1. Do not share user accounts! Any account that is shared by another person will be blocked and closed. This means: we will close not only the account that is shared, but also the main account of the user who uses another person's account. We have the ability to detect account sharing, so please do not try to cheat the system. This action will take place on 04/18/2023. Read all forum rules.
    Dismiss Notice
  2. For downloading SimTools plugins you need a Download Package. Get it with virtual coins that you receive for forum activity or Buy Download Package - We have a zero Spam tolerance so read our forum rules first.

    Buy Now a Download Plan!
  3. Do not try to cheat our system and do not post an unnecessary amount of useless posts only to earn credits here. We have a zero spam tolerance policy and this will cause a ban of your user account. Otherwise we wish you a pleasant stay here! Read the forum rules
  4. We have a few rules which you need to read and accept before posting anything here! Following these rules will keep the forum clean and your stay pleasant. Do not follow these rules can lead to permanent exclusion from this website: Read the forum rules.
    Are you a company? Read our company rules

News 2019 Metrics for XSimulator

Discussion in 'Forum and Website' started by RaceRay, Jan 14, 2020.

  1. RaceRay

    RaceRay Administrator Staff Member SimAxe Beta Tester

    Joined:
    Nov 8, 2006
    Messages:
    4,656
    Occupation:
    Self-employed | Web and application development
    Location:
    Hamburg, Germany
    Balance:
    23,837Coins
    Ratings:
    +1,958 / 13 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, DC motor, SimAxe, SimforceGT
    Today I want to share a summary of our visitor statistics for the year 2019.

    This is the first year we experienced a decrease in new users and pageviews. The numbers are still very good but in the beginning until mid of 2019, we had a significant drop:

    audience_overview.png

    This might be caused by several reasons:

    - Updates in the Google ranking algorithm that resulted in worse search rankings
    - The update of the forum software that we did in 2019
    - Too many ads on our site as we experimenting all the time what works best
    - Lack of updates for the SimTools software and/or the SimTools plugins
    - A saturation of interest for DIY motion simulator hardware in general.
    Motion simulator technology has grown and is no more a fancy sophisticated trend for the sim racing and flight simulation community. There are also more and more commercial manufacturers for simulators.

    On the other hand, it looks like organic traffic is restoring. The traffic has constantly grown since mid of 2019 which is a good indicator for the current year.

    organic-compared-with-2018.png

    These are many variables but as the general curve still looks very solid and the Y graph shows a growing tendency I think we are still on the right path and there is no need for any big updates to our forum and website.

    This is just a small overview of the XSimulator traffic analytics.
    If you are interested in other numbers or if you have ideas about what we could do to make our site a more attractive place, please let us know.

    I am glad to be part of this community and I am looking forward to seeing new great projects from you guys in 2020:cheers
    • Informative Informative x 6
    • Like Like x 1
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 14, 2020
  2. noorbeast

    noorbeast VR Tassie Devil Staff Member Moderator Race Director

    Joined:
    Jul 13, 2014
    Messages:
    20,461
    Occupation:
    Innovative tech specialist for NGOs
    Location:
    St Helens, Tasmania, Australia
    Balance:
    144,602Coins
    Ratings:
    +10,741 / 52 / -2
    My Motion Simulator:
    3DOF, DC motor, JRK
    Interesting @RaceRay...in addition to the points you have raise if I had to take a wild stab at a possible explanation I would suggest running an analysis of the prominence and frequency of posts covering more complex and technical aspects of motion simulation software and rigs, to see if there is a correlation.
    • Like Like x 1
  3. RacingMat

    RacingMat Well-Known Member Gold Contributor

    Joined:
    Feb 22, 2013
    Messages:
    2,233
    Location:
    Marseille - FRANCE
    Balance:
    20,875Coins
    Ratings:
    +2,079 / 21 / -2
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, DC motor, Arduino
    I agree with that!
    on PC, the website is really great! drag and drop pictures, many different sort of likes: it's make the forum really cool. :thumbs

    maybe a few more smileys?
    and an addition of a dark theme in the Preferences/Style?
  4. T R Para

    T R Para i make stuff up

    Joined:
    Oct 18, 2018
    Messages:
    385
    Occupation:
    Retired
    Location:
    Cincinnati, Oh
    Balance:
    2,436Coins
    Ratings:
    +357 / 2 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    AC motor, 6DOF
    It would be interesting to see the demographics of the communities age group.
    I think the future of sims is in VR and much less physical simulator rigs which are too expensive/complex to build or buy especially for many of the younger generation.
  5. Rifly

    Rifly Member

    Joined:
    Jan 30, 2020
    Messages:
    55
    Occupation:
    freelance photographer
    Location:
    Latvia
    Balance:
    242Coins
    Ratings:
    +24 / 0 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, DC motor, Arduino
    I'm really curious about possibility of DIY community spike during covid-19, I'm one of them who had time to think about motion during this time.
  6. RaceRay

    RaceRay Administrator Staff Member SimAxe Beta Tester

    Joined:
    Nov 8, 2006
    Messages:
    4,656
    Occupation:
    Self-employed | Web and application development
    Location:
    Hamburg, Germany
    Balance:
    23,837Coins
    Ratings:
    +1,958 / 13 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, DC motor, SimAxe, SimforceGT
    It looks like the numbers go up:

    Analytics - Google Chrome 2020-03-23 14.11.33.png

    Our demographics by age:

    Analytics - Google Chrome 2020-03-23 14.13.59.png
    • Like Like x 2
  7. value1

    value1 Nerd SimAxe Beta Tester SimTools Developer Gold Contributor

    Joined:
    Jan 9, 2011
    Messages:
    2,184
    Location:
    Zug, Switzerland
    Balance:
    14,462Coins
    Ratings:
    +3,318 / 11 / -1
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, DC motor, JRK, Joyrider
    @RaceRay: Do you see increased traffic in these days?
  8. Historiker

    Historiker Dramamine Adict Gold Contributor

    Joined:
    Dec 16, 2010
    Messages:
    2,158
    Occupation:
    Retired
    Location:
    Michigan USA
    Balance:
    9,176Coins
    Ratings:
    +2,156 / 19 / -1
    My Motion Simulator:
    3DOF, DC motor, Arduino, Motion platform, 6DOF
    I have been trying to push those interested in motion toward the website but their main response is that it is too much work and they are going to save up and buy a commercial rig.
  9. RaceRay

    RaceRay Administrator Staff Member SimAxe Beta Tester

    Joined:
    Nov 8, 2006
    Messages:
    4,656
    Occupation:
    Self-employed | Web and application development
    Location:
    Hamburg, Germany
    Balance:
    23,837Coins
    Ratings:
    +1,958 / 13 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, DC motor, SimAxe, SimforceGT
    Yes, there is strong growth these days:
    Analytics - Google Chrome 2020-03-29 14.59.31.png

    It started March 20th
    • Like Like x 2