Now, for something completely different. If you are thinking about focusing your online marketing efforts and perhaps your web advertising efforts, do you ever wonder which sites drive the most traffic to your website? Great report posted on Read Write Web to help answer that question...
If there's one thing we know about Web authors it's that they are constantly seeking new sources of traffic for their content. It doesn't matter if you're a blogger, a marketing manager or a small business owner, there is simply no reason to invest time with content creation and Web design if no one is coming to read it. For this reason, it's important to figure out where to actually invest time for the greatest ROI.
As a blogger I routinely asked myself the same question, until I finally realized that I (as the CEO of Woopra, the Web analytics company) had access to all the data I needed to make an absolute determination about which areas deserve the most attention.
Guest author John Pozadzides is the CEO of the Web analytics company Woopra, organizer of the open-source blogger and developer conference OpenCa.mp, and the man behind OneMansBlog.com. Follow him on Twitter @johnpoz.
This meant looking beyond my own site's statistics and finding out what was broadly occurring across all domains. Only through a comparative analysis can we determine where our strengths and weaknesses lie as compared to the average.
The Methodology
Woopra monitors well over 100,000 websites, however, all of our client's data is kept separate for security and privacy reasons. This meant the first step was to set up a new specialized server that would poll all other servers in our network in order to aggregate the data.
After building this new platform, the Woopra team provided me with the raw information that I used to create the charts below. This report is based on hundreds of millions of data points collected during the month of June 2010.
Virtually every category of Website is represented in the dataset - education, news, government, SMB, Fortune 500, blogs, adult - and while it clearly doesn't reflect all of the sites on the Internet, my guess is that it is a statistically significant and representative sampling.
Top Referrers of Traffic
For the purposes of this analysis, referrers have been segmented into different categories in order to more easily compare traffic. For example, there is no use in comparing Google to Flickr since they are not categorically related. If we're making a determination which search engine to focus on, Flickr would not be in the mix - and if we're looking for a photo hosting site, Google would not be in the mix. The four main referral categories that drive virtually all traffic are: Search Engines, Media, Social Bookmarks and Social Networks.
Social Network Referrers
Perhaps the one result that was the most surprising is the Social Networking category. Although Twitter seem to be the talk of the town, Facebook is the 900 pound gorilla when it comes to actually driving website traffic, sending nearly 7 in 10 visitors from the Social Network category. LinkedIn comes in a distant yet still respectable third place.
There is one giant unknown in this area, however. Many Twitter users access the service through applications instead of via Twitter's website. These applications do not report http-referrer data to Web servers, which makes it impossible to tell where the clicks originate. The same can be said about traffic driven by mobile apps (including Facebook).
All of the other players in the Social Networking category cumulatively amount to less than 3% of inbound website traffic.
Social Bookmark Referrers
Social bookmarking sites are also extremely sought after sources of traffic, with the highest profile member of the group being Digg. Interestingly, this is another case where a smaller source seems to receive a disproportionate amount of attention, since StumbleUpon drives nearly double the traffic to websites.
Another surprising standout in the Social Bookmark category is YCombinator's Hacker News site, which drives 12% of the traffic in this category. Reddit and Del.icio.us drive 5% and 2%, respectively. Interestingly, SlashDot (the grandaddy of them all) drives close to 0% of traffic to the sites Woopra measures - although webmasters still call the rush of traffic that can take down a website a "Slashdotting".
Search Referrers
In the Search Engine space, perhaps the only surprise is the absolute dominance of Google when it comes to actually driving traffic to websites. For example, Experian's Hitwise published a press release setting Google's share of the search market at 72% in May 2010. However, Woopra is seeing 92% of search visitors originating from Google.
This begs the question: Where does the discrepancy lie?
Is the Hitwise data set more representative of the whole?
Are there more searches taking place on other search engines that don't result in click-throughs to websites?
StatCounter's Global Stats seem to closely mirror Woopra's data.
Regardless of the reason, what we do know is that focusing attention on optimizing for Google search is absolutely the right thing to do. (Here's the official Google SEO starter guide.)
Media Referrers
The media referrer category is reserved for sites that focus on various forms of multimedia, including images, video and audio. These sites are often overlooked as a source of traffic because they are destination sites; however, media sites can also drive large volumes of traffic.
As an example, world-famous HDR photographer Trey Ratcliff posts travel photos on Flickr, and includes a simple link back to his site in the description of each image he posts.
This technique generated nearly 13,000 pageviews on StuckInCustoms.com in April alone.
