Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Spanking Blogs by the Numbers

Every so often I want to present something absolutely unlike anything else ever published on this blog. After a thousand posts, this is not trivial. However, with some inspiration from Randy, I believe we have succeeded.

I love hearing from readers, especially when they say that the blog has been helpful for them. Two different readers recently told me that they think that MBS is the biggest spanking blog around. While I appreciate their generous praise, I had good reason to believe this is not the case. But I couldn't quantify that feeling. Until now, that is.

I asked Randy if there was a way I could compare my blog's traffic with others in our community. Resourceful geek that he is, he showed me how. Here's what I found.

BlogVisitors*% Male**
1.Spanking Blog41,12075%
2.Michael Masterson's Spanking Blog19,24564%
3.My Bottom Smarts12,28257%
4.All Things Spanking10,71672%
5.Spank My Bottom8,90060%
6.Vintage Spanking Photos8,73283%
7.Chross8,63881%
8.Aunty Agony8,26866%
9.The Cherry Red Report7,93780%
10.Adele Haze's Spanking Model Speaks7,24971%

              *Source: compete.com               **Source: quantcast.com

As Randy explains it, these numbers represent a only rough approximation. Nevertheless, we can infer quite a bit about about visitors to spanking blogs and their preferences.

The visitor counts reflect the average number of unique users per month over the past three months. MBS finished a respectable third behind Dan and Michael. I don't mind being beaten by them (Heaven knows, they're good at it!). All of the others on this list are blogs I greatly respect. This is a group with whom I am honored be associated.

I think the statistic I like best is the 57%/43% male-to-female ratio. No other blog I examined was as close to achieving gender parity. I strive to make MBS a place where women feel comfortable and I believe those efforts have been validated. Our discussions are better when the participants are diverse in terms of age, gender, role, and orientation. But that can only happen when readers feel their presence is welcome and valued.

Thank you to everyone who supports My Bottom Smarts and all of our other wonderful spanking blogs. Without you, we would be just talking to ourselves.

21 comments :

Daisychain said...

Hmmphhh!!! You are still QUEEN of the blog world, since you are the top female!!! Anyway, to me you are top, because I have never heard of, let alone visited those other two blogs!!! I may go take a look; it would be interesting to discover what draws more people there than here... Love you loads, Bon, and thank you for all you do! Hugs, xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Angie said...

Well way to go you! and yes, you have a very female friendly blog, and love how you even have a tutorials section in your sidebar.

That pic of the girl in the jeans holding her bottom is pretty cute, too.

Angie

Angie said...

oh holy cow! I just went to Michaels blog, since you have that nice list up, and did you See the paddling that poor girl took on the spankingtube vid that he has posted! omgosh!

I'd have been bawling after 3 of those let me tell you!

Angie

Indy said...

Very interesting, Bonnie & Randy, thanks! The other statistic that would be interesting for comparison, but no doubt tedious to come by, would be the word to picture ratio. I'm guessing only one or two of those other heavily-trafficked blogs would come close to yours.

Hermione said...

Bonnie - I recently read that most blogs have a total readership of one! Thankfully those days are long gone for you.

It is interesting that your readership is very close to 50/50. It's a significant achievement to appeal to both sexes.

Blog on!

Hugs,
Hermione

Brambleberry Blush said...

As a blogger myself, I find this fascinating. I didn't even know that you could find out male/female ratios, but it doesn't surprise me that you have the most females. I, like Daisy, have never heard of those other two. Keep it up, Bonnie, you do so much for all of us.

cheers!
Carly

Anonymous said...

Wow! Bonnie, this is most impressive. You can be very proud indeed of your efforts, and the loyal readership they've brought to you. :-) -- Erica

Anonymous said...

I wonder how the know the sex of someone going to a site...where does that kernel of info come from?

red plum press said...

hi, I think the gender part is fascinating, too! thanks for the info!

Liz

A.S.S. said...

Some very neat links there, Bonnie. Wonder how they get their numbers? We're listed at close to "7,000 vistors"... which seems high. Not sure what is meant by that number though.

We're at 69% male... and, we have always tried to offer a 'couples friendly' blog. It's hard though. Obviously can be done though... your numbers are very impressive.

:)
~Todd and Suzy

ronnie said...

Hi Bonnie, excellent. I didn't know you could find out about F/M ratios.

Some of these are new to me but personally think your blog is the best around and hope you continue for years to come.

