Comparing online traffic sources of e-commerce and media websites, using data gathered from SimilarWeb. For a complete post on this topic, visit http://bit.ly/tra-so

1. beastoftraal.com
Comparing traffic sources of
e-commerce and media websites
A rudimentary desktop research
using data gathered from SimilarWeb
By
For a detailed post on this topic, visit http://www.bit.ly/tra-so

2. beastoftraal.com
What is SimilarWeb?
• An Israeli company that offers website
comparison data like Amazon’s Alexa,
Quantcast or Compete.
• Relatively new player in this space, though
their plugins are supposed to be in existence
for 4+ years.
• Data is, of course, questionable, as is Alexa’s.

3. beastoftraal.com
What kind of data is this?
• Tools like Alexa and SimilarWeb are competitive
research tools, and should be used only to
understand competitive environment.
• I did speak to a couple of industry folks and most of
them said (when presented with this data that
included a website they are associated with) the
numbers – or at least the split – are not completely
off the mark.
• They are not bang-on target – not at all – but serves
the purpose as a rudimentary competitive analysis.

4. beastoftraal.com
Which sites are included here?
• I spent some time in getting data and comparing notes around
traffic sources for two industries (among others) for whom online
traffic is mighty important (in terms of basic survival) – e-commerce
and media.
• For e-commerce, I had a list of top Indian online stores (including a
few travel websites and restaurant recommendation sites) and 4
major global ones (excluding predominantly non-English dependent
ones like Rakuten or Ozon).
• For media, I had a list of top Indian and international mainstream
media websites and a list of global online-only media properties. I
shudder to call QZ or HuffPo a blog anymore.
(Why? See my post - Blogger or journalist? How to tell the
difference? http://bit.ly/blog-j)

5. beastoftraal.com
RESULTS

6. beastoftraal.com
Brand Direct Referrals Search Social Mail Display
Pepperfry 33.02 19.74 22.65 16.77 6.09 1.72
Quikr 15.34 12.50 55.96 0.93 4.85 10.43
Zovi 41.72 14.71 12.60 23.83 4.43 2.71
Ebay 36.74 14.27 41.91 1.75 4.40 0.94
Homeshop18 24.83 19.34 43.00 1.81 3.93 7.08
Bestylish 29.09 14.11 30.51 20.75 3.57 1.95
Snapdeal 36.46 19.19 30.62 8.87 2.14 2.73
Infibeam 23.19 15.04 59.16 0.54 1.96 0.11
Yebhi 33.98 21.10 30.13 10.42 1.69 2.68
Flipkart 33.46 17.68 43.16 3.26 1.50 0.93
Jabong 30.24 23.30 17.16 20.46 1.39 7.44
Olx 22.22 10.54 51.93 8.63 1.38 5.30
Myntra 37.42 28.72 19.22 10.80 0.93 2.92
Urbanladder 24.22 12.76 21.51 39.82 0.36 1.33
Junglee 26.39 13.14 46.71 1.15 0.27 12.35
Possibly a sign that Zovi’s
offline (print, TV and
outdoor) campaigns are
working better than
others… that people
bother typing the URL
manually and visiting the
site.
Myntra has spoken about referral
traffic working well for them. This
was in a Business Today story
(http://bit.ly/myntra-BT) about
services like Tyroo and Komli,
among others.
Sign of effective SEO and
SEM, perhaps?
A combination of very effective organic and paid social
media effort, I assume. Another factor is that the product
ticket price in UrbanLadder is higher than other e-
commerce stores like Myntra or Flipkart. Plus, relatively
longer purchase cycles (from a need point of view). These
2 could mean that they spend less time on customer
support on social media and could focus more on product
push with links.
Really well-targeted
and well-designed
mailers that induce
purchase? And an
indication that they
dig into user insights
very well to suggest
relevant products
based on browsing
or purchase history?
Indian e-commerce websites
Data gathered from SimilarWeb.com, May 2013.