What's more notable is that Flickr is not the dominant referrer in the Media category. YouTube drives 900% more traffic to websites than Flickr. This is accomplished the same way, via links in the description of the video.
Amazingly, 99% of referrer traffic in the Media category comes from only four providers: YouTube, Flickr, Last.FM and Vimeo.
Lessons Learned
The only question we are trying to answer with this analysis is where it makes sense to focus resources and attention in order to drive traffic. So here's what we know:
Search engine optimization specifically targeting Google's index is key. Working hard to satisfy other search providers probably won't pay off as much as spending the time elsewhere - like Facebook and Twitter promotion.
If multimedia isn't part of a site's strategy to drive traffic, it should be. Adding photos to Flickr and videos to YouTube will not only pay off in terms of adding content for your brand, but will also drive eyeballs to your site.
Sites that are not seeing traffic from Facebook, Twitter, or both, are missing out on a major traffic-generation source. Additionally, if the balance is not in Facebook's favor, you are likely under-utilizing this channel.
Don't waste time promoting your site on any Social Media network other than Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. Your time is better spent elsewhere (like YouTube or Flickr for example).
By all means, submit articles to Digg in the hopes of making it to the homepage, but more importantly make sure articles work their way into StumbleUpon, which can bring a larger, more sustained and less server-crash-creating stream of traffic.
For those looking to more accurately track Twitter click-throughs, some service providers such as Bit.ly enable tracking of short links. The bad news is that the tracking is not aggregated into existing Web analytics provider data.
This analysis doesn't take into consideration back-links (which Web authors should pursue whenever possible) because on the aggregate they do not drive global traffic. However, links from related or high-traffic sites can not only dramatically increase site traffic, they can positively impact search result listings.
Boy did it feel good to have Mad Men back on TV. I'll admit, the first episode wasn't fantastic but it did feel like a family reunion. Like we were all gathered around the Thanksgiving table...
I'm equally interested in the drama as I am in the advertising. Well, maybe slightly more on the advertising side. Don Draper - the ad man - is every ad exec's dream.
No real depth to this particular post today, just sharing my happiness to have my old friend Mad Men back on TV.
Just watched a video that simplifies Facebook privacy issues very well. It's by the Neistat Brothers. When I say it simplifies these rules, I mean it really simplifies them. So, if you want to dig deeper, there is much more to it, but it is still an entertaining 6 minutes that would help you explain to your grandmother (as they do) what Facebook is all about.
There was a great blog post yesterday from John Bell who heads up the Digital Influence Team at Olgivy PR. He analyzed the Old Spice video campaign from last week really well. Not only does he give great statistics, but also great perspective on why this is successful and the way that other brands and agencies are already saying, “I want that!”
I think the campaign is brilliant. Yes, it is fairly groundbreaking with what they did on YouTube, but what impresses me the most is how an old brand has been reinvigorated. Old Spice is your grandfather’s deodorant. It literally was my grandfather’s deodorant. The fact that they have become relevant again is truly amazing.
As a marketer, this is really exciting. When you see something like this Old Spice campaign, you realize, with the proper marketing, anything can be resurrected. The brand just needs to be open to trying new things. And, if you haven't been paying attention, Old Spice has been doing great marketing for quite a while now. I remember seeing the ads they did with Semi-Pro a few years back when Will Ferrell's Jackie Moon character did commercials in character for Old Spice. And there have been others including Neil Patrick Harris making fun of his fake doctor status too.
I love it. A brand not taking itself too seriously and the results speak for themselves. Again, this is a brand that had been forgotten in an age of Axe body spray.
Oh, you know its going to happen, brand marketers left and right asking their teams to "get me some of that Old Spice" social media magic. This recent campaign will be another benchmark of social media achievement. I know this because CNN (CNN International, actually) interviewed me on Friday to get my take on the campaign. As with previous, alleged big success stories - BMW Films, Subservient Chicken, Elf Yourself - this one demands that we answer three big questions:
Was it successful?
What about it made it so?
No, was it really successful like did it drive sales?
In case you are just back from St. Barts or wherever ad people go for break, here is the skinny on the program:
For two days (July 13th and 14th), Isaiah Mustafa, dressed only in a towel, responded to fans from a set made to look like a bathroom. On Tuesday the 13th, the team at Wieden worked for 11 hours, to make 87 short videos. During the course of the campaign, 185- 205 videos were made, many of them directly responding to people's tweets and comments. The videos were personalized and posted to the YouTube channel. The average video length was thirty seconds. This character was based upon TV Spots and a few very popular YouTube videos from Old Spice most notably “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like.”
