Does Your Website Traffic Drop Around Christmas? It’s a common assumption that internet website traffic drops over the holidays, particularly Christmas. So does it?
Why not go take a look at your analytics report right now and see what it says. If it’s anything like mine you’re seeing a steady stream of visitors that’s similar to your average. You could also be seeing a slight up-tick, and I think by the time this Christmas day is over I’ll have a higher amount of visitors than I did the day before. Will you?
I don’t think my traffic will decrease and I don’t think yours will either, unless you’re listening to all those people that say website traffic decreases over the holidays.
Why are you listening to this? I’m not. This is an old wife’s tale, and you can see it dating back to still top-ranking articles on holiday traffic from 2010. I’m making my own traffic this holiday week, and it’ll be easy. Why?
The simple reason is because most sites aren’t posting over the holidays. As if a 500 to 1,000 word blog post is real difficult to throw out, especially when you consider that you could have written them a week ago, drafted them, and then just hit publish when the clock passes midnight. Boy, is it really that tough?
Here are some reasons why I think your website traffic will increase over Christmas.
Why not go take a look at your analytics report right now and see what it says. If it’s anything like mine you’re seeing a steady stream of visitors that’s similar to your average. You could also be seeing a slight up-tick, and I think by the time this Christmas day is over I’ll have a higher amount of visitors than I did the day before. Will you?
I don’t think my traffic will decrease and I don’t think yours will either, unless you’re listening to all those people that say website traffic decreases over the holidays.
Why are you listening to this? I’m not. This is an old wife’s tale, and you can see it dating back to still top-ranking articles on holiday traffic from 2010. I’m making my own traffic this holiday week, and it’ll be easy. Why?
The simple reason is because most sites aren’t posting over the holidays. As if a 500 to 1,000 word blog post is real difficult to throw out, especially when you consider that you could have written them a week ago, drafted them, and then just hit publish when the clock passes midnight. Boy, is it really that tough?
Here are some reasons why I think your website traffic will increase over Christmas.
People are Bored
I ran into this article that talks about how people get bored over the holidays. Now that they’ve got iPads, iPhones, and all manner of other handheld and mobile devices it isn’t an issue to ‘zone-out’ while Aunt Mildred is telling the same hour-long story she’s told each year since you can remember.
Your Competitors are Sleeping
Every single one of my favorite websites is taking the holidays off. And I’m not talking about today – I’m talking about all week. That means I’ll not only have a chance to take some of their internet traffic on Christmas, I’ll also have the chance to take it for several days following the holiday. Talk about a gift!
Social is Buzzing
I lived in China for 5 years and for the life of me I cannot understand how those people ever lived without cell phones. It simply seems a physical impossibility the way they were always plastered to their hands, and social media in the US is just the same.
You know that people are going to be checking Facebook and Twitter today, and you know that putting out your blog posts is a good idea. And you also know that people are frustrated by the lack of content out there because you’re frustrated about it! A simple social media post is a good invite to get people to look at your back content. Perhaps a post highlighting your best articles of the year, you know, those articles with links to other articles? Something like that just leads people deeper into your site, lowering your bounce rate and giving you a whole new set of exit pages to look at.
You know that people are going to be checking Facebook and Twitter today, and you know that putting out your blog posts is a good idea. And you also know that people are frustrated by the lack of content out there because you’re frustrated about it! A simple social media post is a good invite to get people to look at your back content. Perhaps a post highlighting your best articles of the year, you know, those articles with links to other articles? Something like that just leads people deeper into your site, lowering your bounce rate and giving you a whole new set of exit pages to look at.
Shopping is Down…Or Is It?
Here’s an interesting article from last Christmas that gives you lots of cool numbers. What’s particularly interesting is how much the traffic of iPads dropped – 7.14% – over this period last year. Now you know if they’re not using their iPad they’re not using their laptop – it’s probably at home. Could they be using their phone? Good bet. Could they be doing nothing? Very good bet.
But are they shopping? Not in stores, but I bet they’re shopping online today. How many Amazon gift cards were under the tree today, after all? And we already know that Aunt Mildred’s going to be droning on – I think that iPad usage will be way up this year.
Well, I guess we won’t find out until January, but why not be ready for the next holiday? No, I’m not talking about next Christmas, I’m talking about a week from now when everyone’s hung-over and going around to their favorite sites. Will you be one of them, beckoning to them with your new content? Or will they see the “back after the holiday’s” sign on your door?
But are they shopping? Not in stores, but I bet they’re shopping online today. How many Amazon gift cards were under the tree today, after all? And we already know that Aunt Mildred’s going to be droning on – I think that iPad usage will be way up this year.
Well, I guess we won’t find out until January, but why not be ready for the next holiday? No, I’m not talking about next Christmas, I’m talking about a week from now when everyone’s hung-over and going around to their favorite sites. Will you be one of them, beckoning to them with your new content? Or will they see the “back after the holiday’s” sign on your door?
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