There are several reasons why people view your photos. It isn't always because people like the picture, it's just that they want a closer look. For example, if the thumbnail doesn't give enough detail and they want to see what the subject is. Conversely, if the thumbnail shows you exactly what the picture is about then there's often no need to click to view a larger size.
My view count goes up and down a lot. When it suddenly goes up on one day I know that either someone is looking for a photo they can use on a blog or website (mine are all Creative Commons), or that one of my friends is viewing the latest few batches of uploads. When either of these things happens the person is usually just clicking on the next and previous arrows and stopping at particular photos; meanwhile all the photos in between are registering a 'view'.
And the view count might go up if you've submitted photos to a group that you think might be interested in them. Or maybe someone thinks they recognise one of their friends in your portrait shot and wants to be sure. And sometimes it's just because someone likes a photo and wants to enjoy it.
I've often thought that it would be nice if Flickr had a Like or +1 button the way 500px and Google+ have. That way we could register our appreciation for a photo without making the photographer guess why people are viewing it.