Alexa Rank, by far, is one of the biggest vacuums of time for new bloggers. New bloggers will devote their first 3 months solely to increasing their Alexa Rank. But, not in a natural manner. After downloading the Alexa toolbar, (which some internet watchdogs regard as malware) they’ll obsess over this number – talking about it in forums, writing articles about it, and devising methods to improve manipulate it.
With only around 21 million users and a decreasing base of Alexa toolbar users in the United States, accuracy of pure, usage data for sites is skewed. Alexa data is based off downloads of their signature toolbar.
About 6 years ago, 40% of the U.S. internet population was actively engaged with using the Alexa toolbar. Now that percentage is closer to 12.5% or 1 in 8 users. The significance of this is that more and more site visitors do not have the toolbar installed, yet the pursuit of the remaining Alexa toolbar users is relentless!
Because participation with Alexa has shrunk over the past few years, many webmasters try to discredit its results. It is very possible to have less overall traffic than another site, but have a higher Alexa Rank. Alexa toolbar users tend to be webmasters, social media gurus, internet marketing titans, SEO aficionados, e-commerce operators, bloggers, and basically those that are more “techy” in nature. If you are blogging about food or celebrity news, good luck!
The Patience Of A Saint
Your blogging progress should be based on a 3-5 year plan, not 3-5 weeks. And while that may seem an eternity to the present pace of social media and technology, for a blog it is a common investment.
Now, many of you have seen blogs come out of the gate with a high following, this is true. But often, it is not the first blog for that blogger. He/she has had many blogs and knows the “formula” to duplicate that success with every new project. And over time, you will too!
Blogging is not based on statistics. Of course, you want a popular blog, but success and popularity are subjective in the blogosphere. Plus, if you are basing this on Alexa Rank, it is a poor barometer to measure blog achievement.
But, that’s not enough for new bloggers. They want instant overnight success in regards to traffic, back links/PageRank, subscribers, notoriety…and Alexa Rank.
The blogging process is a slow and systematic. It will take about 9-12 months for your content to saturate in to the search engines while you build your readership, your brand, your network of fellow bloggers, all while you execute a backlinking strategy.
The reality is that nowhere during this period does Alexa Rank come into play. It’s a very insignificant barometer of a site’s success.
PTC (Pay-to-Click) sites
PTC sites will consume many valuable hours of the new blogger’s day. Time will be spent navigating through hundreds of sites, like yours, that have registered within the network. Time is spent clicking, watching timers, all benefiting other sites that have joined the PTC network in hopes of receiving a reciprocated pageview from you — sort of a trade: “I’ll visit yours, if you visit mine.”
After you realize your bounce rate is 100%, you have no new subscribers, and no sales conversions, it will be too late. 3 months down the toilet, artificially inflating your traffic stats. At least, you can pocket the .90 you made from the .0000002 cents you made per clicking on other sites – looks like a good down payment for the McDonald’s $1 menu.
If you target one specific method of blog measurement, believe me, you can find a way to manipulate it online — with Alexa Rank being one of the easiest! A high Alexa Rank is one thing, but maintaining it is another.
In Closing
When Source Blogger reached a top 100K Alexa Rank, no one was there waiting with champagne and flowers. There were no checks in the mail nor did Alexa congratulate me. So, stop obsessing over it! You are on the road to “crash and burn” in a few short months!
There are far better things to do with your time than Alexa Rank. The pursuit of Alexa Rank is not blogging, it’s manipulation and will do nothing for you or your blog in the long run. Let Alexa Rank come to you naturally. Take the passive approach here.
As a blogger, it can be surprising how easily things will come to you…when you don’t ask for them.
22 Comments
agree with you. let it reached a top 100K Alexa Rank slowly. I’m so anxious with alexa rank before this. Good info.
Good info. I’ve blogged for many other people but have just recently started up my own. I guess it’s like Anything else in life- good things come to those who wait. I think many new bloggers see it like a get rich quick scheme. But unfortunately those are probably the bloggers who won’t be around in a year or two- unless they adjust their strategy and expectations. Anyway, good read!
This post should be given to all newbie bloggers so they stop wasting their time and stop writing up stats of how they are progressing! I am grateful that when I started blogging a few months ago that is one of the things I didn’t embrace. Too busy writing articles, researching and interacting with my readers. And of course visiting other blogs and commenting. Probably helped that I didn’t understand what all the buzz was about when numbers were announced. Sometimes it helps to not know too much when you start out. Great post Jeffrey
Patricia Perth Australia
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I saw this tweeted and just had to read it. I am so pleased that I did as it’s another source I can quote to people who argue that the Alexa ranking is important. It would be interesting to know what percentage of people in places like India use the toolbar as it seems that many of the people that I have this discussion with are from the sub-continent (and are trying to sell me cheap SEO services).
I’ve bookmarked this article and no doubt will be pointing people to it in the future.
All the best,
John
Ah, the chase for the Alexa Rank. It is interesting how such an inaccurate number can cause people go crazy. This is a good article because it does point out the problems that many who are new to the online world will run into when starting out. I know because I have been there. I can’t count the number of hours I wasted when first starting out on fruitless pursuits.
