CATEGORIES
- WEB STARTUPS
- WEB NEWS
- CONFERENCES
- VENTURE CAPITAL
- MICROSOFT
- WEB TECH JOBS
- YAHOO
- ADVERTISING
- VIDEO
- ALL TOPICS
- ALL COMPANIES
CONTRIBUTORS
- ADRIAN CHAN
- ALICIA NAVARRO
- ALLEN STERN-EDITOR
- CORSIN CAMICHEL
- DARREN HERMAN
- HANK WILLIAMS
- MARK DAVIS
- RICK TUROCZY
- SANFORD DICKERT
- SHANNON CLARK
What it Means to "get dugg" from a Business Standpoint
We got dugg this week for our article, "Top 3 reasons to use clean URLs". It was certainly an exciting time and I hope it happens again soon (wink wink). And many have reported on the technical side of what happens when you get dugg. Stats showing that most people are using Windows, large resolutions (of course this never means they are browsing full screen) and that they are mostly using Firefox. All of that is great but I thought I would focus on what getting dugg means from a business standpoint.
Don't expect ad clicks
In 24 hours, we had over 20,000 pageviews to the dugg article. We didn't make enough in clicks from all of our ad sources to buy a happy meal. No, I am not talking about a big mac meal super sized, I am talking about a kids happy meal. Maybe if they leave the toy out we can afford it.
And in simple terms, people who come from Digg don't click ads. I think it is because Digg'ers are smarter than that and are really coming to read the content. The casual surfer may read your content, see an ad for x item and go to it. A Digg'er is on a mission: Read the content and get back to Digg to the next hot article.
Expect traffic even after the first 24 hours
In the first 24 hours after the Dugg, we received about 20,000 page views. Pretty exciting for a site that started three weeks ago. What is even more interesting is that even three days later, we are still receiving some traffic albeit lower. People seem to review Digg all the way to page 40! That is some excellent loyalty to Digg to go through pages and pages of Diggs.
Digg'ers don't browse
When I learned that our article was Dugg, I was very excited. I said to myself (I do that a lot) that we have a huge number of great articles, interviews and that these new visitors will see everything we have! Boy was I wrong! We were at about 6 pv/v which I think is excellent. Digg provided us with 1pv/v which sucks.
Digg will get you some links
It seems we have received about 10-14 new blogs linking to CenterNetworks. This is excellent. Getting inbound links is critical for SEO and 10-14 new links is like having a birthday party for yourself everyday! Keep 'em coming!
Short-term Alexa bump
We saw a huge increase in our Alexa rankings for the day we were dugg. So I guess I disagree with previous posters who say that Digg'ers do not use Alexa. While the majority probably does not, some percentage does and I will take the bump. While Alexa is a crappy tool overall, so many still rely on it for ad sales. And so, having a good Alexa is important. And I thank those of you who use it!
Net Result
The net result is that getting dugg is a good thing, a really good thing. If nothing else, digg gets you more traffic, more links, more eyes. And if you get one click, one incremental view or one more inbound link, then it is worth it. It won't make you rich on ad clicks, but over time, it can certainly help you financial status.
Many authors have previously reported what you are saying. I believe the first was here: Digg Effect
Thanks for sharing - great link. I have never seen this site before but that post is excellent and it is interesting that a year later I say basically the same thing. I have bookmarked that site to check back later.
I also disagree with that article about Alexa bumps. For us, we saw a dramatic bump in Alexa ranking and it could be because we are a year later and more Digg'ers are using it but whatever the reason, we got a bump.
I have yet to see the real value of Alexa. I mean, a bunch of people using a toolbar and that shows popularity for a website?
Where is the Yahoo!-Toolbar ranker or the Google Toolbar ranker? Wait, there is, isn't it used along with the PageRank?
Anyway - I'd just like to know what Alexa really means for a website in terms of popularity and revenue. Can you argue higher advertisement rates with a higher ranking on Alexa?
... when's the last time your marketing department understood something technical?
It's a third party, it's a graph, ergo your marketing department believes it.
Me? I just like comparing my site to my competitors. It gives me something to aim for.
I've found the times I've been dugg have been rather unrewarding. Neither time did was I the one to post it to digg, so it's not like I created my own monster.
It's like a flood of highly judgemental people come pouring into your living room, spray paint a bunch of rashly worded graffiti spray paint on your walls and then leave without a word of thanks.
There are long-term benefits which are that the people that did find something of value will perhaps recall your site the next time they return and realize it's one to remeber.
Speaking of, did you see an increase in feed subscriptions?
Ted - we were dugg 2x after the first one. The 2nd and 3rd were not even close to the first in terms of traffic. First brought in about 20,000 unique visitors in 24 hours. Second/Third brought in maybe 2,000.
I think your short-term comments are right on. I would say that I got about 20 blog links from the first digg and about 20 rss subs so from that perspective it was a good thing. I am not sure if my placement for the RSS up there in the header is good or bad.