Trent Johnson (from the Interactive Department at Wieden) had created a custom program that automatically pulled in people’s comments from Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, etc., allowing the creative team to write immediate responses.Those scripts drove the development of the videos in near real time.
Stats
Old Spice YouTube Channel Views - almost 8m
Old Spice YouTube Total Upload views - 83m +
Total subscribers on YouTube channel 120K
Total Connections on Facebook 616k
(all data as of July 16)
Was it Successful?
By marketing standards for and FMCG, I have to believe this was hugely successful. Of course only P&G knows for sure, its their product and their business goals. But just look at the numbers - they created a huge amount of awareness and engagement over a very short period of time. Just in pure reach, its a great campaign. At least 4 of the most popular video spots on YouTube this past Friday were Old Spice videos. Visible Measures had a great summary of the performance of the campaign putting it north of the President Obama's victory speech and Susan Boyle's performance. It's also clear that the original, high-production value videos that preceded the flash production stunt pulled in significant views and buzz.
Both their YouTube and Facebook pages saw big growth during this time. That means they have acquired to date hundreds of thousands people they can reach out to directly via those platforms.
While I don't have the data, it is safe to say that they increased positive word of mouth and share of voice - for the brand. Any twitter search will confirm. But did it, or will it boost sales? See me final point.
What made it successful?
It was creative, entertaining and just plain funny
Consumers want more from brands and Old Spice delivered. The initial video, “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like,” included compelling effects that most of us would have a hard time reproducing on our Flip Video cams (gross understatement). That's one way brands can deliver value - entertainment - to their customers. They had the full package of snappy writing, deadpan delivery from Isaiah and talkable moments (the fish).The format is great for ad agency creatives who can be some of the funniest writers in media. This was not about product utility nor about how the proper smell can get you the ladies (i.e. Axe). The value was the entertainment.
The real-time, rapid response to users made a video program "conversational" which built trust
They aggregated what people were saying about the brand and the videos and then created another video (185 actually) to respond. Instead of replying via a Tweet, they produced a little video and published it on the YouTube channel. The Old Spice Twitter handle then tweeted it out there. Giving people direct contact with the brand - even in this playful way - builds trust. It shows they are listening and willing to dance for their customers.
The custom intros personalized the content for everyone not just the recipient Marshall Kirkpatrick at Read Write Web wrote: "It is well done and it appeals to peoples' egos - but there is something more, too. It feels very personalized, even if it wasn't directed at you." It's like the power of the @askamex customer care Twitter handle - its benefit extends beyond the few folks it can practically respond to by demonstrating to us all that the brand is listening and cares.
They worked hard for their followers
Most video shoot days are long and rigorous. The "almost live" ones put additional pressure - especially on the writers. Cranking our 87 videos in one long day takes stamina and commitment. That effort comes through especially since they didn't tell people how hard they were working. They just did the work.
The TV spots and high-production value videos built an audience prior to the 2 day stunt
They didn't start with a "48 hour film festival approach." They started with high reach TV spots. Then segued to a hugely popular online video with about 15m views. This built a base that was ready for the next move. I would love to see the growth chart for YouTube subscribers and Facebook connections over the past couple of months. I am guessing we would see a steep but methodical growth based upon all of these steps.
They drove both YouTube and Facebook subscribers/connection acquisition making this a "strategic" play
Many consumer brands hunger after the promise of a big fanbase on Facebook. the hope is that they can build a direct following whom they can respectfully market to and drive to action. Even if the viewing pattern of the actual videos drops sharply now that the stunt is over, they established that base to engage with the next thing.
Did it drive sales?
It's an important question. We will have to wait for P&G to report that part of the story. I am going to guess that it did. But for those of you direct response-type folks who believe it only matters if it drove sales now I say "smell like a man." The impact of the positive word of mouth will endure and possibly grow. The engagement - time spent, delight - with the videos has made an impression in a way that TV has increasingly trouble doing alone. They created preference for the brand that will translate into sales.And to those same direct response folks I say, you have to respect the subscriber/connections base they have built and all they can do with them tomorrow.
How to Reproduce it
The building blocks are called out above. If your goal is to copy the stunt tactic by tactic, I wouldn't bother.Wieden and Old Spice were smart enough to combine a lot of successful elements in a new way to create something that feels original. Pay attention to the building blocks and be original. Oh yeah, and add social media specialists to the strategic and creative mix. That is one thing Kirkpatrick calls out:
"(Ian) Tait (Global Interactive Creative Director at Wieden) says that the primary differentiator between this campaign and others is how closely technical and social media specialists are working with the creative team. "We brought social media experts right into the creative process," he told me."