I now spend most of my time writing content, which is where the true value of a blog lies.
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At first month i start my blog, i didn’t know about Alexa, then i was active in a forum, and community online.
Soon i realised that alexa ranking is not that accurate. However after my alexa rank went down below 50k i decided to check my stats in alexa site info.
It was surprising because the traffic stats is almost similar to Google Analytics. So i guess it is still showing how your traffic stat goes.
I just uninstalled alexa widget from my blog a few days ago, to speed up my site. Now my site loads faster.
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Fantastic Information! This was really valuable to know, and I’m glad I’ve not wasted any time in trying to inflate my ranking. My blog still has a google page rank of 0 which is frustrating as well, but I’m giving it time and just doing what I do… It’s only 5.5 months old, so that’s a baby in the 3-5 year scheme of things. Thanks Source Blogger!
Daniel Snyder recently posted..Twitter Guide- Do You Tweet More Than You Should
Haha no doubt, once you break that 100k mark there is no party or anything exciting and in most cases no one but yourself is going to even notice it. Maybe from time to time other bloggers will also, I remember when I reached an Alexa rank of 19,000 it felt cool but nothing changed.
Now I never pay attention to it.
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Definitely a starting blogger should have a 3-5 year plan for their blog. I think so many blogs come and go so quickly that if you’re still around in 3 years, you’ll really be an elder statesman in your niche. With that kind of authority your Alexa ranking will take care of itself.
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It’s encouraging to hear people talking in terms of these 3-5 year plans. As a 6 month old blogger I feel pressure to succeed early from the blogging community, since everyone’s focus is money (well, not everyone…) in any case I’m also married with two kids and work a regular full time job, blogging sits lower on my priority list in life and there’s not much I can do to adjust that right now… If I plug away with this 3-5 year focus I think there’s a lot of potential. Thanks everyone.
Daniel Snyder recently posted..How I am monetizing Info Carnivore
Alexa ranking is an inaccurate measure of traffic as its data only pulls from users who have the Alexa toolbar installed on their browsers. Focusing your efforts on improving your Alexa ranking is a complete waste of time. Pumping out great content will improve the metric that matters most – traffic.
Problem is that people want high PR and a low alexa score. Here is the reason. When you sell your site people will pay more. Sites with a low alexa mean money. Also you can get money for your lynx – meow.
@Eugene … I just have to reply to your comment, just for fun because obviously you didn’t read the post since you just repeated what the post was about. Reading titles of posts and commenting is not cool!
Daniel Snyder recently posted..How I am monetizing Info Carnivore
@Daniel
What an excellent comment moderator!
You are hired! =)
I’m actually working on a new project that will require a short list of moderators.
NOTED! LOL
Source Blogger
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As a blogger, it can be surprising how easily things will come to you…when you don’t ask for them. Well said. That goes for all blogging metrics, Alexa rank, Google Page Rank, Quantcast rank, Compete rank, whatever rank…even AdSense earnings, for that matter. It is better to build momentum slowly, as you say, and make it a long-term plan stretching many years. A steady growth is a foundation you can rely on, everything else is just a house of cards. It has taken me many years to get my blog to where it is in terms of rankings and earnings, and although I once was in the 100k Alexa ranking, but I no longer pay attention to it. What does matter is a steady increase in number of daily/monthly visitors and interactions/pageviews per visitor and the time they stay on my site. I want readers, not rank.
The main reason bloggers worry about Alexa rank is because many advertisers use it to decide where to spend advertising dollars. It is not difficult to get an Alexa rank under 50,000 for any decent blog with quality content willing to learn just one skill and collaborate with others – and the same thing that lowers your Alexa rank increases your visiblity and traffic.
If anyone wants proof or to collaborate with established bloggers, your invitation is in the post I’ll put in CommentLuv in this comment.
Gail Gardner recently posted..Join Bloggers Supporting Bloggers NOW
I agree, keep it natural, with fresh content, and it will take care of itself.
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Hi Jeffrey,
Thank you for all the useful information for bloggers, I am sure I speak for many when I say it is appreciated! I use the Alexa toolbar but mainly just to track my progress. I don’t go crazy trying to lower it but I know new bloggers hear all about it! It really can be confusing out here online for the newbies, I remember being a newbie overloaded on info.
LOL on the “good down payment for the McDonald’s $1 menu”
Have a wonderful and successful day,
Dawn
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i agree with Gail. No doubt i feel that Alexa ranking is not accurate, it is still important because one of our main competitor actually quote this figure against us. Therefore, if you are having a site depending on advertisers, it is still important on top of having good content and traffic
Edwin recently posted..Jamu Massage At Little Footsteps
Very true! I’m also a true sincere newbie blogger! No wonder Alexa slashes your confidence?
Alexa rank does not reliably show the statistics, their statistics are based on the toolbars. When I had about 100 visits a day, Alexa Rank was 110K. When my website (www.unavitaverde.net) got to 900 visits per day and there was improved depth of page views, Alexa rating has deteriorated to 400K. It’s brad…
Great information. Your article about Alexa Ranking has been very helpful. Thank you.
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