OK, I was just going to explain quantum theory, but compared to deciphering Searchwarp rankings it's hardly a challenge. I decided to do this because lately this topic has stirred up considerable discussion. I also thought I'd write this for new writers to Searchwarp or experienced writers who never looked into it because of a lack of time but not lack of interest.
So how do the rankings work? Here's the lowdown, and I quote.
"SearchWarp uses several metrics to rate an author. The first metric is the author's article popularity rating and appears as the superscript number to the right of the authors name."
"The article popularity rating is equal to the number of people who come from any of the major search engines to read the author's articles per month on average, multiplied by the average rating of the author's articles."
"Example:Joe Smith"
"1,295 people come from all over the Internet to SearchWarp.com to read articles by Joe Smith every month on average, and the average rating of all articles by Joe Smith on SearchWarp.com is 3.90, so the article popularity rating for Joe Smith is 5,053."
OK, but what is not mentioned is the fine print. It states the following:
"More specifically, the monthly vistor average times the rating average is divided by a constant of one, minus the average room temperature given writer experiences to the fifth power, plus the number of pies baked for the writer by his / her mother during his/her formative years, over the length of time writer shows worry or concern for his / her Searchwarp rankings, minus some arbitrary number I just thought of, plus the number of times you see Tina Fey on TV in an average day (and that's a lot!), plus one, minus emmmmmmm . . . 6.4778899909 divided by a Moon Pie.
OK. So just out of curiosity, and boy you need a lot of that to look into this issue, I checked out a few writers who had high rankings. I looked at one writer's ranking, and according to the statistics he was averaging some 5,000 views (search engine and misc. referrals times ratings) per month. Point of interest, of the dozens of articles (yes, I looked at each one--I told you, curiosity is king) I looked at most had 100 views or less . . . much less on most.
So how does this person rank in the top 20? Well, see the details of the formula above, of course.
But what I'd really like to tell you is don't get freaked out or over zelous about rankings. Hell, some people have written two articles and because one keeps getting hits (some with mostly negative comments about how bad the article is) it ranks high in the search engine and keeps getting views over and over and over again. Some people have a high ranking and have maintained that ranking even though they've written only a few articles and they haven't written in years.
And rankings often have little to do with how well you write (see comment above) but more so with what people are searching for. So don't think that just by writing well or writing well and from the heart will get you high rankings. Hell, some of the best writers on Searchwarp have low, poor, or non-existent rankings (or close to null). Being a Hemingway of the electormagnetic airwaves will not guarentee great readership.
Also, if you're looking to improve your rankings, write, write, write, write, and keep on writing. No one in the top 20 (and I'm sure even the majority of the top 50, if you care to look) have been writing for well over a year. Most have been writing from close to two years to about four years. It takes time to build a readership. Just like building a business or almost anything else. Time, patience, study of the market and the craft of writing, and practice, practice, practice.
But to give you a feel for what "ranks" on the Warp, consider the following, a few of the all time favorite here on Searchwarp:
"Get Hundreds of Free Nintendo DS Games-Nintendo DS Homebrew Makes it Possible"
"100 Dating Conversion Starters"
"How to Put Video on PSP-8 Steps for Beginners"
"Teen Hair Styles"
"Itchy Scalp Treatments: Using A Natural Home Remedy for Itchy Scalp Conditions"
(and my favorite article of all time!!!!!)
"Tips for above Ground Swiming Pool Liner Preperation and Insallation"
When I'm looking for inspiration, hope, insight into the human condition, a way to better my life,a look to that of merit, our eternal signifigance, I go to these All-Time Most Popular articles. Really, you have no idea what pool liner prep. can do for the soul. Last time I was checking out my belly button for self-discovery, I went pool liner and overcame all doubt and fear, standing straight, looking into the beauty of the stars on the horizon above I progressed, exponentially, like "Ahhhhhhhhhh . . . . . . . ." That's right!
Sorry, where was I?
Oh, yeah.
So, rankings, the final analysis? Who cares.
Hey, anyone seen my above ground overlap? My beaded vinyl liner with hoppers?
