in general) is doomed to eventual failure. Some say companies are becoming 'discouraged' by poor follow through (people click but don't buy) and bidding less. Some say companies are becoming discouraged by click fraud and dropping out or bidding less or dropping their internet advertising budget.

So - Who knows. I do want to put in my standard disclaimer - Please, No one should click on an advertisement unless they really are interested in the product. Clicking ads to 'help me out' could get my account canceled for click fraud, and if that happens it is rare that a company (or in my case a person) is reinstated. If I loose AdSense, there is no way I could keep the site online. A few people do donate every month, and there are a couple of extra ads by companies (right now only 2), but there just isn't the revenue there to pay to keep it online.

Dear Marc
I am a newcomer on the cove,and I really wonder as to how I missed this remarkable sight for soo.o...o long!My first encounter with it was when I noticed elsmar.com in the back ground of a PPAP document,went straight there,and WOW,this is what I got out of the blue.I was immediately hooked and now I'm eddicted!!

A fantastic creation and fruit of your devoted exceptional effort to bring together 'The Best Brains' in the field,to share their rich experience with one and all,just to selflessly help others!

One thing really bites me,there must be a huge-lot-more people,like me who are not here for the simple reason;they haven't heard of this wonderful sight.If every cover introduces this site to 'eight' persons,out of those 'four' visit the cove, then you get a chain of 1+4+16+64+256+512+1024...........n (leaving n to your imagination).This is the principle of MLM(multi-level-marketing),where the community grows in leaps and bounds.Once the number of users grow,
then the number of contributors will increase automatically,to keep the cove afloat.

Marc,you had the vision to start this wonderful phenomenon,now it is the duty of this community as a whole,to keep it functional.

Thanks again
Umang :thanx:

By all means, tell your friends about the Cove!

By all means, tell your friends about the Cove!

I'm already doing it Marc.Just wanted the majority to follow suit.:o
Umang

Elsmar Cove Site Statistics for July 2007

http://Elsmar.com/gif/Forum_Stats_9.00.pm-070731.gif

http://Elsmar.com/gif/Elsmar_Stats-070731_a.gif

Please bear in mind the Monthly History summary is stats for the entire site. These numbers do NOT include search engine and 'bot' visits.

Elsmar Cove Site Statistics for August 2007

http://Elsmar.com/gif/Forum_Stats_070831-730pm_550.gif

http://Elsmar.com/gif/Elsmar_Site_Stats_August_2007_550.gif

Elsmar Cove Site Statistics for September 2007

http://Elsmar.com/gif/Forum_Visitors_Sept_2007_500.gif

http://Elsmar.com/gif/Elsmar_Site_Sept_2007_550.gif

Glad to see the healthy rise in the "Number of visitors" and "Number of Hits"

The new feature for statistics looks good and is a nice feature - thanks Marc :applause:

Extraaaaordinary achievement Marc!!

It's heartening to note that the responses on the cove are snow-balling.



:caution: According to staticsitions,if your head is in the refrigerater and the legs in an oven;then your body is maintaining normal temprature!?!?(though it is a dead body....oops!?!) ;)

Don't worry-jokes apart-the mammoth achievement is continual,in line with KAIZEN.:applause:

Umang

Elsmar Cove Site Statistics for October 2007

http://Elsmar.com/gif/Forum_Stats_October_2007_11pm_550.gif

http://Elsmar.com/gif/Elsmar_Stats_October_2007_550.gif

Looks like this is an all time record!

Elsmar Cove Site Statistics for November 2007

http://Elsmar.com/gif/Elsmar_Stats_Nov_2007_550.gif

Please bear in mind the Monthly History summary is stats for the entire site. These numbers do NOT include search engine and 'bot' visits (See *).

Elsmar Cove Site and Forum Statistics for December 2007

Forum Specifics for December 2007
http://Elsmar.com/gif/Forum Stats 071231-10pm_est.gif

Entire Site Specifics for December and All of 2007
http://Elsmar.com/gif/Elsmar site stats 2007 summary.gif

Someone emailed me and said the Elsmar Cove was getting about the same amount of traffic as the ASQ web site. I asked how the person knew that (no reply yet), but I thought about it and figured it was from Alexa (http://www.alexa.com/data/details/traffic_details/elsmar.com).