7. beastoftraal.com
I did expect much better
percentage here for Amazon
given how popular and widely
used their seller program is
(enabling blogs with widgets to
get commission on products
sold). It’s odd that Ebay leads
this pack!
Global e-commerce websites
Brand Direct Referrals Search Social Mail Display
Fab 47.19 9.03 6.84 13.59 20.70 2.66
Etsy 40.92 18.95 28.15 9.41 2.54 0.03
Amazon 48.28 18.98 27.28 1.73 3.48 0.24
Ebay 52.80 20.07 22.20 1.07 3.78 0.08
The highest among Indian
e-commerce sites was
41%. The average for
these 4 global sites are
significantly higher and
start at 40%! Again, could
indicate strong recall
value built over the years.
This, again, odd. Given the time sites like Ebay and
Amazon have been online and the sheer range of
products they sell, I would have assumed that they
had mastered SEO and SEM, and even organic
placements in search. Indian sites, in comparison,
seem to be doing it more aggressively.
Again, much lesser than
Indian counterparts,
surprisingly. Would love to see an e-
mailer from Fab.com! 20%
is incredibly high and
class-leading, Indian or
global! An early 2012 NYT
story did refer to Fab as a
pioneer in social retailing!
(http://nyti.ms/fab-NYT)
Data gathered from SimilarWeb.com, May 2013.

8. beastoftraal.com
E-commerce – social traffic
Data gathered from SimilarWeb.com, May 2013.
Brand Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube Pinterest Reddit Stumbleupon
Jabong 97.35 2.45
Bestylish 99.13 0.03 0.74
Zovi 99.12 0.03 0.10 0.63
Pepperfry 99.23 0.03 0.08 0.55
Myntra 87.64 0.02 0.04 12.15
Yebhi 80.61 19.12
Snapdeal 99.14 0.02 0.65
Flipkart 75.65 19.53
Ebay 93.90 0.31 0.14 5.05
Homeshop18 82.30 0.27 14.81
Junglee 75.64 20.93
Infibeam 88.48 1.28 3.52
Urbanladder 99.78 0.22
Quikr 82.75 0.25 5.83
Olx 94.32 0.04 0.04 5.27
Fab 85.55 0.79 1.47 10.86
Etsy 49.84 4.79 29.75
Amazon 50.11 4.38 20.53
Ebay 64.92 2.93 14.95
The dependence on Facebook is not surprising at all. But
the extent of dependence is staggering! One big reason
could be the fact that they have an evolved system of
gaming reach, using promotional posts. That makes organic
push a second option, for brands that have the money.
The limited impact
of Twitter is a
shocker! Does this
imply that Twitter
perhaps is less
useful in driving
traffic (and
eventually purchase
consideration),
given how fast
things change on
the platform?
The power of YouTube to push so much traffic and
being next only to Facebook (beating Twitter) is
hugely surprising! Given Flipkart’s recent tie-up with
YouTube (in India - http://bit.ly/YT-MN) to add Flyte
store links to relevant songs, they may do better in
the future.
Just goes to show
that Pinterest is yet to
take off in India, in
any sense. And the
fact that newer e-
commerce stores like
Fab and Etsy have
taken to it
considerably better
than old warriors like
Amazon or Ebay!

9. beastoftraal.com
Travel websites
Data gathered from SimilarWeb.com, May 2013.
Brand Direct Referrals Search Social Mail Display
MakeMyTrip 33.92 16.49 44.81 1.83 1.44 1.52
Cleartrip 31.69 15.90 50.84 0.23 0.66 0.68
Yatra 40.30 19.00 37.82 0.28 0.53 2.07
Ixigo 16.36 9.58 72.59 1.14 0.26 0.08
Expedia 42.82 26.88 26.08 0.37 3.32 0.53
In line with numbers of
global and Indian e-
commerce stores.
Mighty less, compared to e-commerce
stores. Possible reason could be need-
based purchase pattern as against
chances of impulse and out-of-turn
purchases, which could affect the
amount of promotion and social sharing
on social media websites.
The highest among Indian and global e-commerce
sites was 59%. In comparison, Ixigo’s 72% seems
massive! More evolved SEO and search advertising
in play?

