Last week I got an article on Pagerank, backlinks, indexed pages and Alexa ranking, published on Famousbloggers.net.(Great site btw, it has a lot of good writers so go check it out.) ;)
I wrote it for the obvious reasons to help other webmasters, to understand the meaning and value of the different things.
But the part about Alexa ranking, was also to try to find out the common believe about what Alexa is and isn’t. And I have to say that I would have said you where nut I you told me last week that there are so many webmasters and advertisers, that don’t even know what their stats on Alexa is based on.
So let us for ones set the record straight about what Alexa ranking is and isn’t, so you as webmaster and/or advertiser knows what it’s all about. I have read on several blogs, forums, websites and of course comments made on my post, that Alexa ranking is accurate and it’s the most important thing when talking about traffic stats and ads.
This really blows my mind, because it can’t be farther from the truth.!
But where is this coming from, it’s not from Alexa themselves.?
So let’s take a look on the facts.
1) Alexa’s data is provided by their users
2) The stats and ranking is thereby based on these data
In other words it can’t be accurate.!
According to Alexa they have about 10 million downloads but let’s call them users, and it’s a lot of users I’ll grant you that.
But is 10 million users enough to tell how many hits a given website has, not in my book and here’s why.
There is about 6,930,055,154 billion Internet users worldwide(est. stats), this means that your Alexa ranking is based on only 0,14% of the Internet users worldwide.
This means that 1,4 user out of every 100 hits you getting is using the Alexa Toolbar, and this is the base for your ranking.
Do you still think it’s accurate.?
Here is another example.
I have several website with different number of hits every day, what if I told you that one of my websites had 67,497 hits in the last 30 days. And it has a lower ranking than w3blog, that only had 859 hits in the last 30 days.
The site I’m talking about is http://www.valutakurserne.dk it has a ranking of 769,259 on Alexa, and W3blog has a ranking of 409,935.
Would you believe that.?
But even though this i a fact, sites like Buysellads and other ad networks like this are still using it when they set a price on ads.! This also means that you as a website owner maybe are not getting the right price for your ad space, or you as an advertiser are paying to much for one of your ads.
How do you stand on the hole question about Alexa ranking.??
About Jimmy Sigenstrøm
Twitter: TechSpacia
says:
I agree about this analysis of yours about Alexa. But one this is very true. Alexa maintains an authority when it comes to ranking the website. And when almost everyone is having faith in its ranking, I can’t be 100% wrong.
What I want to say that it may contain some error in the rank, but it cannot be 100% wrong.
Ritesh recently posted..Secret of Shout Me Loud–A Case Study
Twitter: w3blogdk
says:
Absolutely they have some authority when it comes to ranking websites, the problem is that they shouldn’t have it because they have it on wrong pretense.
If you are using the stats to see you ranking among Alexa users, then it’s correct and accurate.
If you as an advertiser are targeting Alexa users, then again it’s correct and you can use it.
But if you are using it to see you ranking among all websites on the web, then it’s worthless because of the “low” user number.
If you as advertiser are targeting the whole web, and you are looking for at website with a large number of users / hits, again then it’s worthless because of the “low” user number.
And even Alexa is writing it on their website.!
Another thing that proves that the stats are useless is the fact that there were in December 2010 around 266,848,493 live websites on the web, Alexa crawls between 16 og 17 million websites.
This means that they don’t take it into account the 250 million other websites on the World Wide Web.
And again
You have to remember that most of their users are webmasters, nobody else has any interest in those stats.!
Twitter: Didiverse
says:
Want to pull down my alexa ranking. It seems advertisers really value it.
Didi recently posted..Tan’s Guesthouse Boracay
Twitter: w3blogdk
says:
You could install their toolbar in all your browsers, and then visit your own sites several times a day.
Write about Alexa rankings on your blog, this will increase your traffic from webmasters that also writes about Alexa rankings and of course Alexa users. ;)
Install their widget on your site.
Other than that there are some really good guides to how to increase your ranking like this site http://www.infogenra.com/top-10-tips-to-increase-alexa-rank.html
Twitter: AnaTrafficCafe
says:
I am surprised to hear that anyone thinks Alexa rankings are accurate, Jimmy.
