ALEXA and the Numbers: How Does Your TGP Compare? - Part 2
PART TWO: Reach and Page Views
These key traffic measures are defined by Alexa as follows:
Reach measures the number of users. Reach is typically expressed as the percentage of all Internet users who visit a given site. So, for example, if a site has a reach of 28%, this means that if you took random samples of one million Internet users, you would on average find that 280,000 of them visit the site. Alexa expresses reach as number of users per million. The reach rank is a ranking of all sites based solely on their reach.
Page views measure the number of pages viewed by Alexa Toolbar users. Multiple page views of the same page made by the same user on the same day are counted only once. The page views per user numbers are the average numbers of unique pages viewed per user per day by the users visiting the site. The page view rank is a ranking of all sites based solely on the total number of page views (not page views per user).
Page views are significantly affected by the nature of the site and the way it's designed for use. Most TGPs may keep a surfer onsite for some time, but keep sending him or her elsewhere to the galleries, resulting in only a couple page views on the record. An exception here is Sexzool, which has a relatively small daily list but a large categorized current archive that keeps users on the site as they go through it.
Reach, on the other hand, is an extremely important stat for the online marketing and advertising experts. The numbers you see in the table below would impress the hell out of any one of them:
High Traffic Sites Reach and Page Views
| Site |
Reach |
Reach Rank |
Page Views |
PageView Rank |
| Sleazy Dream |
2535.00 |
303 |
3.4 |
505 |
| 89.com |
1965.00 |
395 |
4.8 |
453 |
| XNXX.com |
1565.00 |
532 |
3.9 |
755 |
| Hun's Yellow Pages |
2575.00 |
297 |
1.3 |
1557 |
| World Sex |
2210.00 |
349 |
1.1 |
2029 |
| Pichunter |
1400.00 |
605 |
2.0 |
1790 |
| EasyGals |
1240.00 |
699 |
2.6 |
1578 |
| AL-4A |
1355.00 |
622 |
1.3 |
2958 |
| MMM100 |
979.50 |
953 |
2.4 |
2160 |
| Thumbzilla |
1015.00 |
906 |
1.7 |
3090 |
| Call Kelly's |
697.50 |
1434 |
2.3 |
3291 |
| Elephant List |
912.00 |
1036 |
1.2 |
4807 |
| SearchGals |
621.50 |
1625 |
2.2 |
4000 |
| Pervert Pictures |
495.00 |
2073 |
2.6 |
4253 |
| Absolute Series |
718.50 |
1384 |
1.2 |
6463 |
| Global Freepics |
439.50 |
2361 |
2.9 |
4132 |
| JJJ's TGP |
628.50 |
1600 |
1.4 |
6230 |
| Raw Pussy |
534.00 |
1917 |
1.9 |
5524 |
| Sexzool |
121.00 |
9773 |
16.0 |
2733 |
| Gallery View Center |
341.50 |
3131 |
1.6 |
9889 |
| Zadina's Sex Palace |
389.00 |
2704 |
1.3 |
10826 |
| PinkWorld |
415.50 |
2499 |
1.0 |
13344 |
| Fuckk Galleries |
224.00 |
5072 |
2.6 |
9506 |
| 88by88.com |
191.00 |
6019 |
3.7 |
7771 |
| Sexmaxx |
246.50 |
4537 |
2.0 |
11497 |
To give an idea of just how impressive these figures are, compare them with a sample of some of the largest and most heavily trafficked mainstream shopping destinations on the Web.