10. beastoftraal.com
Restaurant recommendations
Data gathered from SimilarWeb.com, May 2013.
Brand Direct Referrals Search Social Mail Display
Zomato 16.11 7.23 75.04 0.91 0.12 0.59
Burrp 10.82 5.28 83.17 0.58 0.12 0.03
Yelp 20.33 5.09 73.44 0.59 0.52 0.03
Quite obvious! The fact that most users perhaps do not go
to a site like Burrp or Zomato directly to search for a
restaurant and use a search engine to reach such sites
becomes apparent here. Increased use of mobile apps
where there is direct interaction between the service and
user (without the search in between) could topple this
equation, however, in the near future,

11. beastoftraal.com
Indian media
Data gathered from SimilarWeb.com, May 2013.
Brand Direct Referrals Search Social Mail Display
Economic Times 34.15 15.35 36.46 11.66 1.89 0.48
Telegraph 23.39 13.54 56.68 5.78 0.55 0.05
Outlook 23.77 8.91 58.55 6.59 2.08 0.08
The Hindu 34.37 11.94 47.52 5.63 0.54 0.01
CNN IBN 38.60 9.57 46.24 5.08 0.41 0.10
Indian Express 26.39 7.52 61.88 3.75 0.44 0.02
Times of India 30.01 23.77 41.33 3.99 0.89 0.02
NDTV 47.04 10.28 38.07 3.61 0.43 0.56
Mint 21.37 9.59 64.19 3.80 0.63 0.42
Hindustan Times 34.49 6.30 55.42 3.30 0.21 0.28
DNA 15.90 6.25 74.49 3.00 0.34 0.02
Given the strong brand names built over years, direct
traffic seems lesser (except for NDTV). It could also be a
play of limited internet access (that is, the number of
people preferring the other version of these media brands
(TV or print) than online, for consuming news.
The sheer number of
online properties the
Times Group has built
over the years could
be at play here,
helping them with
cross-linking each
other website
generously.
Mighty obvious, I
assume. Search drives
most of news media
traffic. DNA’s lead
here is surprising
though – would love
to know what they are
doing so well to lead
with such a margin!
Are people sharing
more links from The
Economic Times on
social media? Or, are
they promoting their
posts better on social
media?

12. beastoftraal.com
Global media
Data gathered from SimilarWeb.com, May 2013.
Brand Direct Referrals Search Social Mail Display
New Yorker 34.15 16.05 24.62 20.43 4.67 0.09
Newsweek 39.81 17.61 24.97 17.61
Economist 41.55 12.74 28.99 13.84 2.48 0.41
Guardian 28.71 15.15 45.59 9.58 0.91 0.06
Forbes 19.89 19.64 51.33 7.99 0.75 0.40
NYT 41.22 16.03 32.31 7.36 2.68 0.41
WSJ 40.22 18.73 32.77 6.18 1.67 0.43
Indicative of more
evolved SEO and SEM,
probably.
Relatively high… for a
media publication!
I’d love to see what
New Yorker does with
its emails!

