Getting a grasp on all the inside language involved in web publishing can be a challenge. Figuring out what numbers count and what don't for tracking a website's success can seem like an impossibility. Many publishers find it difficult enough to keep up with Google ranking. The sad reality is that this number isn't the only important one. Alexa ranking is also a valuable number to keep up with, especially if earning potential is important.
Alexa is a creation of Amazon.com. The site offers a ranking system that tracks the traffic sites obtain. This measurement system, however, does have its share of problems. Ranking is based on the number of visitors who use a special Alexa toolbar on their browsers when they visit sites. Despite this issue though, many advertisers pay attention to Alexa ranking to determine value and rates. This makes it important for publishers to pay heed to this ranking number.
Alexa rank is derived from the number of visits that come from those with the toolbar installed. The actual number is created using historical data that's accumulated over the course of several months. The rank is a measurement of visits and page views combined together. Daily computations of reach and visits are taken and averaged out to produce the rank.
Alexa ranking can be important financially. The rank is used by many advertisers to decide how much a blog or website might be worth in regard to links. If your site sells links or ad space, Alexa ranking can be a valuable tool in determining pricing. Organized sales programs like Sponsored Reviews and Text Link Ads both base ad selling strength on the kind of ranking a site has on Alexa.
Getting started with Alexa is fairly simple. To help others along, yourself included, just download the Alexa Toolbar. Firefox users can download the SearchStatus extension. This displays Google PageRank and Alexa Rank both.
Although Alexa ranking can be important, the system does have some big flaws. The biggest is the fact that ranking tends to go in favor of sites that happen to have a technical audience. This is because sites with a technical audience tend to have viewers who use the Alexa toolbar. This makes the overall ranking Alexa offers a bit unfair in the minds of many. Despite this, Alexa is still widely used by advertisers. This makes paying attention to this ranking important for those who want to increase revenue. There are ways to boost ranking.
Although it is incredibly difficult to break into the top 10,000 on the Alexa charts, there are things that can be done to improve overall ranking. Some ideas take a little more work than others. The best, however, involves nothing more than developing content that is appealing and consistently draws in traffic. Adding content that generates links from other sites is a fantastic way to naturally increase traffic. An improved Alexa rank is an offshoot.
Some other pretty easy rank-boosting methods exist. These include adding Alexa widgets to one's own site, encouraging visitors to download the ranking toolbar, installing the toolbar on your own computers and getting others to rank your site's Alexa profile. Promoting your URL in webmaster forums, writing articles targeted to the webmaster or tech crowd and even using Alexa redirects can help a lot, too.
Other more time-intensive methods for boosting rankings are out there. They include setting up a webmaster tool section on your own site, having your site's articles Dugg or Stumbled on, buying ads and so on. Some webmasters create their own "Alexa" sections, too.
A few other ideas are out there. These are considered by many to be a bit "shady" though. They include using Alexa redirects on MySpace pages, using auto-surf programs and even buying the "homepage" settings at local Cybercafes.
Alexa is not necessarily the most accurate ranking system going, but it's an important one. Maximizing ranking can improve ad rate potential and increase overall traffic to your site, however. It's not a bad idea to include this ranking number as a consideration in an overall marketing strategy.
About the author: Jeff Alderson develops webmaster SEO software. He is an expert on maximizing traffic and sales. Jeff recommends using Ad Word Analyzer to uncover popular keywords for your website.
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