DGreport.com

With the stats counter coming up on the DGreport’s millionth hit — that’s 1,000,000 — since April 2008, how better to celebrate than with a friendly contest?

I will award a $1,000,000 $10 gift certificate for use at downtown Downers Grove shops and restaurants to the reader who comes closest to the day of the millionth hit. To enter, simply send me an email at dgreport@hotmail.com. I’ll let my in-box determine the winner in an event of a tie — first one in, wins.

A hint: The number of daily hits can vary wildly. In the last week, this site registered just short of 30,000 hits. Weekdays are generally heavier than weekends and holidays. Hits currently stand at 960,465.

As to the upcoming milestone, this site actually passed the million mark a while back if you count the hits from its first year-plus of operation. When I changed to the current template in April 2008, the stats counter reset to zero.

So the celebration may be a bit overdue, but I’m not complaining. I also realize that hits may be the most gratifying measure of traffic, but they aren’t the most accurate. A better one is “page views,” which are averaging about 25,000 a month or 300,000 a year.

Either way it’s sliced or diced, I’m happy to share the occasion with readers during the holiday season. And to encourage a little local shopping, aka sales tax generation, too.