How Did You Find Me?

Whenever I log into WordPress and check the stats on my website, I am often amused by what I find – especially the search terms that somehow led someone to my site. Two questions usually come to mind. 1 – Why was someone searching for that? 2 – How did that Google search lead someone to my site?

Here are some of the search terms I find most amusing and somewhat confusing…

Nathan Fillion
Someone once searched for “no a tv show i used to love,” a quote from Castle that references Firefly, a well-loved and prematurely canceled Nathan Fillion TV show. However, the sixth most popular search term for my site, “Nathan Fillion shirtless” is both amusing and confusing. I like that someone was actually searching for this, and probably was very disappointed when they landed on a blog/design gallery. It took me a while to realize they did a Google Image search and clicked on a picture of a shirtless Harry Shum, Jr., which I had included on my wishlist page. Sorry, folks. No shirtless Nathan Fillion here.

Wong Fu Productions
I met the guys of Wong Fu (Philip Wang, Wesley Chan, and Ted Fu) in April, and since then, people have ended up on my site after various Google searches related to them. According to the stats, “Wesley Chan” is even more popular than shirtless Nathan Fillion, coming in as the 4th most popular search term of all time. “Wong Fu Productions” and “Ted Fu” come in 7th and 8th, respectively. Sadly, “Philip Wang,” my favorite of the three, is only 19th on the list. However, one person did search for “Philip Wang Wong Fu Productions shirtless,” if that makes you feel any better. People have also searched for more specific items, like Wesley Chan’s resume or information about Wong Fu’s new office in Pasadena. The most amusing Wong Fu-related search, though, has got to be “Cindy from Wong Fu Productions.” I don’t know if they were looking for me, but I’ll gladly accept the title.

Kina Grannis
Phil, Wes, and Ted weren’t the only YouTubers I met in April. The day after seeing Wong Fu in Princeton, I met Kina Grannis in Philadelphia. “Kina Grannis” is actually the #1 search term for my site. With 70 hits just for Kina’s name, there weren’t too many other related searches. Several people searched for Kina’s braid while two people wanted to know what her favorite store is. Other people wanted information about buying a signed frame from Kina’s “Valentine” music video, an item I received as part of the Stairwells deluxe package. One person searched for “Kina Grannis song for her mom,” which was part of the Project 4 Awesome campaign, something I personally thanked Kina for doing. My favorite Kina search is “Cindy Agoncillo Kina Grannis.” Whoever Googled this – I have no idea who you are or why you were searching for me and Kina, but you’re awesome.

Glee
I’ve written a few blog posts about the TV show Glee, but I’ve also included specific mentions of Harry Shum, Jr., one of the show’s stars who also happens to follow me on Twitter. Many of the Glee-related searches are incredibly amusing. People either want to find out about the characters or the personal lives of the show’s stars. “Does Jenna Ushkowitz smoke?” “Chord Overstreet virginity.” “Harry Shum Jr. braids.” “Meaning of Glee quote ‘I looked under the bed…'” “What Glee characters are virgins?” “Chord Overstreet drinking.” “Harry Shum Jr smokes.” “Is Harry Shum Jr religious?” “So ‘woof’ on Prop 15 meaning.” “Harry Shum Jr is he half.” What answers were people expecting to find on my site?

Adele
I wrote a review of Adele’s new album, 21, after I received a copy from my roommate. My review included a transcript from Adele’s video of “Someone Like You,” in which she tells a story of the song’s inspiration. My search term stats are riddled with numerous combinations of words and phrases from this video as people try to figure out exactly what Adele is saying. It’s not exactly easy to figure out what she’s saying in the video, and I can’t even guarantee that people are finding an accurate transcript on my site. Not everyone was looking for an accurate transcript, though. One person wanted to know if Adele had been left at the altar, and another person asked, “Why are Adele’s songs so sad?”

Single Adulthood/Biblical Manhood and Womanhood
I’ve written a few posts about being a single adult, and I wrote a few more about biblical manhood and womanhood in response to a series of discussions my church’s young adult group has been having on the topic. I’m not surprised that these search terms ended up on my site, but I am intrigued that someone (other than me) is actually searching for this topic. Some of the search terms include “what is singleness,” “singleness struggles,” “single in the church,” “woman was created from the rib of man,” “redefining singlehood,” “biblical womanhood,” single woman dreading engagement ring blog,” “complementarian women in the workforce,” “John Piper, a woman with a male secretary,” “singleness bitterness,” “50s cake mom,” “do christian men prefer the complementarian view or the egalitarian view in church leadership positions,” and my favorite: “woman make me a sandwich.”

Random
– “Superman” – I have a photo of Superman in my gallery, but I can’t begin to imagine how many pages of search results those people had to click through until they got to my photo.

– Anything with “Cindy Agoncillo” in it – It’s fairly obvious how searching for my name would lead a person to my site, but I’m more interested in knowing exactly who is searching for me! Even searches with “Cindy” in it make me wonder if someone was searching for me specifically. When someone Googled “Asian Cindy YouTube,” were they looking for me? Was “Cindy Hollywood and Highland” a search for my photo, titled “Hollywood and Highland”? Who exactly searched for “Cindy Agoncillo is a Filipino”?

– “Chinese chicken noodle soup” – I have a really great story about this, but I doubt that’s what someone was looking for when they searched for the phrase online!

– “annoying goody goody boy characters on television” – I don’t know who is searching for this, but they probably ended up reading my post about the absence of “good kids” in today’s media.

– “‘Sally Esh’ Amish dinner cost” and “Amish dinner with Sally Esh” – I once at lunch at the home of Sally Esh, an Amish woman in Lancaster County, PA. I don’t know how much the meal cost, and I don’t know why anyone else would want to know.