I don't trust Alexa statistics because the stats come from people who have the Alexa tool bar installed. There's a lot of debate on the stats, but for grins I went to the Alexa site and looked up and compared both sites. I was surprised.

http://elsmar.com/gif/Alexa Reach 081027pm.gif

http://elsmar.com/gif/Alexa Rank 081027pm.gif

http://elsmar.com/gif/Alexa Pageviews 081027pm.gif

What are we comparing? apples and rocks?
ASQ has a website that sells books, courses, certifications, has magazine and journal content, PLUS deals with nearly 100,000 members updating membership and employment data on a regular basis.

There has NEVER been a time when I tuned into the ASQ Forums when they have had more than 10 or 12 registered users logged in on line. All of the info about the traffic at ASQ's website "might" be available to an ASQ member who just tracks down the IT nerd in charge of tracking such data and asking.

They're just relative numbers that apply to each site as a whole, Wes. All that's being compared is number of visitors and page views. Not to mention, as I did above, it's Alexa data so it's 'suspect' at best. But then again, it's like when a company does a poll by contacting 2000 people and then projecting its data to the population it polled from.

But, for example, if the Cove got more visitors than Facebook, despite the completely different topic focus, that would be saying quite a lot. A web site survives, or fails, based up on the number of visitors no matter what the focus of the site.

I did get an email back from the person, and they used Alexa (which is what I figured) so they were looking a the same data that I was.

Here is another site that rates sites that I just found. http://www.quantcast.com/elsmar.com

It's data is very suspect. My server logs indicate about 100,000 uniques a month, while quantcast estimates 17,611 from the US (I have no break out by country in my logs).

I have no idea how they 'get' their data.

No big thing, but this stuff does interest me a bit.

Oh, and here's another one: http://boardreader.com/domain/elsmar.com

It's data is very suspect.You can say that again. The data shows 0% of addicts....http://elsmar.com/gif/Jumpy.gif

Elsmar Cove Site and Forum Statistics for January 2008

Forum Specifics for January 2008
http://Elsmar.com/gif/Forum_Stats_Jan_08_31_11pm_550.gif

Entire Site Specifics for January 2008
http://Elsmar.com/gif/Elsmar_Site_Stats_Jan_2008_550.gif

Elsmar Cove Site and Forum Statistics for February 2008

Forum Specifics for February 2008
http://Elsmar.com/gif/Forum Stats 080229.gif

Entire Site Specifics for February 2008
http://Elsmar.com/gif/Elsmar Site Stats Feb 2008_550.gif

Wow, looks like we are heading for another record breaking year!

'Supercagifragilisticexpialidocious'.

Great achievement. :applause:

A year in internet time is a long time. One never knows what will happen. So far there has been a lot of traffic, though.

Elsmar Cove Site and Forum Statistics for March 2008

Elsmar Cove Forum Specifics for March 2008
http://Elsmar.com/gif/Forum Stats 080331_11_50pm_550.gif

Entire Elsmar.com Site Specifics for March 2008
http://Elsmar.com/gif/Elsmar Site Stats 080331_550.gif

Please bear in mind the Monthly History summary is stats for the entire site. These numbers do NOT include search engine spiders, 'bot' and other non-relevant visits (See * - Not Viewed Traffic).

Elsmar Cove Forum Specifics for April 2008
http://Elsmar.com/gif/forum_stats_am_080430_550.gif

Entire Elsmar.com Site Specifics for April 2008
http://Elsmar.com/gif/Site Stats April 2008_550.gif

Elsmar Cove Site and Forum Statistics for May 2008

Elsmar Cove Forum Specifics for May 2008
http://Elsmar.com/gif/Forums stats Sat 31MAY08 9pm_550.gif

Entire Elsmar.com Site Specifics for May 2008
http://Elsmar.com/gif/Elsmar_Site_Stats_May_2008_550.gif

Please bear in mind the Site Monthly History summary is stats for the entire site. These numbers do NOT include search engine spiders, 'bot' and other non-relevant visits (See * - Not Viewed Traffic).

Hi Marc,

I saw you experimenting with the top 10's last week. I thought it contain some very interesting information - I now know that 'how to prepare a quality manual' is within top 10 thread.

How about putting or reporting the top 20 of the month over here and for every month from now on?

