About the Index

This index evolved from Craig Harper’s Ultimate Aussie Blogroll, which is based on Technorati solely, but now bares little resemblance.

The Index can be explained as follows.

I have taken three variables -

AU = Alexa Rank
X = Global Alexa Rank
T = Technorati Rank

and applied a formula – which is (3 x AU + X + T) /5.

To give you an example for this blog (as at 20/4/07)
AU = 981
X = 75,737
T = 23,208

So the Index = (3 x 981 + 75737 + 23208)/5 = 20,378

In the instance

1. that a blog is part of a larger domain or
2. that a blog does not have either an AU rank or an X rank (or both),

then T is multipled by the average of all other ranking blogs (i.e. the Total Index / Total Technorati Rank). This average may vary from week to week (at 16/4 this average is 10.3611).

My reasoning for including both the Alexa AU rank, the Alexa global rank and the Technorati Rank, is because I believe this is a fairer estimation of the popularity of a blog than just using one variable alone. I have weighted the AU rank, as I believe this to be a stronger indicator of the popularity of a website within Australia.

Various memes, and blogroll exchanges can lead to an inflated Technorati ranking, that does not necessarily reflect the merit of the blog. A blog must have a Technorati ranking for the formula to work. Visit Technorati to claim your blog.

Of course, Alexa also has its critics. So no one method is perfect.

I’m not implying that this is the best method of creating an index, but it’s my method

I’m happy to hear input, and tweak if required. Please let me know what you think – objectively

P.S. Whilst I promise to be objective (it’s all about the numbers), I reserve the right to NOT include blogs that I consider “inappropriate” – deal with it