How does the Google search engine work? What causes information that you post to show in the first page of Google results? There are plenty of people on-line who claim to understand the Google algorithm and are willing to sell you there services for something called Search Engine Optimization, but for most of us, Google is a bit of a mystery.
When I do a daily blog posting, I expect that most of my views for that day will be from that posting, primarily from subscribers to my blog, or maybe for postings from the previous few days. Over the past ten years, I have learned that other viewers may be drawn to my site as a result of searches using Google or other search engines. In 2023, for example, 34 percent (14,473) of my 43,661 total views came from Google searches.
In the last couple of months, however, I have noticed a rise in daily views that seems to be driven largely by an increase in Google searches. I have a modest goal for my blog of about 120 daily views and in May and June the daily views have averaged over 200. I’d like to think that my blog postings have been better than average recently, but the numbers don’t bear that out.
So far this month, 59 percent of my 4,074 views came from Google searches, including 562 views of a 2013 posting called Fuzzy White Caterpillar and 217 views of a 2019 posting called Groundhog in a tree. In the case of the latter posting, when I do a Google search of “Groundhog in a tree,” my posting shows up as the first result. Yikes!
I really don’t care that much about the number of views that my blog gets, but my analytic mind is fascinated by the data. As I have noted repeatedly in the past, I use the words and images in my blog postings to share a bit of the world as I experience it, showcasing with a sense of wonder and curiosity the amazing world in which we live, as filtered through my eyes and through my brain.
In case you are curious, this white water lily was one of several that I encountered during a recent visit to Green Spring Gardens. Somehow this simple image conveys a sense of the peace and serenity that I felt as I captured the image. My hope is that we can all experience a bit more of that peace in our daily lives.
As for Google, I am somewhat perplexed and a little amused that Google seems to like me a bit more recently and is sending additional viewers my way and suspect that it is only a passing fancy. As Andy Warhol is reported to have said, “In the future, everyone will be famous for 15 minutes.”
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Memorial Day 2024
Posted in Architecture, commentary, Nature, Photography, tagged Gettysburg Address, iPhone 11, Memorial Day 2024, Orkney Springs VA, Saint Francis of Assisi, Shrine Mont, Shrine Mont Retreat Center on May 27, 2024| 8 Comments »
Today in the United States we are commemorating Memorial Day, a day set aside to honor, mourn, and remember those who died while serving our country, especially in the armed forces. As some of you know, I spent 20 years in the U.S. Army and I personally feel a sense of gratitude to those who gave what Lincoln so poignantly called “the last full measure of devotion” in his address at Gettysburg in 1863. He challenged his listeners and continues to challenge us with these words, “It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.”
A little over a week ago I spent the weekend at a retreat at Shrine Mont in Orkney Springs, Virginia with a group from my church, St. Martin de Porres Episcopal Church. I was mostly unplugged all weekend in order to be more fully engaged with others and with the beautiful mountain setting. With my iPhone, though, I captured these images that give you a small sense of the beauty and serenity of Shrine Mont, including the outdoor cathedral that I visited each day in the early morning hours and at which we celebrated Pentecost Sunday with several other churches. Repeatedly throughout the weekend, I was captured by a sense of introspection and contemplation.
The third photo shows an extract from The Sermon to the Birds attributed to St. Francis of Assisi. Here is the full text, “My little sisters, the birds, much bounden are ye unto God, your creator, and always in every place ought ye to praise him, for that he hath given you liberty to fly about everywhere, and hath also given you double and triple raiment; moreover he preserved your seed in the ark of Noah, that your race might not perish out of the world; still more are ye beholden to him for the element of the air which he hath appointed for you; beyond all this, ye sow not, neither do you reap; and God feedeth you, and giveth you the streams and fountains for your drink; the mountains and valleys for your refuge and the high trees whereon to make your nests; and because ye know not how to spin or sow, God clotheth you, you and your children; wherefore your creator loveth you much, seeing that he hath bestowed on you so many benefits; and therefore, my little sisters, beware of the sin of ingratitude, and study always to give praises unto God.”
Today is a day set aside for us be thankful, an attitude which I believe we should cultivate every day and not just on special holidays. I can’t help but think of the Bible verses (Thessalonians 5:16-18) that say, “Rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances.” Not long ago I heard a sermon that has prompted me to look at that verse in a new way—the pastor reminded us that the verse says to give thanks in all circumstances, not for all circumstances. We definitely cannot control our circumstances, no matter how hard we try, but we can control our response to those circumstances.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
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