Ronnie
xx

Anonymous said...

Fair play to Randy for that bit of research, it makes for quite an interesting read, I especially liked that male vs. female ratio statistic. It is of no surprise for me to see your blog listed so highly on this chart; your blog is wonderful resource for connecting people of like mind….better than Facebook “Bonniebook”….theirs an idea for you now ;)

Anonymous said...

Very Interesting information. I too am curious how you know the gender of your readers. Could this data be skewed if it is based on computer log in if someone is using say there husband/wifes computer? Also kind of scary in this world of anonymity that you can get such precise information....Love your blog though!

C

S. in Dallas said...

Bonnie:

As I and countless others have said over the years, LONG LIVE THE QUEEN!

Keep up the great work!

S. in Dallas

Hermione said...

I gave Quantcast a try and it seems that it only records US readers, while we all know that MBS has readers from practically every country in the world. It's interesting that my blog mainly appeals to men over 50.

Hugs,
Hermione

Bonnie said...

Daisy - Yes, I am the top female and I'm quite pleased with that. I posted these numbers not to emphasize the competition, but to illuminate a different aspect of our community.

If you look at these other blogs, they aren't my competition at all, nor am I theirs. We may discuss similar topics (or not, in some cases), but our approach is markedly different.

I truly appreciate your steadfast support!

Angie - Thanks! I want MBS to be a place that is comfortable for everyone. But female readers in particular tend to seek an environment that is accepting, supportive, and civil. My aim is to provide such a forum for spanking enthusiasts.

There is definitely a market for really hard spankings and models who are willing to accept them.

Indy - It's obvious, even at first glance, that my colleagues feature lots of photos of bare bottoms and MBS does not. There are lots of other excellent blogs where pictures are not the main attraction, but they didn't land in the top ten.

Lest I appear somehow above it all, I am quite aware that many of my visitors come for the links and are in search of explicit pictures. That doesn't bother me in the least. I hope every MBS reader finds what they seek and enjoys what they find.

Hermione - Thanks. I do hope I appeal to both sexes.

Carly - Thank you!

Iggy - Randy explained this to me. It seems that many internet service providers sell anonymized versions of user activity data to research firms. By analyzing what are called clickstreams, they can identify usage patterns as being characteristically male or female, young or old, wealthy or poor. This classification cannot be 100% accurate, but given the huge amount of data they have, it doesn't have to be.

Erica - Aw, shucks. Thanks!

Liz - I find these statistics fascinating. I am especially delighted to see that strong female readership.

Todd and Suzy - There were a number of surprises in the data. I expected you to make the top ten, but you just barely missed. Considering that a couple of those blogs are not that active, you could be poised to move up.

As I said above, I believe these firms use anonymized clickstream data purchased from ISPs.

I doubt that your 7,000 unique visitors per month estimate is too high. My Google Analytics monthly unique user count (which I trust) was considerably higher than Compete's number.

I think you do offer a couples friendly blog. You will note that three of the four blogs that had a higher female readership are published by women.

Thanks for your support!

Ronnie - Thank you. That's very sweet!

Paolo - That's a good suggestion, but Randy says I already spend too much time on here!

C - Thanks. As I understand it, the issue is not so much one of the data being skewed as it is one of noise. I believe that research firms take advantage of statistical techniques and very large sample sizes to yield useful, if not always absolutely precise, estimates.

S - Thank you so much. We're all on this journey together and I am grateful for your company.

Hermione - That's why I didn't use Quantcast for the visitor counts. I would never want to leave out my many wonderful readers in Canada, UK, Ireland, and Aus/NZ.

From a practical standpoint, I wouldn't be surprised if the US was the country most willing to allow ISPs to sell their customers' data without permission.

Men over 50, huh? Well, at least you're talking to a group with whom you're familiar! :D

amigospanko said...

Hi Bonnie this is a very intresting resarsh and post... I don't know our %, but probabily its around 60%, but i will like 50/50
Tanks for the information

Dave said...

Interesting! But I do think you are #1 in my book, and by the numbers :-)

Keep up the fine blogging,
Dave

R Humphries said...

Bonnie, your blog is truly unique and your sponsorship of other bloggers is generous and invaluable, please keep up the great work.

Keagen said...

Wow! You go, girl! Keep up the good work!

Anonymous said...

well done with your spanks blog ,i live in u.k. love and spanks from tim xx

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