Another consideration is visits from spambots. The more such traffic a website gets, the more it appears that it has a lot of unigues, when in reality they don’t, thus their Alexa ranking remains high.
Ana recently posted..CommentLuv Premium
Twitter: w3blogdk
says:
I was as surprised as you, that’s also why I wrote this post in hope that it could get spread around so that advertisers and webmasters can get the right info on Alexa
Twitter: eukhostltd
says:
Well, I completely agree with Ana. I believe that the info Alexa provides is not all correct. According to the analysis seen on some websites about alexa, Alexa determine rankings based on the visits to a website using the Alexa toolbar. And personally I think that there are very least people who make use of Alexa toolbar. However, people use Alexa info to sell and buy advertisements on websites.
Twitter: ascamorlegit
says:
I think the biggest thing that misleads results is the fact that only certain types of people will install the toolbar e.g. techys. That biases the results and doesn’t make it a good indicator for all types of sites. Never really monitored this anyway
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Twitter: w3blogdk
says:
Besides the fact that it’s misleading, it’s also fairly easy to manipulate with the ranking.
I’ve started a test to see how easy it is to manipulate with this sites Alexa ranking, just by following their own rules and guidelines.
So about this time next month I’ll write a new post on what I did, and how it has effected my ranking.
Jimmy Sigenstrøm recently posted..http://www.movie-mash.com/ – PR.0
Nobody would make the point that Alexa is 100% accurate or even 50% accurate. What it does is rank websites based on the amount of visitor data it can pull.
Ranking cam give bloggers a challenge to better.. Thanks for this great blog! Keep posting some more blog like this..
Twitter: rageki777
says:
Alexa ranking is accurate, but I don’t believe it can be 100% accurate.
Richard recently posted..Great “how to” article marketing Tip: Learn to Get Content for Website
Twitter: w3blogdk
says:
I agree but only if it’s used in the right way, the problem is that most ppl don’t.
Like I wrote in my comment to Ritesh
I was working with an astrology website which always used to be on toes to get a high Alexa ranking. Your article reveals a lot about Alexa’s credibility and urges every Alexa seeker to review their stand on Alexa ranking. Thanks for sharing this important information!
Twitter: Tradesman4u
says:
That is a really interesting blog, as a new webmaster I was actually giving a lot more credence to Alexa than perhaps it is actually worth now. If its only based on 0.14% of users how can that possibly be an accurate relection of the whole. Its simply not a big enough sample and if anything could lead to really reslly inaccurate data. Think I’ll still check my stats but perhaps now with a more educated approach to what they actually reflect. Thanks
David bailey recently posted..customer login
Twitter: solar_ontario
says:
Alexa rankings are a very useful metric, as long as you understand where the data comes from. As you point out, the users provide the data. And who are the users? They tend to be people who run websites. This massively skews the data. This blog, whose prime audience is webmasters, should way outperform on Alexa another blog with equal traffic about solar power (Yes, I hope at some point my blog will be that successful).
The key to using Alexa data is not to make cross niche comparisons. As long as you are comparing ten blogs on the same topic, Alexa should provide a relatively accurate picture of which one is the most-read and which one is the least.
Solar David recently posted..Solar Panel Installation [with photos]
Twitter: pinkdrumset
says:
Alexa has always been confusing to me…this really helps! Thanks! Scott
Scott recently posted..Paco 5-piece Pink Drum Set
Twitter: RealWaystoEarn
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I have my doubts on how accurate it is in terms of traffic rating. But I have read that some advertisers won’t consider you at all unless your Alexa is below 100,000. Also not sure how true that is.
I think it’s a handy tool to use to maybe get a general idea of where you’re at, but certainly nothing to obsess over.
Anna recently posted..LifeBushido Work at Home Opportunity
Twitter: w3blogdk
says:
It’s correct that some advertisers has that rule, it’s a stupid rule imo. Because it can come back and bite them in the end, due to others will read the posts about their rule. And because of that. they might turn down the advertisers.
