I published 161 posts in 2017, typically three a week, so understandably some were more popular than others. It surprises me how large the range of popularity is though, with some posts in the thousands of views, while others struggle to get to double digits. Those poor posts include some of my favourites though, so hopefully this post will help them a little (assuming that this post doesn’t join them!).
There are a couple of ways to look at popularity, the number of page views and number of post likes. As with the most popular posts the top ten for each are completely different, with tramping / hiking and theatre related posts being the least liked (though most viewed), and travel related posts being the least viewed (though often liked), which probably says something about the demographics and interests of people who have WordPress accounts.
Least viewed
The blog has become steadily more popular over the course of the year, yet some of the least viewed posts have been published in the past few months. There is a theme though that most of them relate to Australia, perhaps overkill this year, though it is a pretty spectacular place. The unpopularity of my Cairns trip surprised me the most given the photo opportunities in Port Douglas, Atherton Tablelands, Daintree Rainforest, and Kuranda.
The same was true of my Perth to Broome trip, which I loved but these places clearly weren’t as interesting to others, Dales Gorge, Karijini National Park, Hancock Gorge, Karijini National Park, Coral Bay, and The Pinnacles, Nambung National Park, Dongara and Kalbarri.
Given the popularity of Sydney at Night I was surprised that Vivid Festival, Sydney was so unpopular, though I was less surprised by a couple of my less interesting posts from Tasmania on Heritage Hobart and Tasmanian West Coast to The Tarkine.
There were a handful of unpopular non-Australia posts, Hokitika and Ross, Athelhampton House and Gardens, and Southern Alps from the air, though all of these were still more popular than the ones above.
Least liked
Despite being some of the most viewed posts, Auckland Theatre posts are by far the least liked, more representative of a non-WordPress audience than their quality I hope, with very few likes for Best of 2017 – Auckland Theatre, Best of 2017 – Auckland Theatre staging & props, Best of 2017 – Auckland Theatre performances, Best of 2016 – Basement Theatre Interviews, 2017 – Best of Auckland Theatre so far, and Funniest Auckland theatre shows.
Tramping / hiking posts are also very popular in terms of views but not likes, disappointingly for these three are some of my favourites, but few other people seemed to agree with Pouakai Crossing / Circuit, Egmont National Park, Favourite New Zealand tramping / hiking huts, and Gillespie Pass Circuit, and even fewer with Mount Somers.
Tasmania was a particularly unpopular trip it seemed, with not many likes for the snappily titled Hobart to the Tasmanian West Coast, Tasmanian West Coast to The Tarkine, Launceston to Hobart via the Tasmanian East Coast, Hobart and Highlights of Tasmania.
Iran was a bit of a blog fest with 26 posts, though justified I think given how amazing and unvisited the country is. These three were some of my favourites, a view shared by few others, Shiraz, Tehran, and Yazd.
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