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Traffic Statistics Online and the Importance of Triangulating

Posted by: Heather Green on August 11

There’s a great discussion going on right now about traffic stats from Alexa, Comscore, and Hitwise and why it’s definitely a buyer beware scenario out there. (This builds on the skepticism I’ve blogged about repeatedly about using Alexa data for absolute numbers.)

I particularly like this rundown from Webanalyticsbook.com (via Siliconbeat) on the different approaches and the issues with them.

To synthesize, since Alexa is a toolbar primarily installed by techies, it tends to overweight the rankings of tech sites. “Alexa only gives you an idea or a trend, but will never be accurate,” writes Webanalyticsbook.

Comscore is more mainstream, but the consensus I have been seeing among commenters is that it tends to underrate the new tech services, such as del.icio.us, that don’t operate in the same way as traditional Web sites. Fred Wilson also discusses how Comscore has a more properly weighted panel but says its data can jump around for services with small user bases.

Hitwise: “Hitwise collects logfile data directly from the ISP networks (network-centric) and does not have a user-centric or site centric approach,” says Webanalyticsbook.

This seems right to me. Is this what you find?

Also the upshot is, as Mike Arrington showed recently in his posts on del.icio.us, that it all comes down to triangulating different stats and talking to companies.

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Reader Comments

Max Kalehoff

August 13, 2006 10:45 PM

Heather,

The best online usage stats are those that come from a company's own servers, which a company can then benchmark with third-party services, to get an idea of its competition. But for the real "paying" clients of Hitwise, comScore and Alexa, there's very little overlap.

First, Alexa numbers are near worthless if your goal is broad population projection -- anyone who uses them for anything but entertainment or highly questionable directional insight just doesn't have a clue. If Alexa could qualify the users in its sample, then it could be worth something -- especially if they backed up the fact that the sample represents techy, early-adopter types. Alexa tends to muddy the waters of this discussion because it is free and tends to frequently enter discussions, especially by pseudo analysts.

As for comScore, it is comprised of two major businesses (and expanding): media-planning (the Media Metrix ratings) and the e-commerce custom analytics and consulting. (Disclosure: I was an early employee at Media Metrix, and joined comScore when it acquired Media Metrix.)

As for Hitwise, it simply has the best methodology for attaining directional, pretty-accurate competitive stats about market share of visits, as well as search-query behavior. The three services have little overlap in practical use, but often compete for the same PR mindshare -- for superficial size-of-market stats. (Disclosure: I've consulted for Hitwise.)

There is often a desire for an "authoritative," audited size-of-market stat, or a currency. This is especially true among the media-buying community.

But the reality is that the online media industry just doesn't have a currency measurement (such as in television). In the paid-media world, business is done by purchasing impressions.

I think the ambiguity and need for so-called triangulation is good, because any reliance on a standard currency is probably bound to create an artificial representation of reality. This is especially true in online media, and even moreso for the burgeoning/emerging "Web 2.0" space...gosh, that word has become such a cliche!

Regards,
Max

Paul Salber

August 15, 2006 04:22 AM

If only Google provided public access of the clickstream data from their Google toolbar. Probably the best sample set on the web.

Geek9

August 25, 2006 11:21 AM

I agree with the importance of blog´s pressure. Bloggers coulb be so dangerous for some companies

Bye

John Christopher Silvosa

June 11, 2008 11:22 PM

that right, others could be detrimental to other business entities..

http://online-marketing-exposed.blogspot.com/

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In Blogspotting Senior Writer Stephen Baker and Associate Editor Heather Green take a look at how cutting-edge technologies are changing business and society. Whether its blogs or wikis, data crunching or data targeting, technology’s advances are reshaping the world that we live in.

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