Over 2018, the StrategyAudit blog attracted 19,948 page views from 10,568 individual visitors, about 65% of whom are repeat visitors. To me this repeat visitation is a vital number. I would rather have 1 person who demonstrates that the musings I publish are of value by returning, than  10 casual visitors who read and leave, never to return. Also important is the simple fact that on average, each visitor visited almost 2 posts. Averages are misleading, many visitors leave quickly, others engage with 2,3,sometimes 4 posts, and sign up to the feed so they do not miss further posts. It is this engagement that delivers the value to them, and is the reason I persist.

To some, 20,000 page views across a year would constitute a disaster, they get that in a week, but to others, it is a significant number. I am just pleased that the number is well up on 2017, despite the increased ‘noise’ from so called content that now infests the web.  

These numbers are in addition to  the thousands of views that occur from second party platforms, most often LinkedIn. These are valuable, but long term digital marketing success is dependent on the quality of your own digital ‘homebase’ where you control the rules. For example, back in August, LinkedIn changed their algorithm, and the visitors from LinkedIn halved overnight, and the geography changed from 75% Australia, where there is some potential return for me from the effort of writing the posts, to 75% from the US, from where I will not be able to leverage any benefit. I do  not mind helping the Americans, they need all the help they can get, but it is nice to have some hope of receiving a benefit in return, which Linkedin, and their colleague ‘Social’ platforms are making increasingly difficult unless you pay for it.

Organic reach from third party platforms is almost a thing of the past, something  to think about as you plan for 2019.   

To the most viewed posts of the year.

The 4 dimensions of project planning. Published July 2016

It looks like this will become one of the most viewed posts over an extended period, as the numbers keep climbing every month, 2018 being 40% higher than 2017. It is only a short post, 300 words, but summarises the challenges faced by every team planning a project, from a tactical initiative to a major enterprise changing implementation.

7 tips on how not to be boring while presenting. Published March 2018.

This post garnered may views in the days after it was posted, but attracted little attention thereafter. This is  not an uncommon pattern amongst those posts that have a ‘long tail’. They start slowly after an initial  flurry, then build over time. I am hopeful this happens with this post, as several readers have let me know that the tips have helped them enormously.

3 essential pieces of the supermarket business model. Published November 2014

This post would be on this list for every year since 2014, clearly it struck a chord.  Although 2018 was below 2017, it delivers readers to the blog every day. Along with Loose/Tight management further down this list, it is the most viewed post I have written. On several occasions, this post has been the basis of a successful keynote to various gatherings.

11 trends that will influence success in 2018. Published January 2018

January and  February were big months, presumably as people planned for the year, with little since. However, the trends noted for 2018 are all still present as we face 2019, so I would expect (hope for)a revival.

How do you measure culture?. Published May 2018

May and June were heavy, with modest numbers subsequently, but this post is building momentum slowly, as we come to realise the vital role enterprise culture plays in success, and failure. Perhaps I should send it to some of the senior executives in the financial services industry, as they contemplate their navels and bonuses in the wake of the royal commission.

Loose/tight management. Published October 2010

This is the most surprising post, delivering pretty consistent numbers month in month out since posting, in the early days of this blog. it is short, and specific, must be the headline that catches ‘googlers’. However, I note a recurring flurry of readers in April/May every year, so assume that somewhere an academic has cited the post in course material.

What is the number 1 job of the CEO? Published July 2018.

Published at the end of July this post was seen mostly in August, with few views since then. A short post that concludes that the number one job of the CEO is to create the environment in which employees can flourish, thereby delivering the strategic and financial outcomes required for sustainable economic success. In a word, the number 1 job of the CEO is ‘Culture’

10 considerations to make better pricing decisions. Published July 2018.

Significant readership in the days around posting, then almost nothing. Perhaps it is a lousy headline, a good one is vital to attracting readers. This is unfortunate, as I consider it to be one of the posts that can deliver  immediate and meaningful outcomes to readers after consideration of the issues noted. It has also been the basis of several seemingly well recieved keynotes.

These top 8 posts are only 15% of the total post views over the year, a strong indication of the longevity of posts that add value to someone, somewhere.

Now, on to 2019. Thanks for reading, your feedback and good wishes during 2018.