Faster, better…

The Psychic Search plugin from MaxBlogPress is a unique tool a WordPress blog owner can use to monitor searches made from the blog search box. The plugin also records various search engine keyword searches where some of the keywords have appeared in your blog posts. The idea of this plugin is to give the blog author hints at the type of content visitors are seeking – especially those using your search box.

The first thing I discovered was that only hackers are using my search box. In the last three months I have seen three attempted mySQL injection attacks recorded. This was educational. Whether or not your search function is used may depend on the content of the blog you run. In my case the most marketable reason for using the plugin was a flop at my site. That isn’t the plugin’s fault. I have to write more stuff that people want to find in a local search!

I did however find reviewing the keywords used by potential readers in various search engine queries useful in a similar way. I have written articles based on the keywords used in these queries. There has been some growth in my visitor count.

Some of the same information is available through Google, Compete, and from the WordPress Blog Stats plugin available from WordPress.com. Psychic Search (currently at version 2.04) allows you to start seeing data just after installation from your blog dashboard. You do not have to visit another site to see the data. Even if you don’t find it it useful all of the time the information can be entertaining. Just reading the kinds of things people look for on the Internet has sparked some ideas for new posts.

I’m using the plugin at DougWeb.com and now at PopularWireless.com. Spending a lot more time writing at DougWeb has helped advanced the blog from a Google rank of zero to a four and my Alexa rank hovers around 225,000. I am pleased with the information Psychic Search provides.

As you install the plugin you are asked to send the plugin author your email address and blog address. A confirmation email is sent with a “plugin activation” link. This action also subscribes you to two of the author’s email lists. When you press the activation link in the email you are presented with an offer to purchase a product. You may unsubscribe at a later time if you do not find his emails useful. My sense was he could have sent fewer messages around Christmas time but what the heck a man’s got to stay in business to feed the Internet habit. The plugin is free to use but the author asks that you take time to write your own optional review. The plugin’s tech support is excellent. The author maintains a vBulletin Board system to provide public support.

I like the WordPress Psychic Search Plugin. It is another tool in my arsenal of SEO and writing idea stuff.

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