Some bloggers do an annual reader survey and gather copious amounts of information about their readers and what they want. Others just dive into their Google Analytics account. I check analytics on a regular basis, and in this post, I’m going to share some of that information with you.
Reader demographics
Three out of four of you reading this are women. That’s down from four out of five of you a month ago. My readership was 80% women for quite a while, but that has shifted—it may still be shifting. It’s not that female readers are dropping off; more men are joining us now. I wonder why, and what to do about it. Should I change anything I’m doing, or just keep it the same?
Almost all of you are between the age of 35 and 55. It’s a little different on the HarshmanServices facebook page, with the age range there starting at 25 and extending to 55. I found that interesting, and I think I know why that is. Cathy Jackson, one of the authors for whom I edit, promotes my page quite often, and her readers trend a little younger.
Google Analytics also includes information about your interests, based on what else you do when you’re online.
None of this is shocking to me. About 25% of you are unemployed and looking for a job and a place to live. That is not surprising because it reflects the true unemployment rate in the United States (which is at the level it was at during the Great Depression). I would have expected more of you to be in the category of “avid readers,” but I don’t know what Google uses to define that category.
I also don’t find this page particularly useful, yet. Now, if it showed that 90% of you were into Christian fiction or nonfiction business books, or that 75% of you were looking for remedial writing courses, that would be some seriously helpful information.
Statistically, one in two households have pets, but you’re not showing up as people who own or are interested in pets, which tells me that you’re probably satisfied with your source of pet toys and pet food and your veterinarian because you’re not Googling those things. Or that you actually do not have pets, which would be head-scratching, indeed.