Traffic statistics are as vital to a website as circulation to a publication, and audience to a broadcasting channel. Your traffic statistics are vital. How can you estimate traffic for a new website, and how can you manage traffic as you implement your plan? What's a Realistic Forecast?
The obvious question comes up frequently: how can one forecast Web traffic for a new website, unlike any other, without access to other websites' traffic statistics? Remember, as explained in This is a very important question. Here are some recommended answers:
- Ask Your Web Hosting Vendor: Sometimes the best options are also the simplest and most obvious. In the previous discussion on selecting and managing hosting options we suggested that the vast majority of business websites will be hosted by an Internet hosting service. Your account manager at that hosting service should know what his or her accounts are getting as traffic, and what's realistic. Ask detailed questions, and if the account manager can't answer them ask for somebody else. Every legitimate hosting service ought to be able to give you an estimate--not a promise, not a certainty--of what your traffic expectations might be. Ask what other customers of this server are getting in traffic terms such as user sessions, page views, or others? This is a good reminder about asking the vendor to provide statistics as well, on your site, as you ask about other sites? What are the most successful of their clients getting as traffic, and what are new clients getting? What determines the difference?
- Relate Your Estimate to Your Marketing: As discussed earlier, your website traffic actually depends almost entirely on what you do to market it to potential users. As you develop your marketing programs, such as searcher strategies and banner advertising, or other programs, try to develop forecasts for traffic. Information is available on industry average performance for banner ads, and links from main searcher sites. Compare the traffic you're projecting to what the industry experts suggest you'll get from your Internet marketing.
- Ask Experts: If you have access to someone who has been involved in Internet marketing or site development, ask them what traffic estimates might be realistic for your site.
Beyond that, you need to explain the forecast itself. What level of online traffic are you projecting? How fast will traffic grow? What are the most important components of traffic measurement and performance? Why? What traffic measurement will you use and why?
Emphasize important points and explain assumptions. What growth rates are you expecting for the more important pieces in your site, and why? Why are you projecting your traffic at this level? Why not less or more? What are the main driving forces behind the traffic forecast? How does it relate to your market analysis, your main target segments, your sales strategy and marketing strategy? Is your traffic forecast believable? Why?
What risks are involved? What events might turn the traffic forecast downward? What things are you assuming will happen to make sure the traffic goals are met?