I've turned it on for a while. Actually there is much more it will show. My concern is getting too much on the forum home page. This is the Statistics 'mod' (http://www.vbulletin.org/forum/showthread.php?t=177778).

How about putting or reporting the top 20 of the month over here and for every month from now on? I'll look into it. You're wanting it on the reports in this thread, correct?

I'll look into it. You're wanting it on the reports in this thread, correct?

Yes, that's how I look at it but am not sure how many others are really interested in such information. Perhaps we can give it a try. Thanks.

I've turned it on for a while.

I like them.

Elsmar Cove Forum Specifics for June 2008
http://Elsmar.com/gif/Forum Stats 080630 12pm_550.gif

Entire Elsmar.com Site Specifics for June 2008
http://Elsmar.com/gif/Elsmar June 2008_550.gif

All the figures look spectacular :)

Great to be part of the Cove ;)

Elsmar Cove Site and Forum Statistics for July 2008

Elsmar Cove Forum Specifics for July 2008
http://Elsmar.com/jpg/Forum Stats 080731_10pm.jpg

Entire Elsmar.com Site Specifics for July 2008
http://Elsmar.com/jpg/Site Stats July 2008.jpg

Elsmar Cove Site and Forum Statistics for August 2008

Elsmar Cove Forum Specifics for August 2008
http://Elsmar.com/jpg/Forum Stats August 2008.jpg

Entire Elsmar.com Site Specifics for August 2008
http://Elsmar.com/jpg/Elsmar Site Stats August 2008.jpg

Note we were down a bit from June and July 2008, but that may in part be due to summer vacations and such.

Please bear in mind the Site Monthly History summary is stats for the entire site. These numbers do NOT include search engine spiders, 'bot' and other non-relevant visits (See * - Not Viewed Traffic).

[center]Google Analytics Site Specifics for August 2008
http://Elsmar.com/jpg/Elsmar Google Site Stats August 2008.jpg

Google Analytics Country Specifics for August 2008
http://Elsmar.com/jpg/Elsmar Google Location Stats August 2008.jpg

What a nice and informative addition!

The Google Analytics is very good info :applause:

Elsmar Cove Site and Forum Statistics for September 2008

Elsmar Cove Forum Specifics for September 2008
http://Elsmar.com/gif/Forum Stats September 080930 9am.gif

Entire Elsmar.com Site Specifics for September 2008
http://Elsmar.com/gif/Elsmar Site Stats September 080930 9am.gif

Please bear in mind the Site Monthly History summary is stats for the entire site. These numbers do NOT include search engine spiders, 'bot' and other non-relevant visits (See * - Not Viewed Traffic).

Google Analytics Site Specifics for September 2008
http://Elsmar.com/gif/Elsmar Google Stats September 080930 9am.gif

Google Analytics Country Specifics for September 2008
http://Elsmar.com/gif/Elsmar Google Stats_a September 080930 9am.gif

I was playing with the site stats a bit. I won't promise to include these every month.

http://elsmar.com/jpg/Sept 2008 Elsmar Site Stats by Day.jpg

http://elsmar.com/jpg/Sept 2008 Google Analytics Continent Overlay.jpg

http://elsmar.com/jpg/Sept 2008 Google Analytics Continent Stats.jpg

Country breakdown for September 2008:

http://elsmar.com/jpg/Analytics stats Sept 08_650.jpg

Elsmar Cove Site and Forum Statistics for October 2008

Elsmar Cove Forum Specifics for October 2008
http://Elsmar.com/jpg/Forum stats 31 Oct 08 10.30pm.jpg

Entire Elsmar.com Site Specifics for October 2008
http://Elsmar.com/jpg/Site stats October 2008.jpg

Please bear in mind the Site Monthly History summary is stats for the entire site. These numbers do NOT include search engine spiders, 'bot' and other non-relevant visits (See * - Not Viewed Traffic).

Google Analytics Site Specifics for October 2008
http://Elsmar.com/jpg/Site stats Google October 2008.jpg

Elsmar Cove Site and Forum Statistics for November 2008

Elsmar Cove Forum Specifics for November 2008
* I didn't get a screen capture of this data yesterday. Sorry...

Entire Elsmar.com Site Specifics for November 2008
http://Elsmar.com/jpg/Elsmar site stats November 2008.jpg
http://Elsmar.com/jpg/Elsmar site stats November 2008_a.jpg

Please bear in mind the Site Monthly History summary is stats for the entire site. These numbers do NOT include search engine spiders, 'bot' and other non-relevant visits (See * - Not Viewed Traffic).

