Do a Google search on the word "Blog" and you are likely to conjure up nearly three billion search results. Yes. billion, with a "B". It seems like everyone from ordinary housewives to A-List celebrities has a blog posted online.
The vast majority of the blogosphere is comprised of amateur hobbyist, but there are a select few professionals who actually earn a living by maintaining their blog. So, what separates the Pros from the Joes? The simple answer is traffic, which is the amount of data sent and received by visitors to a web site. Visits, page views and hits are three major components that determine the popularity of a particular web site.
Visits, Page Views and Hits: What Do They Mean Anyway?
Visits are registered each time a user requests a particular URL in their web browser. There are also unique visits, which equate to the number of visits by a particular user within a specified period of time. Typically, web site visit periods are set in either 24 hour or one hour periods of time. Page views occur each time a user visits a particular page on a web site. Hits are registered each time a file is called up from a web server. Both pages and images are considered files, so a single web page with three images will register four hits. Companies use this data, along with a host of other analytics, to determine the advertising value of a web site.
Why Do Blogs Typically Generate More Traffic Than Standard Web Sites?
In comparison to standard websites, blogs tend to generate a considerably higher amount of web traffic. For example, a standard web site with a list of products services will typically generate a total of three page views per successful visit: 1) User visits the home page to browse the products or services; 2) User clicks on a product or service that is of particular interest to them; 3) User purchases the product or service. This scenario would benefit the owner of the web site, but this type of web site would not yield any significant value to prospective advertisers.
Turning Traffic Into Cash
On the other hand, a popular blog will often register 10 or more page views per visit. Blogs generate more page views because their content usually elicits more user interactivity. A typical blog user browses several articles, images and/or video clips during a single visit. They also have the opportunity to read comments posted by other visitors and reply with their own comments.
Whether they are entertaining or informative in nature, successful blogs are far more attractive to advertisers. As a result, many professional bloggers use their web sites to generate income via ad revenue. In addition to ad revenue, many successful professional bloggers are often paid for speaking engagements or consultations as a result of their online popularity. According to a recent article on FastCompany.com, the average salary for a professional blogger is $42,548 per year. Not bad for a budding industry.
Carlos Anderson - With over a decade of professional experience as a Graphic Designer and several years of experience as Art Director for internationally ...
