Why put the Alexa Rank widget on your site?
If you’re reading this post, you may have noticed a widget in the right-hand side bar under the Technorati bookmark link entitled “Traffic Rank”, the website name, some numbers and the words “powered by Alexa”. This is the Alexa traffic ranking widget.
Why should you put a widget on your own web site even though it may demonstrate negative social proof for awhile? Because it gives your page a more accurate Alexa rank.
Alexa’s ranking system collects data from the Alexa toolbar that people can download to their browsers. The tool bar sends data back about the pages that person visits. Since it is based on toolbar information, the only time it gets information is when someone with a tool bar gets on the internet. This isn’t an objective way to determine a website’s actual rank.
You can get around the tool bar problem by installing the Alexa widget on your web site. The widget collects data about your web site’s visitors and sends it to Alexa. Still, your rank is skewed because there are a lot of people sending in data from their tool bars that don’t know your site exists. But it is far less skewed than if you didn’t have the widget sending data from your site.
Why is Alexa Rank important? Many sites use Alexa Rank, skewed or not, to determine how much they may be willing to pay you to advertise on your site, whether they want to link to your site, and it may have some affect on your Google page rank. I’m not sure about that, but Google has very sophisticated proprietary algorithms that use vast sources of data to calculate your web site’s page rank, and those algorithms are continuously updated and refined. Since Alexa is a player in the page ranking game, I would be very surprised if Alexa rank had nothing to do with Google page rank. That just my opinion, but I believe it’s based on more than just a guess given what I know about Google and how it operates.
Your Google page rank will often determine if you are noticed by the A-list web sites in your market niche. It is also a factor when you are seeking advertising and other methods of monetizing your web site or blog.
I recommend going to Alexa.com and clicking on the “widgets” button in the menu bar, getting the HTML code for the widget of your choice and installing it on your site. You will find your Alexa rank a few weeks after widget installation is much better (meaning lower) than it was when you first put the widget up.
August 24th, 2008 at 7:16 pm
Home Office Organization–21st Century Style » Blog Archive » Why put the Alexa Rank widget on your site?…
This article is about the Alexa web page ranking system, how it is skewed and how you can improve your Alexa ranking by send them data directly from your site using their widget. If you put their widget on your blog or website, it will send accurate tr…
December 4th, 2008 at 9:59 am
Thank for yours information
September 17th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
To start earning money with your blog, initially use Google Adsense but gradually as your traffic increases, keep adding more and more money making programs to your site.
October 10th, 2009 at 10:01 pm
I really enjoy reading Home Office Organization–21st Century Style » Blog Archive » Why put the Alexa Rank widget on your site? . It’s very interesting. Hope you will post something like this again.
January 14th, 2010 at 7:59 pm
Refreshing webpage. My colleagues and I were just talking about this the other day. Also your post looks nice on my old sidekick. And thats rare. Nice work.