Alexa Updating Ranking System – Bargain Sites Affected?
scotty on 18/04/2008 at 1:49 am, filed under OzBargain
TechCrunch reports Alexa has overhauled its ranking system to use more sources than just its toolbars. There has been big shifts in the Blogosphere where many webmaster-centric blogs suffer a dip. On the other hand, many sites that are not Internet/web design-related actually get a boost in Alexa ranking. For example yesterday OzBargain was around 96,000+ for 3 months average, and now it is hovering around 55,000+.
I am now waiting for Yan to update all his monthly deal sharing/coupon site rankings, in light with the new Alexa data :)
On the topic of website ranking using Alexa, there is this interesting discussion thread on Whirlpool Forums, where “back-to-school” asks “Which bargains/freebies/coupons sites have you visited in last 12 months?”, and listed out 5 top bargain sites in Australia according to Alexa data, with one obvious omission, i.e. OzBargain (thanks to Neil who quickly raised this issue :)
Well, I won’t write yet another long article on who back-to-school, Skippy99 and a few other users on Whirlpool are (or is?), but now with Alexa using extra sources, it is actually quite possible to find out who are the top bargain sites in Australia.
| Site | Alexa Ranking 3mo avg | Alexa Australia Ranking |
|---|---|---|
| RetailMeNot | 3,608 | 1,391 |
| OzBargain | 55,371 | 654 |
| TopBargains | 132,214 | 1,513 |
| Simple Savings | 144,940 | 1,695 |
| Buckscoop | 158,920 | 2,358 |
| The Freebies Blog | 342,110 | 12,647 |
| Jonk’s Bargains | 1,316,493 | 27,194 |
As of 18 April 2008 at 1:30am AEST. Others like Dealicous and Bargain Sniper are not listed as they do not yet have an Australian ranking. I am sure there are other sites but it is too early in the morning and I am too tired to think properly.
But the question I would like to ask is — is that an accurate presentation on how popular a site is? I am afraid to say that the updated Alexa ranking is still far from being perfect. One measurement I usually look at is the amount of activity, if it is a community site/forum. If we are just counting the number of posts, then Buckscoop would be far more popular (or their members are more vocal).
Number of current online users is also a metric for measurement, and I think over 15 minute interval is pretty much universally accepted — except on average each OzBargain visitor is only staying for less than 3 minutes (and will be more for forums, much less for blogs).
At the end of the day, all these comparisons are probably not that useful but amusing nevertheless. Maybe I shall do what Yan does for ProBargainHunter.com by ranking bargain/coupon sites every month, except an Australian version. They can be easily automated with AWIS calls. Anyone interested?