SEO Tycoon

**sck4784** · 06-07-2007, 04:51 AM

Hi All, I want to just know your comments & suggestion on alexa ranking. My question is "How I can increase my alexa ranking" ?

Please describe all the factors which may be helpful to increasing my alexa ranks?

Waiting for your suggestions or views.

Thanks

**SeemsOk** · 06-07-2007, 05:00 AM

What do you want from Alexa traffic? I thi k that man nothing.

**gringo** · 06-07-2007, 06:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sck4784

Please describe all the factors which may be helpful to increasing my alexa ranks?

The fact that you can increase your alexa rank by visiting your own site might give an indication of this metric's usefulness.

**ozziedave** · 06-07-2007, 09:27 AM

Yeah I tend to think an Alexa Ranking is next to useless

**Learning Newbie** · 06-07-2007, 03:43 PM

A better question that how, why would you want to change your Alexa ranking? You're probably the only one who's looked at it.

**FindMyPages** · 06-07-2007, 06:58 PM

My understanding is that Alexa only track the page view if the viewer has Alexa toolbar installed. It doesn't track the page view from any other source without Alexa toolbar.

Is that correct?

If that is the case, I guess only less than 20% of internet user have Alexa toolbar installed. Then there is no meaningful of Alexa page ranking.

**Learning Newbie** · 06-07-2007, 07:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FindMyPages

If that is the case, I guess only less than 20% of internet user have Alexa toolbar installed. Then there is no meaningful of Alexa page ranking.

I have no idea what %, but my gut tells me 20 is too high. But let's pretend it's 20 % for the sake of discussion. That 1/5 of the internet using population. So they take the number of clicks you get, and multiply by five. Or if it's 10 % ie 1/10, they multiply by ten.

This is called statistical sampling. Only for this to give you any degree of accuracy, you either need a random sample, like Gallop attempts by dialing random phone numbers from a (bad) list, or you need a targeted, pre-selected pool, like a focus group.

**FindMyPages** · 06-07-2007, 07:38 PM

Thank you so much leaning newbie....

That explain very well. I was thinking to implement Alexa redirect to some of my sites, but now I find it not very useful.

I was wondering why so many sites are asking for hire to write blog based on their Alexa page ranking.

**ADAM Web Design** · 06-07-2007, 08:34 PM

Where are you seeing these sites that are hiring blog writers based on Alexa page ranking anyway? I'm just curious; this is news to me (although I wouldn't be surprised if it were true, since people still think the Alexa metric is useful.)

**FindMyPages** · 06-07-2007, 08:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ADAM Web Design

Where are you seeing these sites that are hiring blog writers based on Alexa page ranking anyway? I'm just curious; this is news to me (although I wouldn't be surprised if it were true, since people still think the Alexa metric is useful.)

I don't remember all of them. I tried to signed up some of them and got reject due to low Alexa page rank.

Here is one of the Blogger. See the giant icon saying "Hire me .. $130"?
http://andybeard.eu/

Here are the pay per post web site that you can earn $$ by writing articles.
https://payperpost.com/

I also tried to signed up some ad publisher site. I got reject as well, because my site has low traffic.

I am just not sure if they do make good $$ for living. How many words you have type a day to earn $130?

**ForrestCroce** · 06-11-2007, 02:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FindMyPages

I am just not sure if they do make good $$ for living. How many words you have type a day to earn $130?

One if you're a lawyer.

It depends on your market. Someone who's going to base purchasing decisions about the quality of writing on Alexa stats is probably going to be paying at the lower end of the spectrum. You need to find people who care about what's being said and your style of writing to shift the labor/payoff ratio in your direction.

**webintermix** · 06-11-2007, 01:57 PM

Alexa Ranking is just another tool you can use to measure your sites performance. I would not put a lot of weight on it, but its nice to have around.

**SeanB** · 06-11-2007, 04:10 PM

I think Alexa in interesting in terms of comparing your site to others, but don't find much value in it otherwise.

**BreaktheSilence** · 06-12-2007, 12:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FindMyPages

Then there is no meaningful of Alexa page ranking.

It's still cited as one of the primary measuring sticks when it comes to purchasing expired domains with traffic. If it truly had no value at all, then it seems unlikely that so many sites would continue to list it, (as a key stat), front and center.

**vangogh** · 06-12-2007, 02:07 AM

People list it because there are others who think it has value. That doesn't mean it actually does have value, but rather people mistakenly think it does. People do stupid things. Just because a lot of people do the same stupid thing it doesn't make that thing smart.

What Alexa dies is in a way similar to using a sample to predict what the greater population might do or say. The problem with Alexa is that their user base isn't random. In order for a sample to be representative it needs to be random.

