We don’t say when because there’s something about the possibility, of more. More tequila, more love, more anything. More is better.
First, forgive me for quoting Grey’s Anatomy. [Thanks.] Second, let me point out the obvious: more isn’t always better – unless you know how to handle yourself. The case with tequila is pretty obvious. But the case with your web traffic is a bit more complicated.
What actually counts as increased web traffic? How do you measure it?
The common measures – page views and unique visitors – are valuable metrics, but they are silent when it comes to measuring the likelihood that a reader will become a return visitor. Other indicators that readers have some intent to at least continue to “try out” your content include increases in: Twitter followers, Facebook fans, newsletter subscriptions, mobile app downloads. Analytics tools like Quantcast and Google Analytics can give you detailed information about how readers get to your site and how they behave once they’re there.
What leads to traffic spikes?
According to Scott Galloway, Clinical Associate Professor of Marketing at NYU, there are three elements of viral content:
Authenticity
Humor
Social Debate
You can hope to set yourself up for the possibility of a spike, then, by trying to satisfy those elements with the content and tone of your web presence. But a spike is a spike because it’s sudden and dramatic. It’s almost always unpredictable, and in many cases it’s receded before you’ve had a chance to react optimally.
You’re authentic, funny, and engaging in social debate. Congrats – your content has gone viral, leading to a traffic spike. Now, how do you make it easy for a one-time clicker to become an addict?
Function: [Most importantly, BE READY. That means that if you're implementing these steps after a traffic spike, YOU'RE ALREADY TOO LATE. In other words, DO THESE THINGS NOW.] Make it painfully easy for new visitors to add your organization to their social networks like Facebook and Twitter by including links to your profiles on every page of your site. Make it easy for them to subscribe to your email newsletter or sign up for your RSS feed. Clearly provide contact info (email and phone number) so visitors can get in touch. And, of course, make sure that your server can handle the load of a traffic spike. Tools like Spinnakr can help you quickly identify and coordinate your team’s response to a traffic spike, too.
Form: First, if you’re able to identify the source of your spike (say, a link from a big site), you may want to add a short paragraph welcoming your new visitors, encouraging them to explore your site and stay connected:
“If you’ve arrived here from the New York Times piece about this post, welcome! We hope you enjoy our work, and if you want to find out more about us, [do this call to action].”
You may also want to consider creating a custom landing page with your best content and using this intro paragraph to direct new visitors there. Or you could republish your best content, so new subscribers and followers will quickly learn that you’re not a one-hit wonder.
Later, continue to provide unique content that visitors can’t find elsewhere. There was probably a reason why your traffic spiked: you said something new, or said something old in a new way, or guided a conversation in a pleasing new direction. No matter how well your site functions to funnel users in one direction or another, if the substance of your site is boring or irrelevant, they’ll unfollow and unsubscribe en mass. Definitely a case where more is not better.
More is Better: Respond to Traffic Spikes by Preparing for Traffic Spikes
First, forgive me for quoting Grey’s Anatomy. [Thanks.] Second, let me point out the obvious: more isn’t always better – unless you know how to handle yourself. The case with tequila is pretty obvious. But the case with your web traffic is a bit more complicated.
What actually counts as increased web traffic? How do you measure it?
The common measures – page views and unique visitors – are valuable metrics, but they are silent when it comes to measuring the likelihood that a reader will become a return visitor. Other indicators that readers have some intent to at least continue to “try out” your content include increases in: Twitter followers, Facebook fans, newsletter subscriptions, mobile app downloads. Analytics tools like Quantcast and Google Analytics can give you detailed information about how readers get to your site and how they behave once they’re there.
What leads to traffic spikes?
According to Scott Galloway, Clinical Associate Professor of Marketing at NYU, there are three elements of viral content:
You can hope to set yourself up for the possibility of a spike, then, by trying to satisfy those elements with the content and tone of your web presence. But a spike is a spike because it’s sudden and dramatic. It’s almost always unpredictable, and in many cases it’s receded before you’ve had a chance to react optimally.
You’re authentic, funny, and engaging in social debate. Congrats – your content has gone viral, leading to a traffic spike. Now, how do you make it easy for a one-time clicker to become an addict?
Function: [Most importantly, BE READY. That means that if you're implementing these steps after a traffic spike, YOU'RE ALREADY TOO LATE. In other words, DO THESE THINGS NOW.] Make it painfully easy for new visitors to add your organization to their social networks like Facebook and Twitter by including links to your profiles on every page of your site. Make it easy for them to subscribe to your email newsletter or sign up for your RSS feed. Clearly provide contact info (email and phone number) so visitors can get in touch. And, of course, make sure that your server can handle the load of a traffic spike. Tools like Spinnakr can help you quickly identify and coordinate your team’s response to a traffic spike, too.
Form: First, if you’re able to identify the source of your spike (say, a link from a big site), you may want to add a short paragraph welcoming your new visitors, encouraging them to explore your site and stay connected:
You may also want to consider creating a custom landing page with your best content and using this intro paragraph to direct new visitors there. Or you could republish your best content, so new subscribers and followers will quickly learn that you’re not a one-hit wonder.
Later, continue to provide unique content that visitors can’t find elsewhere. There was probably a reason why your traffic spiked: you said something new, or said something old in a new way, or guided a conversation in a pleasing new direction. No matter how well your site functions to funnel users in one direction or another, if the substance of your site is boring or irrelevant, they’ll unfollow and unsubscribe en mass. Definitely a case where more is not better.