StumbleUpon Drives Over Half of All Social Web Traffic Referrals
- Details
- Author: Liz Tahawi & Cat McBride
- Wednesday, February 01, 2012
StumbleUpon’s 50.34% of all social media referral traffic beats both Facebook at 37.4% and Twitter at 3.23%. Additionally, an average stumble page view lasts 72 seconds, which is nearly 25% longer than the standard webpage view at 58 seconds.
StumbleUpon is a discovery engine and online social network that helps people find randomized web pages, videos, photos, and more based on their interests. Users can like or dislike recommendations to personalize and further clarify the type of content they would like to receive. Through its algorithms, StumbleUpon aims to serve up interesting and compelling content. Users can narrow down their search to a category, say ‘dogs’ or ‘photos,’ as well as rate and review one another’s blogs and even join interest groups.
The site’s namesake rings true in the virtual community’s ability to easily share favorite content & top sites with friends and peers. The dynamics of the social network produce the organic experience of “stumbling upon” content for users.
In late 2011, StumbleUpon announced it had crossed 20 million registered users and rolled out major changes to their site’s look, featuring a greater emphasis on graphics and visuals. One of the biggest changes was the addition of Channels, where brands, celebrities, and sites can create Channels that users can follow and find content from, while still continuing to be based on the recommendations that they have liked in the past. Popular channels already include brands such as the Food Network, Stanford University, and PETA, as well as celebrities like Jim Carrey and Jennifer Lopez.
StumbleUpon also launched Paid Discovery, where companies can pay to include their site during organic “stumble sessions”. If a company wants to target a specific location, demographic, or interest, such as shopping, the site will be delivered to the right audience. As more users like or share the site, more traffic gets driven there. StumbleUpon has evolved their reporting process thanks to Google Analytics integration and sharing statistics, making it easier to evaluate StumbleUpon paid presences. These additions of Channels and Paid Discovery allow a viable way for companies to drive referral traffic. Brands that hook people organically with their interest, such as food or clothing, have notably found a home on StumbleUpon. For example, the clothing site ModCloth and the publisher Chronicle Books have both developed their own Channels.
By allowing marketers multiple ways to harness its power, StumbleUpon has made their service a worthwhile business consideration. For all of us, it’s a great place to connect to the content we love. If you haven’t already visited, pick a few of your favorite interests and see what you can, well, stumble upon!