I have done that myself with my danish currency rates site. ;)
I agree that most people have no idea what Alexa really does or how it works. Because of this, people place much more importance on it that it truly deserves.
Emily S. recently posted..Dress in Designer-Inspired Fashion for Cheap
Twitter: BrianHumek
says:
I’ve not seen a lot of accuracy in Alexa rankings either. I would hate for ads not to get the right price just because of a faulty Alexa ranking. That wouldn’t be cool.
Brian H. recently posted..Twitter in the House of Commons
Alexa may not be the best but it does help. It give an idea what urls people visit and the percentage. I use it to spy on competitors.
David recently posted..Republic Act No. 8756
Twitter: TheAvgGenius
says:
The truth is that though the number isn’t statistically accurate, it still pays off to have a low Alexa Ranking. The way I got up to around 30k (I’m around 45k now) is through (get this) CommentLuv comments on websites that were related to mine…and it turns out that my audience is more likely to have the Alexa bar installed – so it worked out just fine.
Since you know how the game’s played, it’s just a matter of attracting the “right” visitors if Alexa is a big deal to your business.
James Hussey recently posted..CommentLuv Premium Giveaway
Twitter: w3blogdk
says:
If you want to make money on advertisers, then it absolutely pays off to have a low ranking.
Without a low ranking there is no way in he.. that you will make money this way, then adsense is the right imo.
But let’s see what time will bring, about Alexa ranking. ;)
Twitter: brpraveen
says:
Jimmy – This an interesting analysis of the alexa ranking system, the scenarios given by you makes one wonder if it really is any relevant at all.
Praveen Rajarao recently posted..Top 10 Blog Posts – A Roundup
Twitter: w3blogdk
says:
Unfortunately it has a high relevance if you what to make money on selling ads on your blog, just like James wrote.
But if you don’t have a blog or site that targets webmasters or don’t what to sell ads, then no it’s not relevant at all. Although I started this post and debate with the hope that the common opinion about Alexa, so that ppl whit blogs about everything else in time also could get the chance to sell ads if that’s what they want.
For my part, I think that Alexa is very usefull to know if the website is still topical. If we have an high value, the website is not updated, so the information is not accurate.
Twitter: randyatessites
says:
I have not spent much time on Alexa recently, so I cannot speak to current data quality. Further, back when Alexa carried more weight, I manipulated my site’s rankings. However, I always found it challenging to manipulate the trend lines. Thus, at least in the past, Alexa as a tool to monitor trends was a pretty good data source.
Randy Pickard recently posted..Has Google Adwords Cost Per Click Finally Peaked?
I have trusted Alexa with the rankings for a long time. I am happy that its data has contributed a lot in what actions I should take in improving my site. Yet, I am glad to be aware of the inaccuracy.
Karen recently posted..how to flirt with a girl
You bring up some interesting questions about Alexa rankings, Jimmy. I’ve noticed with some of my websites that the rankings certainly have little correlation with either their Google page rank or the amount of users who actually visit the respective sites. I’m looking forward to the results of your study to see if/how the rankings are manipulated on this site after a month.
Twitter: hamzahqutub89
says:
Somewhere I’ve read that humans in a group behave in a similar way as sheep in herds.You believe in a thing if every one else you know believes it.So the same thing applies to Alexa ranking also people trust it just because others trust it.I’ve some serious doubts in the past about Alexa but now your study has confirmed my doubts.Thanks for sharing your experience
Hamza recently posted..10 Qualities of an Entrepreneur
Twitter: LTGMonkey
says:
Hi Jimmy.
Thanks for posting this – it’s actually re-assured me a little. I’d been told that Alexa was pretty important but was getting worried that it wasn’t telling me the same information as some other anaylsis. This explains it a little – plus the fact I recently found out that Alexa sems to update its stats very slowly (once per month?).
I’m pretty new to the internet world (at least in terms of having your own site, optimising it and all that goes with that) and have been quite daunted by the whole area to be honest – posts like this really help me, thanks!
take care & best wishes,
Alan
alan recently posted..The Healing Power of Nettles (who knew?)
Twitter: terencecoza
says:
Alexa can not be 100 percent accurate, but still it is the most trusted site.
