Popular Sites: Using Alexa

I've already mentioned Google as an example of a site with broad traffic. There are, of course, many others. If you are curious, you can go to Alexa, http://www.alexa.com, which monitors both how much traffic a site gets and the relative increase (or decrease) in site popularity.
Where Does Content Come From?
No, content doesn't grow on trees. Content is a valuable commodityand perhaps more than a commodity. Great content is wonderful and unique, and not fungible.
Communities can supply a great deal of content if you have an idea for a good framework that will entice contributions about specific subjects.
If you are a writer, you can create content yourself. (Maybe this is the time for your inner writer to finally come out!)
Site owners can hire writers, either as employees or freelancers, or with a profit-sharing arrangement.
You can often pick up the rights to publish material on the Web that was originally created for a book, magazine, or newspaper very inexpensively. Content creators may be placed to let you use their content simply in exchange for publicityin the form of an author credit as an expert and/or a link.
You also might check out book and literary agencies. Some of them run a sideline business supplying aggregated recycled content and represent whole groups of writers.
So even if you aren't confident that you can personally create valuable content, don't despair: there are many inexpensive ways to publish valuable content without writing it yourself.
Don't underestimate the value of resource pages as content. A simple page of links to sites related to a specific subject (for example, sites of interest to collectors of antique typewriters and calculators) may draw traffic if the links are accurately described, kept up-to-date, and expanded when new relevant sites are opened.



On the Alexa site, click on the Top 500 Sites tab to see an ordered list of the most highly trafficked sites, updated daily. The most trafficked sites according to Alexa are shown in Figure 1-1.
Alexa's Movers and Shakers, shown in Figure 1-2, is also interesting. This snapshot of the "right here and now" Web is useful for seeing if there are any Web-wide trends in action, and also for learning about the kinds of exogenous events that move large-scale web sites up and down the chutes and ladders of popularity.
Although it is probably unrealistic to expect that you or I will be piloting sites that are the top of Alexa's list, it is worth spending time learning about popularity on the Web if you want to build successful sites. Alexa provides the tools you can use to see for yourself what is trafficked and what is gaining or losing among top-ranked sites.

You can also use Alexa to see traffic statistics for sites that are not in the top 500. For almost any site that has been around a while, Alexa will give you an idea of traffic statistics and whether it is gaining or losing traffic.


Alexa works by collating results from users throughout the Web who have installed the special Alexa Toolbar. (If you'd like, you too can install the Alexa Toolbar and help with popularity statistics.) There's some question about the statistical validity of Alexa for less trafficked sites because of this method of gathering dataAlexa's results are probably skewed towards users who are already web savvy and heavy users.
Most likely, Alexa's results are not very meaningful for sites that are ranked below 100,000 in popularity (very roughly, with fewer than 10,000 visitors per week).
The Alexa ranking of 100,000 or lower is also a great divide: if your site is in the top 100,000 you have content that many advertisers will consider worthwhile. Being in the top Alexa is a pretty good goal for your web site or sites: you can make real money from a top 100,000 site; it is an ambitious goal, but attainable.