Alexa is mainly used by webmasters and SEOs and other tech people. Because of that it skews in favor of tech related sites. Webmaster-Talk as I'm looking now has an Alexa rank of 5,100. No offense to Tim, but I can guarantee there are more than 5,100 sites drawing more traffic than WT. But WT naturally attracts the kind of people who are more likely to have the Alexa Toolbar installed. WT is popular and I'm sure it gets a lot of traffic, but I'm sure Tim would agree the traffic Alexa says the site gets doesn't compare with what the site actually gets.

The very, very top Alexa ranked sites probably are the top visited sites though because the more popular the site the less the skewing will affect it. I think the top 3 sites are Yahoo, MSN, and Google in that order. All 3 are certainly among the top visited sites. The further you get from #1 though the more innacurate the numbers become.

One reason people might look at Alexa is because there are so few metrics we can really use to measure the worth of a site. That doesn't make the metric good. It just makes it available.

One way you probably can use Alexa reasonably is to look at trends in a site. Chances are if Alexa is showing more traffic to a site over time then the traffic to the site is probably growing. Same thing if the traffic is decreasing. But even that's not an absolute and you really can't trust the absolute numbers.

Alexa ranking is also easy to manipulate further reducing the usefulness of the numbers.

**ForrestCroce** · 06-12-2007, 02:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vangogh

What Alexa dies [...]

Freudian slip?

**vangogh** · 06-12-2007, 07:37 PM

Could be, though 'i' and 'o' are right next to each other on the keyboard and I'm renowned for being a horrible typist. I like that Freudian slip angle.

I don't mind Alexa, but I do wish people would stop thinking it's an important measure of the value of a site.

**BreaktheSilence** · 06-13-2007, 01:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vangogh

People list it because there are others who think it has value.

Fair enough, but to a large extent perception is reality. As I touched on in my previous post, Alexa does in fact have a monetary value, (rightly or wrongly), in that it directly effects the demand for certain domains.

Quote:

What Alexa dies is in a way similar to using a sample to predict what the greater population might do or say. The problem with Alexa is that their user base isn't random. In order for a sample to be representative it needs to be random.

Sorry to say, I'm not following you here...

If we were to select a focus group at random and then expose them to a given sales pitch, on what basis can we claim their response as reflective of the general population as a whole? Demographics have to figure in the equation, otherwise, we'll almost certainly end up with a different result every time.

Quote:

One reason people might look at Alexa is because there are so few metrics we can really use to measure the worth of a site. That doesn't make the metric good. It just makes it available.

Good point...

I'll be the last one to suggest that Alexa is scientific, (or even statistically reliable), that being said, until something better comes along we have to work with the tools we have.

**vangogh** · 06-13-2007, 08:28 PM

I can understand the point about the perception of value. And if people perceive a value you can certainly sell to those people based on that perception. But I would rather create real value and base the perception on something tangible.

That perception can easily change and the current value isn't based on anything tangible.

The sales pitch and what Alexa is trying to measure are different. You bring demographics into the equation when you're trying to narrow down the population. For example you sell perfume so your target market is women. You use the demographics, because you've decided that men aren't going to use your product. But you couldn't use the sample group of women to say that X% of all people like this perfume. You'd have to say X% of all women.

Alexa isn't saying it shows traffic to the demographic that installs the toolbar. People look at the numbers and think they are for the whole population though when they are really only about a very specific demographic. That's why the numbers aren't a valid measure.

It's like saying since you interviewed a sample of toddlers that 95% of all people eat baby food.

**BreaktheSilence** · 06-13-2007, 10:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vangogh

I can understand the point about the perception of value. And if people perceive a value you can certainly sell to those people based on that perception. But I would rather create real value and base the perception on something tangible.

I agree that creating "real value" should be the basic goal. That being said, from a pure advertising/marketing point of view, the sizzle sells more than the steak. (i.e. it becomes a question of style over substance).

I raise this point primarily because I've read a number of posts, that emphatically claim that Alexa has no value. While I can understand why a technically minded webmaster would make such a statement, it does strike me as an oversimplification of a much broader issue.

The most important factor here is not what you or I might think, but rather what actually matters in the real world. If the ultimate goal is to attract the public, (and part of that formula is projecting the image of a popular site), then it really doesn't matter if Alexa is a non-scientific indicator.

In much the same way, it really doesn't matter if a garage mechanic considers a pair of fuzzy dice to add zero value to a car. If a guy walks in and his girlfriend loves the dice, your chances of conversion, (hence value), just went up exponentially.

From my point of view, the marketplace is a reality until itself. It ebbs and flows replete with perceptions, misconceptions and downright false assumptions. In other words, notwithstanding whatever we may think of it, it is what it is.

My approach is to try to take a look at the broader picture. Sure it would be easier just to say that Alexa has no value and be done with it. But then where would that leave me in terms of understanding the market?