Google Analytics Site Specifics for November 2008
http://Elsmar.com/jpg/Elsmar site stats November 2008_b.jpg

Interesting that Thanksgiving here in the States didn't seem to slow down traffic that much. I would have expected weekend numbers.

http://elsmar.com/jpg/Analytics dashboard 081204.jpg

http://elsmar.com/jpg/Visitors Locations 081204.jpg

Entire Site Specifics for all of 2008
http://Elsmar.com/gif/Elsmar Stats December 2008_expanded.gif

Elsmar Cove Forum Specifics for December 2008
http://Elsmar.com/gif/Forum Stats Dec 2008 7p.gif

Google Analytics Site Specifics for December 2008
http://Elsmar.com/gif/Google Stats December 2008_expanded.gif

Christmas 2008-09 forum visitor 'slump'

http://elsmar.com/jpg/Christmas Elsmar forum 2008 slump_700.jpg

Elsmar Cove Forum Specifics for January 2009
http://Elsmar.com/jpg/Forum Stats 090131 4pm.jpg

Elsmar Server Site Data for January 2009
http://Elsmar.com/jpg/Elsmar Server Stats 090201_650.jpg

Google Analytics Site Specifics for January 2009
http://Elsmar.com/jpg/Site Stats Google all 090201_650.jpg

Elsmar Cove Forum Specifics for February 2009
http://Elsmar.com/jpg/Forum stats 090228 pm.jpg

Elsmar Server Site Data for February 2009
http://Elsmar.com/jpg/Elsmar Server Stats February 2009_650.jpg

Google Analytics Site Specifics for February 2009
http://Elsmar.com/jpg/Elsmar Adsense Site Stats February 2009.jpg

Elsmar Cove Forum Specifics for March 2009
http://Elsmar.com/jpg/Forum Stats 090331pm_650.jpg

Elsmar Server Site Data for March 2009
http://Elsmar.com/jpg/Awstats site Stats march 2009 090401_650am.jpg
NOTE: Server Stats *should* be more accurate than Google Analytics numbers because Google Analytics code isn't on every page on the server.

Google Analytics Site Specifics for March 2009
http://Elsmar.com/jpg/Google Analytics Stats 090401am_650.jpg

Elsmar Cove Forum Specifics for April 2009
http://Elsmar.com/jpg/Forum Stats 090430_5pm_3_650.jpg

Elsmar Server Site Data for April 2009
http://Elsmar.com/jpg/Site Stats 090501_650.jpg

Elsmar Server Site Data (Daily) for April 2009
http://Elsmar.com/jpg/Site Stats 090501_daily_650.jpg

NOTE: Server Stats *should* be more accurate than Google Analytics numbers because Google Analytics code isn't on every page on the server.

Google Analytics Site Specifics for April 2009
http://Elsmar.com/jpg/Google Analytics Stats 090501_650.jpg

8.02AM on 7 May 2009 - 300,000 posts.

http://elsmar.com/jpg/300K posts 090507_focused.jpg

The most active thread must be: New Folks - Please Take a Minute and Introduce Yourself/Say Hello! (http://elsmar.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=1477) - 302,731 views

2009
Elsmar Cove Forum Specifics for May 2009
http://Elsmar.com/jpg/Forum stats 090531_330pm.jpg

Elsmar Server Site Log File Analysis Data for May 2009
http://Elsmar.com/jpg/Elsmar Site Stats May 2009_a.jpg

Elsmar Server Site Log File Analysis Data (Daily) for May 2009
http://Elsmar.com/jpg/Elsmar Site Stats May 2009_b.jpg

NOTE: Server Stats *should* be more accurate than Google Analytics numbers because Google Analytics code isn't on every page on the server.

