Fun With Google Analytics

One of the most fun things about Google Analytics is that it allows you to track what search terms people use to stumble upon your blog.

Here's the top 4 most searched terms that lead to my blog. A nice side effect of writing this entry is that it will now yield even more search results. Sweet.

4.) Variations of "my dream of doing nothing"

Makes sense, since the name of the blog is "Me and My Dream of Doing Nothing." This is a quote taken from "Office Space" in which Peter Gibbons tells the guys, "This isn't just about me and my dream of doing nothing." Though I'm also fond of the part where he goes, "I did absolutely nothing, and it was everything that I thought it could be." Apparently other people are fond of this quote as well, because they seem to look it up on Google a lot.

3.) Searches referring to Ramona, Beverly Cleary, Henry Huggins, etc.

I wrote a blog entry about my neighborhood and how it's the same neighborhood childrens' author Beverly Cleary lived in for a while, and how her Ramona and Henry Huggins books are set here, using street names and other landmarks in the books. It's only one entry, though, so for whatever reason people seem to search for Beverly Cleary related things a lot. I guess it will get even more popular as the "Ramona and Beezus" movie prepares to come out.

2.) Emma Nelson smoking weed

One of my personal favorites -- I wrote a blow by blow commentary on the recent episode of "Degrassi: The Next Generation" in which main character Emma "Blaze" Nelson smokes weed. This one's actually kind of revealing, because among the various searches for various Degrassi-related items are some disturbing attempts to find "Emma Nelson porn" which I hope doesn't exist.

And finally, the number one most searched term. . .

1.) Variations on "Dead crows"

This was what made me want to write this entry in the first place. Back when I first started looking at Google Analytics, I was blown away by the large number of people searching for things related to dead crows on the internet. As I've continued to gather data, requests for info on dead crows keep on coming in. I wrote an entry where I discussed the various dead crows I had come across on my afternoon walks, and how I began to wonder if they "meant" anything, only to search the internet myself and find that they don't mean anything at all, even to people who believe in things. But check out these searches:

"What does dead crows mean?"
"What does a dead crow mean?"
"What do dead crows in dreams mean?"
"Use of dead crow in magic."
"Dreams dead crows meaning."
"Dreaming about dead crows."
"Dream three dead crows."
"Dream of dead crow."
"Dead crow in dreams."
"What does a dead crow symbolize?"

Weird, huh? Who would have thought so many people are out there wondering about dead crows.

HONORABLE MENTION:

Since it's funny, I should mention one of the runners up is variations on the term "fake girlfriend." I wrote an entry a while back about how I decided to make up a fake girlfriend and tell all my co-workers about her in order to keep myself entertained, and then went on to describe how it was hard work and how I immediately ruined my own plans by admitting I was lying out of laziness. Anyway, thanks to this entry, I now get visitors looking for "Asian fake girlfriend" and "Lying about fake girlfriend" not to mention the intriguing "Fake dreams to tell girlfriend."