» December 16, 2007 in
My feedburner count is 969 readers today. Do you think 969 people will read this post? I doubt it.So what does that mean that I have 969 feedburner readers?
Maybe 969 people have subscribed to my blog but only some actually read it?
Maybe 969 program bots grabbed my feed yesterday?
Maybe somebody played a joke on me and subscribed to my feed with a few hundred fake emails last month?
Do you think Feedburner Is Accurate? I don't.
I think it represents some number that feedburner thinks computers/bots/ip's pull a feed daily but has little to no bearing on how many people read a feed even once per week. What do you think?
Of course the quality of subscribers many times can outweigh the total number, and I've got some of the best readers in the world ;), but they for sure don't measure that.
And does feedburner have even a single competitor?
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sir jorge says on December 16, 2007
they definitely don't have competition, and i don't think they are very accurate either.
But who's going to challenge them?
Jenny says on December 16, 2007
I think you should have a look at your feedburner stats and compare them with your unique daily visitors, which should give you a more accurate number
david says on December 16, 2007
Agreed -- the subscriber count may not be accurate, but the other services that they offer (FeedFlare, etc) make it worthwhile.
45n5 () says on December 16, 2007:
@sir george - I nominate you to compete ;)@jenny - yeah, I use google analytics for uniques and they never match feedburner
@david - agreed it's a worthwhile service, especially email subscriptions.
antonio () says on December 16, 2007:
Hi Mark,It might not be accurate, but I believe you should celebrating these numbers. It is a very good accomplishment.
Correct if I am wrong but I believe when a started to read your blog 6 months ago you had half of this number.
Congrats!
See ya,
Antonio
Ananth says on December 16, 2007
Of course Feedburner is inaccurate. My new blog with almost zero traffic already shows 7 readers!
45n5 () says on December 16, 2007:
you are correct antonio, It's been a nice climb the past 6 months and I love the numbersjust wondering if they really mean much? other than I have more bots stop by here now lol
45n5 () says on December 16, 2007:
@Ananth - I've had the same experience ;)Your World Gallery says on December 16, 2007
My numbers go up and down so much it is not even funny. I get pissed off sometimes cause it seems like I lose half my readers in one day but the next day there back up. I think the problem with Feed Burner is the fact they sold out to you know who. It seems when ever they get involved, quality drops. Or is it just me?
RSS Newsniche says on December 17, 2007
There is no way to tell if a visitor actually reads anything in your feed or on your site. Feedburner count is useful as a comparative measurement though. To compare the growth of your own blog and to a lesser degree to other blogs.
As for stats I have never known two reporting packages to match numbers.
Wayne Liew says on December 17, 2007
I doubt their accuracy as well but since everyone else is using it as a measurement, we can't run away from it.
I remember that when I started out blogging, there were FeedBlitz and Feedburner but now Feedburner seems to be way ahead of the blitz.
45n5 () says on December 17, 2007:
thanks all - I reckon the interesting thing is nobody thinks feedburner is accurate lol ;)Bud says on December 17, 2007
I don't, on a side blog I post at the feedburner stats go up and down daily and don't match the traffic at all. Your daily traffic will go up but your readers will go down?
-Bud
beeryoutube.com says on December 17, 2007
The only measurement is the $$$$ it brings in
I kinda use of google analytical.
Concentrate more on content rather on what people think about your site...they will come if you do your homework.
digitalnomad says on December 18, 2007
I would have to agree and say no. When it come to just the blogosphere, so many people are just testing the waters and then drop out. Pretty much the same for the make money online crowd.
I am amazed you do not have many thousands of subscribers, cause I think this blog has much to offer. Hey...and I keep promoting it.
Kevin says on December 18, 2007
I don't think that feed burner algorithm is so accurate. Someone might have noticed that the feed count displayed by the feed burner is fluctuating widely... I you find 100 reader today then probably on next day it would be 85... Does that means that your feed reader dropped that much drastically...?? i don't think so... Google need to figure it out...
45n5 () says on December 18, 2007:
thanks all for the continued comments ;)still nobody thinks feedburner is accurate eh? lol
Kiltak says on December 18, 2007
You'll notice that the more you post on a given day, the higher the count will get (usually)... Kindda normal considering that more content = more people that will have a chance in being interested in at least one of your pieces.
My number doesn't fluctuate that much.... usually between 3200 and 3400...
yc says on February 6, 2008
I can only say that feedburner is just a traffic indicator, as there are not many information that I can retrieve just by going through the feedburner control panel...
I think the best metric for the quality of readership of any particular site is by using Google Analytics to track all the traffic (you can actually use a script to avoid including bots, your own visits etc), feedburner to check feed subscribers' traffic, amount of commentaries from readers (I really believe that comments from real readers are one of the best form of feedback, even if it's a one-liner)and couple that with other gimmicks such as polls, simple one-click surveys etc.
Cheers,
YC
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