ConnectFive/////

I’ve always been suspect of third party “Click-Stream Panels” like Alexa, hitwise, etc. but I’m building confidence in Compete.com Basically, they have the largest pool of participants (2,000,000+) and they also pull data from major ISPs/ASPs, opt-in panels and people using their Compete Toolbar (see their comparison). This service is free and it gives you a unique ability to learn about traffic to other sites (like your competitors that you compete with, thus the witty name). It serves as a “public record” of sorts that people can view contrast and compare. Here’s a snapshot chart I created to compare some major online shopping sites. Notice the holiday surge and how Amazon’s pattern is different:

What you can learn and not…
You can see user traffic volume and patterns over time but like most metrics you should not get hung up on exact numbers. You should focus on relationships and percentages. All the numbers are coming from the same large pool, so even if they the exact numbers are not quite accurate they will still be proportionally accurate. You can easily compare and contrast sites like the chart above to see who has the most traffic, who is showing a trend of growth, what seasonal patterns exist or what spikes maybe occurring due to ad campaigns, product launches, bad pr, etc. Bottom line, you can see who is using their sites effectively and who is not.

They also have a nice blog that offers some insights and observations around trends and topics. Here are a few interesting ones:
Google and the rest of the usual suspects continue to dominate video
UFC: 6th Most Popular Sport in U.S.?
And with the first Pick in the NFL Draft…

So give it a try! If you install their Compete Toolbar you get some added value about the “trust” of sites you search and visit as well as their popularity ranking and deals that are offered. And the more of us that use it, the more accurate it will become.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 2nd, 2007 at 2:01 pm and is filed under Measures, Technology, Tools. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.