Two weeks into the job search, and I finally took the time to look at my Google Analytics stats (I had embedded trackers in my three main projects, Friendex, Pixpy and Planarity, as well as my Portfolio site).
Interesting things I've noticed:
Twice as many people visited Friendex (111 sessions, 102 users), as compared to my portfolio page (65 sessions, 47 users)
Most recruiters are interested in seeing your work and what you can build, as opposed to just your description of yourself.
If you're going to put a project on the top line of your resume, make sure it's baller.
Despite all of the interactive functionality I built, most visitors only stayed on Friendex for approximately 34 seconds.
Don't bank on users actually testing your functionality, but make sure your project looks impressive from the get-go, and that the functionality that you built is obvious even if the user does not interact with it.
A few people tested out the posting and liking functionality on the Timeline (the landing page as soon as you login), but it looks like most people merely looked at the site without interacting with it too much
5 new accounts were created on Friendex including two that were made by friends (based on the account names)
* Although the vast majority of people will not test out your functionality, some people will test all of it. So make sure all of your functionality/features are rock solid! * Most people will just use the "Demo" button, but some people will create full profiles. So make sure there are no bugs in your Login process, and that the Login user flow is smooth. * One person tested the site quite thoroughly, uploading photos, making posts, as well as adding comments and likes. 4. Of those who visited Friendex, 71% merely looked at the login-screen before bouncing off. * Make sure your splash page is impressive and clearly conveys what you built 5. My portfolio had a much higher average session duration of almost 5 minutes, and visitors looked at approximately 4 pages per session. * If someone is interested enough to look you up and go to your portfolio page, then they will also take the time to read what you've written. So make sure your content is polished, clean, and conveys what you intend to portray about yourself. 6. Half the number of guests visited Pixpy, the second project on my resume (64 sessions, 54 users) as compared to Friendex, the first line on my resume (111 sessions, 102 users) * Friendex was the first line on my resume, whereas Pixpy was the second line * Pixpy was co-developed with Matt Corley, who also listed it on his resume (although also not as the first project) * Despite two people sending traffic to the site, only half the number of people visited Pixpy * Conclusion (reiteration from before): Make your first project baller. 7. Of those who visited Pixpy, people stayed on average for 1:10 minutes, twice as long as they stayed on Friendex (34 seconds) * Maybe people like looking at pictures of cute animals more than they enjoy interacting with an empty social networking site? * We also used a setTimeout for our Demo User login, to make it appear like the user is typing in their email and password in front of the user, before logging them in. This requires a set amount of time, so may have actually retained people's attention for longer (similar to how the spinning GIF makes you feel like you're not waiting as long when pages are loading). * Perhaps if someone has taken the time to look at more projects past the first one, they're interested enough to actual dig around your work. Hence, only the really interested people visit your second project 8. One person looked at my Github code for Friendex (and talked to me about it) * Keep your Github clean/polished/professional * Even if most people won't, assume someone will look at your code. Make sure you can explain all of the reasons you chose to design/code everything the way you did. 9. Views of Friendex seem to spike at the beginning of the week * So far, what I've noticed with regards to interviewing cadence, is that recruiters will reach out the most on Mon/Tues to schedule things, and then the rest of the week tends to fill up with phone calls, technical screens, and onsites. * Granted, this may be because of my own application cadence (we first began applying on a Mon, and then I finished App Academy's requirement of submitting 150 applications this past Saturday by sitting down and blitzing through 100. You can see the result of this by the sudden increase in Friendex views) * I also tend to be too busy when I'm running around prepping for interviews and commuting to onsites, to apply to more places, and weekends have been the best time to catch up, email people, and submit applications. So perhaps recruiters are merely responding to the timing of when I submitted an application to them. 10. I do not have any analytics tracking on my Tumblr, so don't worry that I'm watching you read this. But now I'm curious!
Photos
Site traffic by day for Friendex
Stats for Friendex after 2 weeks
Stats for Portfolio after 2 weeks
Stats for Pixpy after 2 weeks