Reach for High Traffic Mainstream and Adult Sites
| Mainstream Site |
Reach |
Rank |
Adult TGP Site |
Reach |
Rank |
| Wal-Mart |
2520 |
312 |
Sleazy Dream |
2535 |
303 |
| Target |
1840 |
448 |
89.com |
1965 |
395 |
| Sears |
1210 |
747 |
EasyGals |
1240 |
699 |
| JCPenny |
1070 |
866 |
Thumbzilla |
1015 |
906 |
| Costco Online |
871.5 |
1131 |
Elephant List |
912 |
1036 |
| Macy's |
537.5 |
1955 |
Raw Pussy |
534 |
1917 |
| K Mart |
510 |
2077 |
Pervert Pictures |
495 |
2073 |
| Lands' End |
427 |
2498 |
Global Freepics |
439.5 |
2361 |
| L.L. Bean |
389.5 |
2761 |
Zadina's Sex Palace |
389 |
2704 |
| Eddie Bauer |
307.5 |
3575 |
Gallery View Center |
341 |
3131 |
Protection of Minors
How well do these top TGP sites try to keep minors out of their content and off their site? A simple statement that "you must be 18 to enter" wasn't counted since it has little weight and no teeth. Elements that were counted included: (a) a definite policy statement such as "all models 18" or "zero tolerance for child pornography," (b) links to filters such as Net Nanny or pointing out IE parental controls, (c) ASACP or ICRA logos, and (d) a statement of 18 U.S.C. §2257 compliance. Many of these elements are present on AL-4A's home page [LINK].
The good news is that almost half these sites contain at least one child protection element. The bad news is that particular elements are not used very frequently and, in particular, it's relatively rare to see an ASACP logo displayed. Considering that 16% of 4+ million adult sites is a large number of sites, ASACP has a lot of support in numbers but the overall percentage is still weak. In fact, one of the sites here only provided a link to ASACP-they were apparently too cheap to send them any money. "A" for effort, but ASACP.org needs more tangible support from more webmasters. The logo needs to be displayed front and center on every home page to show surfers and anyone else where the adult industry stands. Membership inquiries should be directed to Joan Irvine, Executive Director of ASACP. Phone 323 965-1400 or visit: www.asacp.org.
Separating Wheat from Chaffe
In all this, it's useful to webmasters to know what the top sites in a niche are, what their metrics and characteristics are like, and then look at them first-hand. To get pointers-these guys must be doing something right. Comparing the top sites with all sites, on the other hand, gives webmasters a clearer idea of where they stand in the pack. Look yourself up on Alexa and figure out how you compare:
Traffic Rank Comparison
| Metric |
High Traffic Sites |
All TGP Sites (in sample) |
| N |
25 |
130 |
| Minimum |
350 |
350 |
| Maximum |
6,560 |
4,000,000 |
| Average |
2,771 |
321,568 |
| Median |
2,350 |
121,225 |
| First Quartile |
992 |
10,280 |
| Third Quartile |
4,986 |
479,229 |
| Inter-Quartile Range |
3,994 |
468,950 |
Some Other Comparisons
| |
High Traffic Sites |
All TGP Sites (in sample) |
| Median Traffic Rank |
2,350 |
121,225 |
| Mean Sites Linking |
5,106 |
2,671 |
| Mean Online Since |
1999.4 |
2000 |
| Median Speed |
Average |
Average |
| Mean Reach |
953 |
211.6 |
| Mean Pages Viewed |
2.736 |
2.36 |
Looking at the area as a whole, plus comparing with the core of top performers, can provide insights into the big picture. Just one example is the geographic location of these sites. While USA has the largest number of sites in the sample, Europe is the area that seems to be excelling with top-ranked TGPs. It would be useful to know how they do that.
In all this brief overview of the TGPs there are a lot of things it would be useful to know more about. Because competitive intelligence is critically useful information for directing your business. Albert Einstein once noted that: "Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts." Kath Blackwell already cautioned to keep your eye on the important site stats, and not get bogged down in absolutely everything a log file can tell. When looking at your competitors' metrics, the quantitative data is often going to lead to a first-hand visit to the sites themselves, where a qualitative examination will help explain the why behind the numbers. And, as they say, you can take that "why" to the bank.
PART ONE: Does Your TGP Compare?
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