Thanks, I know more about Alexa.
I agree! The Alexa ranking system is highly inaccurate! For example within one week my Alexa ranking improved by over 12 million – yep – 12 million. That’s not possible so the system has to be wrong.
Twitter: w3blogdk
says:
Damn that was a big jump in ranking, what did you change in order to get that change.?
Twitter: nojob_noproblem
says:
Great insight!
If not for any other reason, when my Alexa Rank improves it make me feel good :o)
Best To All,
Jeff
Jeff Sneeringer recently posted..Work From Home Analysis
You’d be surprised just how much weight the uninformed media buyers actually give to Alexa data. So many of them use Alex rankings to determine the authority of a site causing an inflated CPM rate on sites who’s traffic stats are grossly exaggerated.
Henry G. recently posted..WARNING: Glasses Could Be Actually Hurting Your Eyes…
Twitter: technicallyeasy
says:
I have seen web sites and blogs that generate half the traffic of my blog, but have a better Alexa rank than mine. Advertising on the Internet seems to be connected with many numbers that are meaningless and inaccurate. The most popular number to attract advertisers is PageRank – which also doesn’t give an indication on the level of traffic to a site.
There needs to be another alternative to Alexa to determine the value of a website for advertisers, at least something that is more concrete.
Paul Salmon recently posted..The Storage Server – Not Just For Large Businesses Anymore
I agree with Ritesh..although Alexa ranking has some loophokes and accuracies..it is not always true that it will always be inaccurate..there are some instances that it was also correct when it comes to ranking sites.
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Twitter: TechieSaves
says:
Alexa is definitely a factor, accurate or not. Many will check out your Alexa rank and your Page Rank when analyzing your website
Marty recently posted..How to Fix Android Forced Reboot Issue
I love the points you stressed here. Accurate or not Alexa is here show us that there is improvement in our business. And we need to work hard to make our business better and good for search engine.
what is fragmentation
Twitter: adrhomes
says:
I am new to SEO and I have to say one of the most confusing thing to understand is the rating systems used. I really appreciated your post because it actully went into great detail. So do you suggest I should pay attention to pagerank and forget about Alexa? Is there any other rating systems out there?
Twitter: w3blogdk
says:
You shouldn’t start with using to mush time on either of them, concentrate on your content first.
Then you start link building to your website, and in time both Pagerank and Alexa Ranking will follow. You might wanna read this post on pagerank http://w3blog.dk/seo/there-are-many-myths-about-google-page-rank-and-it%c2%b4s-significance.html
By the way I also made guest blog posts at Famousbloggers website and would like to say that this popular online resource unites a lot of webmasters. As to Alexa ranking I wrote about it a year ago to let readers of my blog and online entrepreneurs understand the importance of Alexa ranking. Many people still don’t know about it, but it is very accurate and important factor.
Terje Sannarnes recently posted..Effective Ways of Internal Linking for Website of an Entrepreneur
Alexa ranking is very important regarding on rating your website. This shows how your website had increase or decrease.
Diana Lei recently posted..Offline SEO Tips for Your Local Business
Twitter: w3blogdk
says:
Well I disagree with you on that one, the increase or decrease is only among Alexa’s users and not the real image of the website.
If you check out this post, you can see how easy it is to change ones rating on Alexa http://w3blog.dk/seo/how-did-i-change-my-alexa-ranking.html.
And I have done this with several sites now, and it works every time.
You are right. alexa ranking is based on all users who have been installed alexa toolbar at their computers. so if a person has not been installed it yet, he does not affect your page rank, if he visits your site.
Hello Jimmy, I think your example speak for itself. I never took into account the Alexa Rank, I prefer to trust the statistics Google Analytics
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Twitter: khajamoin1
says:
Good analysis,
Intially I too worried about Alexa rank but when I read how it is made then I thought it is accurate.
khaja moin recently posted..6 Simple Tips to Increase Your Blog Traffic On Tumblr
Twitter: bolyhne
says:
Thanks for this article on Alexa. I have always been in two minds regarding Alexa – on one hand it seems very usefull and on the other hand it lives its own life not being very accurate. But it’s okay as a guideline.
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