Web Traffic Super Spikes



Hypothetical In Person Questionnaire
How many of us want to increase traffic to our websites?
>> Everyone raises their hand!

How many use one of the following: social bookmarking, blogging, search engine optimization, article marketing?
>> Again, everyone raises their hand and nods their head to affirm

How many really understand the true nature of web-based traffic?
>> Some hands raised, some people look to the ceiling as their mind dissects the question, and some people just have no clue.

Understanding the web’s inherent nature
Physorg published an article today suggesting that two electrical engineers have found the answer.

Most of the time, traffic to any single Web page is relatively low and steady, where visitors come from search engines, Web directories, online encyclopedias, and other constant sources. But these long periods of low traffic are interrupted by bursts of heavy traffic that follow a power law, usually the effect of numerous blog entries linking to those pages.

Interestingly enough, these findings bare a striking similarity to Karim Jawed’s explanation of YouTube’s phenomenal success. Activity on the site was initially a function of the frequency between viral video uploads. Each viral video brought in thousands of new users, who in turn, uploaded viral videos themselves. The net result was an unstoppable positive feedback loop.

What this means for your online marketing efforts
Creating viral content, even if it is only tangential to your product or service, will, as a result of the power laws mentioned in the Physorg article, generate exposure orders of magnitude beyond what search engine optimization can do alone. And in fact, the back links generated from viral content will only bolster your SEO efforts. Iterate on this process (seeding the web with viral content that feeds into a finely tuned SEO program), and you could be well on your way to exceeding your organizations traffic goals.

April 8, 2008 | Filed Under Small Business, Marketing, etc 

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