MiJoLi.com

Alexa is a company that provides detailed information about a website, specifically its web traffic. It is quite popular because it provides a ranking of your website, giving you a general idea how your website stands in the whole web population. How does Alexa determine a website’s rank? In its FAQ page, Alexa determines rankings as follows:

Alexa’s traffic rankings are based on the usage patterns of Alexa Toolbar users over a rolling 3 month period. A site’s ranking is based on a combined measure of reach and pageviews. Reach is determined by the number of unique Alexa users who visit a site on a given day. Pageviews are the total number of Alexa user URL requests for a site. However, multiple requests for the same URL on the same day by the same user are counted as a single pageview. The site with the highest combination of users and pageviews is ranked #1.

Despite its popularity, a growing number of people deem Alexa’s rankings as grossly inaccurate, and therefore worthless. This is because Alexa only gathers its data through Internet users who have the Alexa toolbar installed. Critics maintain that the Alexa user segment is not representative of the Internet population, and therefore makes a poor sample for data gathering.

Accurate or not, Alexa’s rankings are still being used by a lot of publishers and advertisers to value ad placements on a site. Put it simply, the higher a site’s Alexa rank, the higher the value of ad placements on the site. Website owners concerned about making money on their sites should therefore strive to increase their Alexa rank. Maki wrote an excellent article on how to do this.

So why did I install my Alexa widget when it is showing a dismal rank in the 7,000,000th range (a rank in the millions indicate virtually no traffic)? Simple! I am going to use that as my motivation to get a better ranking! I’ve been blogging for less than week and have done no promotion of any sort. Hopefully I can get my rankings up to the 50,000th range in a few months’ time. I will practice the surest method to increase my site’s ranking which is to provide good content. Hopefully, I can achieve this Herculean task. If not, I can always refer to Mubin’s article and cheat my way to a better Alexa ranking!

The world famous beach in Boracay Island is ranked 7th among the world’s most beautiful beaches for 2007 according to Yahoo Travel. I’m glad to know that this paradise is still attracting the locals and tourists despite certain apprehensions about its increasing commercialization. Boracay’s powdery fine white sand and pristine blue waters are definitely the main attractions, but newly built hotels and resorts offering 5-star amenities, and genuine Filipino hospitality support Boracay’s claim as a top notch vacation spot.

I did not write this post to apply for the top spot in the Department of Tourism.  My sister and my brother-in-law came over from the U.S. last September and Boracay happened to be the centerpiece of their itinerary! I joined them (of course) to go communing with nature, indulge in leisurely activities, ‘detoxify’, and mingle with the beautiful people (tons of celebrities!) Boracay is known for.

For more info about this paradise, visit Boracay.com or the official Boracay Tourism Site. See you in Boracay! 

My name is MJL, single, living in Manila. I am a Computer Science graduate with a Masters in Business Administration, currently engaged in the retail/wholesale trading business. MiJoLi.com is the avenue for my ‘online re-immersion’. I will be covering a wide range of interests.

Why MiJoLi.com? Mi-Jo-Li stand for the first two letters of my first name, second name, and surname respectively. I googled it and found out that it’s a foreign word. I still don’t know what it means though. Can anyone help me out? Whatever it means I am sticking with it since I already paid for the domain!

I jumped right into making this blog without having mastered nor learned all the nuances in making a successful blog. This online presence is exactly to shortcut that process. MiJoLi.com will be a continuing experiment reflecting the knowledge I will acquire as the site develops.

Also, English is not my mother tongue so please excuse any lapse in grammar and spelling (blame the spell checker). Best effort is exerted to ensure there is none.

After having only been a limited participant in the net culture the past several years, it looks like I am back as a full pledged netizen… and more!