Comments on: Alexa Web Search – Beta http://www.meryl.net/2002/05/10/alexa-web-search-beta/ Content on writing, tech, business, marketing, social media Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:03:01 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Nick http://www.meryl.net/2002/05/10/alexa-web-search-beta/comment-page-1/#comment-424 Nick Thu, 09 May 2002 14:47:47 +0000 http://meryl.net/new/2002/05/10/alexa-web-search-beta/#comment-424 <p>Here is my point. I don't have Alexa (but I used to have it installed in the past on a different computer)… no one in my group here at work (20+ developers and managers) have it... in fact I would go so far as to say no one in this company (20,000+ employees) have it installed. What kind of sampling is that? Instead of posting nothing but skepticism I would like to propose a solution: Alexa should post the facts... and exact count of total systems with the application installed in addition to an estimated ratio of number of users using it vs. those who are not based on previous surveys that have estimated the usage of the Web. If it's a 1 to 100,000 ratio I'd be impressed... but not satisfied until I saw something like a 1 to 500 ratio... anything short of that is as valuable as me wagering stock on the outcome from an 8-ball.</p> Here is my point. I don’t have Alexa (but I used to have it installed in the past on a different computer)… no one in my group here at work (20+ developers and managers) have it… in fact I would go so far as to say no one in this company (20,000+ employees) have it installed. What kind of sampling is that? Instead of posting nothing but skepticism I would like to propose a solution: Alexa should post the facts… and exact count of total systems with the application installed in addition to an estimated ratio of number of users using it vs. those who are not based on previous surveys that have estimated the usage of the Web. If it’s a 1 to 100,000 ratio I’d be impressed… but not satisfied until I saw something like a 1 to 500 ratio… anything short of that is as valuable as me wagering stock on the outcome from an 8-ball.

]]> By: Geoff http://www.meryl.net/2002/05/10/alexa-web-search-beta/comment-page-1/#comment-423 Geoff Wed, 08 May 2002 20:30:24 +0000 http://meryl.net/new/2002/05/10/alexa-web-search-beta/#comment-423 <p>I can't speak about all of their data, but at the risk of repeating myself, the traffic rankings are updated daily. Fosters and Jupiter might have more accurate metrics but their methods also rely on sampling... and a small sample at that. I checked with Alexa and they have had over 10 million toolbar downloads... certainly not a small or limited sample size, and well over 100 times larger than the alternative ratings companies.</p> <p>Anyway, skepticism is good. Second opinions are great. Keep your eyes open.</p> I can’t speak about all of their data, but at the risk of repeating myself, the traffic rankings are updated daily. Fosters and Jupiter might have more accurate metrics but their methods also rely on sampling… and a small sample at that. I checked with Alexa and they have had over 10 million toolbar downloads… certainly not a small or limited sample size, and well over 100 times larger than the alternative ratings companies.

Anyway, skepticism is good. Second opinions are great. Keep your eyes open.

]]> By: Nick http://www.meryl.net/2002/05/10/alexa-web-search-beta/comment-page-1/#comment-422 Nick Wed, 08 May 2002 18:27:46 +0000 http://meryl.net/new/2002/05/10/alexa-web-search-beta/#comment-422 <p>If the content were updated on a daily basis they would have information about the current feature. Instead they are reporting information about a feature that was published in 1999. Furthermore the information in the database itself for 1999 is also completely incorrect at best. No research was conducted to evaluate the information to ensure it was accurate. The user sampling is also very small and limited given the methodology for obtaining the information. At best, the figures on Alexa can serve as a ballpark generalization of traffic, but it can by no means function as a metric in which to determine popularity among "users." It would be better advised to use data from resources such as Fosters and Jupiter for more accurate metrics.</p> If the content were updated on a daily basis they would have information about the current feature. Instead they are reporting information about a feature that was published in 1999. Furthermore the information in the database itself for 1999 is also completely incorrect at best. No research was conducted to evaluate the information to ensure it was accurate. The user sampling is also very small and limited given the methodology for obtaining the information. At best, the figures on Alexa can serve as a ballpark generalization of traffic, but it can by no means function as a metric in which to determine popularity among “users.” It would be better advised to use data from resources such as Fosters and Jupiter for more accurate metrics.

]]> By: Geoff http://www.meryl.net/2002/05/10/alexa-web-search-beta/comment-page-1/#comment-421 Geoff Wed, 08 May 2002 16:22:44 +0000 http://meryl.net/new/2002/05/10/alexa-web-search-beta/#comment-421 <p>Let's be careful not to spread false unsubstantiated rumors. If you read their help, you'll notice a few things... 1) they update their rankings daily, and 2) their ranking information rules out multiple views of the same page by the same user, and 3) their rankings are based not only on hits, but also on number of users.</p> Let’s be careful not to spread false unsubstantiated rumors. If you read their help, you’ll notice a few things… 1) they update their rankings daily, and 2) their ranking information rules out multiple views of the same page by the same user, and 3) their rankings are based not only on hits, but also on number of users.

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