I was on an airplane two weeks ago and I had a discovery. Music. Seriously, it was like I was hearing it for the first time. You should have seen me. I was banging my head to some very heavy tunes and I was transported to another place. I started writing notes on a pad of yellow paper and I couldn't stop. First I wrote a blog post that I'm about to type in here. Then when I finished writing my blog post I started working on the presentation I was traveling to present. I was flying cross country to do a pitch and the music energized me so much that I was able to crank out 8 pages of notes on how I was going to interact with that potential client. With the music blaring it was all so clear.
I'm going to now type in that blog post that I wrote while under the influence of music. As you read this, picture a 42 year old "business man" bobbing up and down singing out loud and looking like a completely obsessed freak as I scribbled furiously on to my note pad.
Sweet Sweet Music
Goddammit! I'm sick of my attitude. When did I become such a downer? WTF?
I'm sitting on an airplane traveling across the country for a two hour meeting.
Two days ago I was dreading this trip. I hate leaving my house. My wife. My son. My comfort. I complained and looked for every excuse not to go.
But I'm on the plane. And I'm pumped!
I'm going to have a blast!
Why?
Because the music is blasting through my headphones. It's so loud. Head splitting loud. Silversun Pickups. Metallica. Eminem. The loudest and heaviest beats and guitars. I can do anything!
I forgot.
I forgot how much music can inspire me. How it can change my mood. How it can make me feel invincible.
What happened to me?
I had this feeling when I was a kid. The Who. The Clash. Boston (Yes, I said Boston), Pink Floyd, The Replacements, Iron Maiden, Dead Kennedys, the Pixies, Nine Inch Nails.
I was all over the map. I loved it all. It was a part of me. It was all I wanted to do - work in the music business.
And I got my wish. If you include all the concerts I produced and the bands I managed in high school and college and add my making it to the "big leagues" after college, then I spent over 15 years in the biz.
For five of my eight years as a record company executive I was on top of the world. The only jewelry I wore was a backstage laminate around my neck. I was so proud. (yes, and a dork too!)
I watched Trent Reznor roll around in the mud before he walked on stage at Woodstock and put Nine Inch Nails on the map.
I dove off the stage at a Face to Face concert at the legendary 930 Club in Washington, DC.
I put together the first ever Sheryl Crow concert at the Roxy on Sunset Blvd.
I toured Europe with Social Distortion and Australia with Soundgarden.
I made it.
But the f$*king business fell apart.
They forgot their customers.
Why should a CD only cost $15 they said? They're $25 in Europe, they should be that price here.
Why worry about the album being great? We only need one hit song.
Don't spend money touring bands, let's just make a video for $300K instead.
I'm no saint. I participated. I had a job to do. I helped bands get to every radio show in the country where they could play at 2 in the afternoon in front of people who didn't care about them. But hek, sometimes they got their song played on the radio in the middle of the night. I made a video for a band that cost $300K once. A video that never saw the light of day.
And then it came to an end. Consolidation came and I lost my job. And I gave up on music. Oh, I kept working in it with my own company, but I lost the passion for music.
Until today.
I'm exaggerating of course, but it is more clear today than it has been in years.
Five years removed from working directly in music and I can listen again. And it is great. I forgot. Music is great! Music inspires. Music can change my mood from down in the dumps to top of the world. Music makes me feel invincible. Right now I feel invincible.
We're hiring at Fanscape. That's the good news. It means we're doing well. Which as you know, is not something everyone can say these days. The flip side to that is that every time we post for a job, we get a slew of resumes.
I wrote a few weeks ago about "losing big" when you go for a job. That was meant for college grads trying to get an edge. But some of the same ideas can translate to those who graduated many moons ago but are trying to get in with my company or any other for that matter. In that post I wrote about making sure your LinkedIn profile was top notch and making sure you had a blog. One to show your professional side, the other to show who you are as a person. I also wrote about showing confidence because most don't.
Here are a few other tips that I can give you to help you with getting a job at our company and others. (note: we really do need great people here, so this is not meant to be frustrating, quite the contrary, this will hopefully give you an edge)
Do you have the experience we need?
Are you an expert?
How do you stay ahead?
Let me dive in to those three topics:
Do you have the experience we need?