Google Analytics Site Specifics for May 2009
http://Elsmar.com/jpg/Elsmar Site Stats May 2009 Analytics.jpg

This is just a general FYI using the month of May 2009 as an indicator of when people typically visit Elsmar.com

http://elsmar.com/jpg/Elsmar Days of the Week and Hours.jpg

http://elsmar.com/jpg/Elsmar Pages vs Day of Week.jpg

http://Elsmar.com/gif/line_str.gif

Elsmar Cove Forum Specifics for June 2009
http://Elsmar.com/jpg/Forum Stats 090630.jpg

Elsmar Server Site Log File Analysis Data for June 2009
http://Elsmar.com/jpg/Site Stats 090630.jpg
http://Elsmar.com/jpg/Site Stats 090630_a.jpg

Elsmar Server Site Log File Analysis Data (Daily) for June 2009
http://Elsmar.com/jpg/Site Stats 090630_b.jpg

NOTE: Server Stats *should* be more accurate than Google Analytics numbers because Google Analytics code isn't on every page on the server. But then again, log file analysis is always kinda iffy.

Google Analytics Site Specifics for June 2009
http://Elsmar.com/jpg/Google AdSense June 2009_a_800.jpg

http://elsmar.com/jpg/Unique Visitors Graph 2004 thru 2009_a.jpg

http://elsmar.com/jpg/Visitors Graph 2004 thru 2009.jpg

Any idea how Google calculates average time on site? 00:03:27 seems rather low for a site like this !!

Not off hand. Do you have any other forum stats to compare to?

The biggest thing is usually the Bounce stats where someone hits the site, finds it's not what s/he was searching for and leaves.

Again - This stuff is really meant to be an *indicator* because of the very nature of log files. Some numbers are more accurate than others, but they're all 'estimates'. People reload pages, referrers can be spoofed, things like that. Sometimes a page doesn't fully load.

Check this out:

http://elsmar.com/jpg/Pages Graph 2004 thru 2009_a1.jpg

I don't have stats from any other forums to compare. For my company website Google typically shows around 00:02:30 as avg time on site. Given the nature & size of this website I thought 0:03:27 was too low. (But then elsmar has LOTS more visitors, so may be its because of the large denominator ?)

2009
Elsmar Cove Forum Specifics for July 2009
http://Elsmar.com/jpg/Forum_Stats_1_July-2009_pm.jpg

Elsmar Server Site Log File Analysis Data for July 2009
http://Elsmar.com/jpg/Elsmar server stats_1 July 2009.jpg

Elsmar Server Site Log File Analysis Data (Daily) for July 2009
http://Elsmar.com/jpg/Elsmar server stats_2 July 2009.jpg

NOTE: Server Stats *should* be more accurate than Google Analytics numbers because Google Analytics code isn't on every page on the server. But then again, log file analysis is always kinda iffy.

Google Analytics Site Specifics for July 2009
http://Elsmar.com/jpg/Adsense Elsmar_1 July 2009.jpg

July update complete. The northern hemisphere summer slowdown is here. Things should start picking up again in September.

July update complete. The northern hemisphere summer slowdown is here. Things should start picking up again in September.

Its good to see darker green shade for India :)

Its good to see darker green shade for India :)

Ajit,

Any ideas how we can get the Europeans more involved? ;)

Jan.

Ajit,

Any ideas how we can get the Europeans more involved? ;)

Jan.

We should spread the cove by word of mouth (WOM) advertising ;)

We should spread the cove by word of mouth (WOM) advertising ;)

I can do English and Dutch. :D

It would be great to get more European participation and viewpoints.

Jan.

Its good to see darker green shade for India :)
NOTE: These are screen shots from Google Analytics. If you see a mouse pointer in a graphic it is because I forgot to move the mouse pointer out of the capture area several times.
http://elsmar.com/jpg/VIsitor sources.jpg
http://elsmar.com/jpg/VIsitor sources_1.jpg
http://elsmar.com/jpg/VIsitor sources_2.jpg
http://elsmar.com/jpg/VIsitor sources_3.jpg
http://elsmar.com/jpg/VIsitor sources_4.jpg
http://elsmar.com/jpg/VIsitor sources_5.jpg

We should spread the cove by word of mouth (WOM) advertising ;) Yup - That's how it has been up to now. People recommend the site to others.

I can do English and Dutch. :D

It would be great to get more European participation and viewpoints.

Jan. You might want to start a Social Group for people who speak Dutch. Then again, I think a high percentage of those who speak Dutch also speak English. I could be wrong. Just a thought. I'm not sure how many people who visit here speak Dutch. It might be a small social group, but then again several are small, so....

Yup - That's how it has been up to now. People recommend the site to others.