13. beastoftraal.com
Online publications
Data gathered from SimilarWeb.com, May 2013.
Brand Direct Referrals Search Social Mail Display
Boing Boing 42.76 10.88 18.20 27.68 0.47
Gizmodo 38.32 14.35 24.46 21.42 1.37 0.07
Arstechnica 39.07 15.34 23.93 21.09 0.55 0.01
Wired 34.30 15.60 30.91 18.54 0.64 0.01
Mashable 23.60 6.51 52.08 16.96 0.82 0.03
Slate 38.06 21.01 17.76 15.83 2.33 0.01
Techcrunch 32.61 13.46 37.66 14.98 0.96 0.32
Gigaom 27.87 10.69 46.61 13.65 0.65 0.53
AllthingsD 33.12 21.39 32.28 11.82 1.23 0.16
Lifehacker 42.31 12.45 34.98 9.64 0.58 0.05
Engadget 46.28 11.29 32.89 9.20 0.32 0.02
HuffPo 25.24 36.89 22.28 7.91 7.60 0.07
Buzzfeed 28.15 12.82 8.85 49.13 0.94 0.11
QZ 31.12 16.27 10.81 40.67 1.07 0.07
Such high direct traffic for relatively new brands is an
interesting phenomenon. Does this mean that these
brands have gained as much significance as their age-old
mainstream media counterparts? That’s quite a feat!
I suppose Mashable has mastered
the art of SEO/SEM!
This is amazing! Are stories
from Buzzfeed (and Quartz)
shared more often on social
media than others?
Does HuffPo has an
email push too? If yes,
wonder what they are
doing right to do so
well, compared to
others!

14. beastoftraal.com
Media – social traffic
Data gathered from SimilarWeb.com, May 2013.
Indicative of more
evolved SEO and SEM,
probably.
The entry of
Stumbleupon as a
major traffic source
only for online
publications is a major
revelation! In many
cases, it is as good as,
or better than even
Facebook! Are these
publications spending
less on Facebook and
making more evolved
use of Stumbleupon?
Brand Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube Pinterest Reddit Stumbleupon
Economic Times 65.62 31.99 1.01
Telegraph 79.10 17.01 1.94
Outlook 59.78 35.53 1.16 2.72
The Hindu 82.89 13.49 0.69 1.22
CNN IBN 78.93 13.58 1.34 2.23 1.83
Indian Express 57.96 16.97 0.82 6.84
Times of India 74.63 15.34 0.71 1.79 7.06
NDTV 76.31 9.21 0.74 4.20 8.52
Mint 59.04 33.06 1.93 3.36
Hindustan Times 50.04 16.36 1.14 20.90
DNA 57.75 25.23 3.52
Newyorker 54.23 13.33 9.57
Newsweek 7.37 2.24
Economist 44.28 14.86 18.22
Guardian 46.67 16.11 1.08 18.74
Forbes 34.29 10.55 7.30 13.96
NYT 49.81 16.72 2.69 14.79
WSJ 44.73 25.08 8.68 13.78
Boing Boing 12.53 7.59 16.00 60.23
Gizmodo 33.54 3.53 8.29 45.89
Arstechnica 8.16 4.51 58.89 22.12
Wired 18.80 8.50 27.08 33.08
Mashable 45.78 10.84 3.69 1.71 35.20
Slate 41.24 12.11 17.39 21.74
Techcrunch 33.69 12.66 7.95 35.50
Gigaom 13.01 11.90 7.42 11.96 50.60
AllthingsD 18.03 22.84 30.22 6.96 13.19
Lifehacker 17.52 5.71 3.99 64.55
Engadget 16.80 7.72 9.51 59.83
HuffPo 68.19 11.70 1.10 8.06 9.46
Buzzfeed 63.06 3.50 6.00 2.81 23.04
QZ 11.81 9.64 36.52 16.23
Honest wonder! What
does Hindustan Times
do to get so much
social traffic from
Reddit? Particularly
when other Indian
media get meagre
traffic from it!
Unlike e-commerce
websites, Indian
media gains
tremendously from
Twitter! The
dependence on
Facebook, as a
contrary, is also
lesser. Outlook, a
weekly magazine
leading this part is
surprising though. I
would have expected
a daily news
publication leading
this!
Given how much
more bigger Twitter
is, in the US (and
outside India), it is
surprising to see it
sending lesser traffic
than to does to
Indian media!

15. beastoftraal.com
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