263 pages. What changed?
A reference database, uneven rankings and a site-wide average that raised more questions.
The questionWhich pages moved—and which changes can I actually explain?
Read the notes →Isabella’s working notebook
Experiments, shared honestly.
I’m building Crit Pick, a gaming magazine and a project I care about. These notes follow what I try, what happens and what I’m still working out.
Three places to start
The work behind the write-up.
Published notes, with questions still worth investigating.
Attention is only part of the story.
Three weeks of social posting around a trending game, with views and website visits measured separately.
The questionWhat reached the website, and what can I attribute to the trend?
Read the notes →
Eight weeks of finding its shape.
The early stages of Crit Pick: a magazine I wanted to make and a project I was learning to run.
The questionWhat did I learn about the work, the audience and the next decision?
Read the notes →How to read these experiments
A question, an observation, a limit.
01 / Question
What was I trying to find out?
The decision, the change and the comparison I wanted to make.
02 / Observation
What happened in that window?
The dates, the source and what was actually measured. Missing data stays missing.
03 / Limit
What is still uncertain?
Other possible explanations, the work involved and what the evidence cannot tell me.
A publisher’s experience.
Crit Pick helps players discover worthwhile small games. I discover demos, read pitches, make coverage and test content. Those experiences can inform the explanations here.
Magazine views, search traffic and social reach do not prove increased game sales or wishlists. I distinguish what I observed from what might be useful to a developer.
Paid See Indie work never buys Crit Pick coverage or a positive verdict.
The published notebook
Follow the work.
Newest first. Earlier posts keep their original publication dates.
Crit Pick, three weeks of social: 453,000 views, 71 visits
I published 263 articles in ten days. Here's what Search Console showed afterwards.
What eight weeks of Crit Pick data actually show
Crit Pick, month two: one page per Pal, and the web that ties them together
The Crit Pick SEO case study: the first month of real data
The Guild Wars 3 page, by the numbers
How I built the Guild Wars 2 event timer
Building a Guild Wars 3 page before the game exists
How I filtered a 300k keyword sweep into one GW2 list
Setting up a gaming blog for SEO: structure, tags and tracking before content
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