You might want to start a Social Group for people who speak Dutch. Then again, I think a high percentage of those who speak Dutch also speak English. I could be wrong. Just a thought. I'm not sure how many people who visit here speak Dutch. It might be a small social group, but then again several are small, so....

Virtually all folks in The Netherlands that come here speak English as well.

Stijloor.

Elsmar Cove Forum Specifics for August 2009
http://Elsmar.com/jpg/Forum Stats August 2009_10pm.jpg

Elsmar Server Site Log File Analysis Data for August 2009
http://Elsmar.com/jpg/Server Stats August 2009.jpg

Elsmar Server Site Log File Analysis Data (Daily) for August 2009
http://Elsmar.com/jpg/Server Stats by Day August 2009.jpg

NOTE: Server Stats *should* be more accurate than Google Analytics numbers because Google Analytics code isn't on every page on the server. But then again, log file analysis is always kinda iffy.

Google Analytics Site Specifics for August 2009
http://Elsmar.com/jpg/Google Analytics August 2009.jpg

Elsmar Cove Visitor Stats - September 2009

http://Elsmar.com/jpg/Forum Stats 090930 noon.jpg
http://Elsmar.com/jpg/Forum Stats Sept 2009 10pm.jpg

Elsmar Server Site Log File Analysis Data for September 2009
http://Elsmar.com/jpg/Elsmar Stats Sept 2009.jpg

Elsmar Server Site Log File Analysis Data (Daily) for September 2009
http://Elsmar.com/jpg/Elsmar Stats Sept 2009 Daily.jpg

NOTE: Server Stats *should* be more accurate than Google Analytics numbers because Google Analytics code isn't on every page on the server. But then again, log file analysis is always kinda iffy.

Google Analytics Site Specifics for September 2009
http://Elsmar.com/jpg/Elsmar Stats Sept 2009 Analytics.jpg

Strong, Stronger, Strongest :applause:

Some 2001 statistics for perspective:

http://Elsmar.com/gif/recent.gif

Longer term:

http://Elsmar.com/gif/long_term.gif

Key:
Blue are 'Hits'
Green is bytes downloaded
Red is the number of individual (different) visitors

http://Elsmar.com/gif/line_wood.gif

Elsmar.com Site and Forum Statistics:

Here are the 2004 site visitor statistics.

http://elsmar.com/gif/Elsmar 2004 site traffic.gif

Here are the 2005 site visitor statistics.

http://elsmar.com/gif/Elsmar 2005 site traffic.gif

Here are the 2006 site visitor statistics.

http://Elsmar.com/gif/December 2006 Stats summary.gif

Entire Site Specifics for all of 2007
http://Elsmar.com/gif/Elsmar site stats 2007 summary.gif

Entire Site Specifics for all of 2008
http://Elsmar.com/gif/Elsmar Stats December 2008_expanded.gif

http://Elsmar.com/gif/line_str.gif

Elsmar Cove Visitor Stats - 2009

Elsmar Cove Forum Specifics for October 2009

http://Elsmar.com/jpg/Forum Stats 20091031_10pm.jpg

Elsmar Server Site Log File Analysis Data for October 2009
http://Elsmar.com/jpg/Elsmar Server Stats October 2009_a.jpg

Elsmar Server Site Log File Analysis Data (Daily) for October 2009
http://Elsmar.com/jpg/Elsmar Server Stats October 2009_b.jpg

NOTE: Server Stats *should* be more accurate than Google Analytics numbers because Google Analytics code isn't on every page on the server. But then again, log file analysis is always kinda iffy as well.

Google Analytics Site Specifics for October 2009
http://Elsmar.com/jpg/Google Analytics October 2009.jpg

This post is copied from another thread. I thought a copy here in the Visitor Statistics would be appropriate.

Data is from Google AdSense data and doesn't reflect total server pages served (AWStats is better at that), but does reflect a good low count approximation.

Pretty soon it will be party until January 2010. Thanksgiving in the US in 2 weeks, then Christmas, and of course New Years. The seven week 'summer holiday opposite' is about upon us. Things will be slowing down a bit here is my bet.

http://elsmar.com/jpg/Server Pages 2004 - 2009_800.jpg

Detailed image here: The Christmas Holidays Slump - 2004 - 2009 data (http://elsmar.com/png/Server Pages 2004 - 2009.png)