I know you need a job. I feel for you, I really do. I hope you are the person we are looking for. But if you are not, please acknowledge that before you apply. Don't burn the bridge. If you send a resume that clearly shows you are not qualified then we won't call on you next time. And there will be a next time.
If you get to the next round which means you talk to our HR/Recruiting folks, then be prepared to discuss how you have the experience that speaks directly to what the job description states. Don't make it up. Please. Again, if you aggravate the recruiters, they won't call on you next time. Stay on track, speak directly to the specifics of the job description and how you possess the skills required. Give great examples.
If you realize early on that you are not right for the job, stop the interview. Say something like, "you know what, I love what your company does. I hope to be a member of your team at some point soon. I am an expert in _________. I can do that job better than anyone and I would love to do it for you. But I think what you need right now is something else." I can't tell you how many brownie points you will earn by doing that. We are all so busy and if you can save time, you'll help yourself and us.
Are you an expert?
What are you an expert at? We're all experts at something. If you aren't, then it just means that either you aren't focused on one particular area or you just don't realize that you are an expert. Hek, it could be washing a car or at building iPhone apps. So, the question here is whether you are an expert in the job we're looking to hire. We have numerous jobs open and they are in vastly different areas. There is room for different types of experts. One job requires an expert at organizing an office, another requires an expert at social media, and another requires an expert at client management.
If you are an expert in one of these areas, make sure you plan how to explain that you are an expert.
Our world has shifted. If you spoke to me 10 years ago, we just wanted smart people who could figure things out and grow with us. Now we're looking for experts in particular areas. It's just what we need right now. I've learned in my many years of managing companies and departments that you need to find experts. And you don't make those experts become something they are not. Allow them to thrive in their area of expertise.
So, if you are looking at the job descriptions for my company or any company, ask yourself, am I an expert? Then apply for that job and go for it. Win it.
How do you stay ahead?
If you are an expert, then the next question is how you stay ahead? How do you continue to be an expert and not fall behind. If you work in my line of work, social media, then you know that it changes hourly. Staying ahead requires constant reading, studying, participating, meeting, and just plain inhaling your area of expertise. Be prepared to answer how you stay ahead. Anybody that hires you is going to want to know that you live to learn. That you are not the kind of person that becomes complacent.
Does all of that make sense? Again, as I mentioned previously, this is all meant to inspire and not discourage. It is highly competitive, but if you are great at the jobs we're offering or anyone is offering, make sure that you state that clearly when you get the opportunity. And if you are not, don't push. There will be more opportunities. Trust me, there will be many many more opportunities.
If you like where I'm going with this, read my friend Derek Sivers' most recent post about "How to get hired." He gives some great advice that works well in tandem with what I've just told you.
I see much in life as a possible business. It is exciting, but also torturous. I just don’t have enough time. A new idea often sends me into hours of thought, research, and ultimately deviation from what I really need to do in a day. I believe that the Internet has made it easy for anyone to create a business. I believe that the Internet has made nearly everything in life easier. I believe that trying to impact the masses is a tough notion, but finding a group of people similar to you, is at your fingertips. I believe that music is free, and that is not a good thing. I believe that life is a collection of experiences and that every day I learn something new and forget something slightly new.
I have learned that the toughest part of running a business is inspiring your own employees. I have grown to understand that you have to show your family at least as much respect as your customers.
I went to college at the University of California, San Diego and majored in Economics and minored in Literature/Writing. I wish I had majored in Literature and only taken the one Economics class that taught me about Supply and Demand.
Larry Weintraub is the CEO at Digital Word of Mouth marketing agency Fanscape. All blogs posts are Larry’s personal opinion and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoints of Fanscape clients.
If there's one thing we know about Web authors it's that they are constantly seeking new sources of traffic for their content. It doesn't matter if you're a blogger, a marketing manager or a small business owner, there is simply no reason to invest time with content creation and Web design if no one is coming to read it. For this reason, it's important to figure out where to actually invest time for the greatest ROI.
I see much in life as a possible business. It is exciting, but also torturous. I just don’t have enough time. A new idea often sends me into hours of thought, research, and ultimately deviation from what I really need to do in a day. I believe that the Internet has made it easy for anyone to create a business. I believe that the Internet has made nearly everything in life easier. I believe that trying to impact the masses is a tough notion, but finding a group of people similar to you, is at your fingertips. I believe that music is free, and that is not a good thing. I believe that life is a collection of experiences and that every day I learn something new and forget something slightly new.
