Over at Search Marketing Gurus I just posted my review of Compete Search Analytics (thanks to Product Manager Jeremy Crane for his time). I wrote up an overview of the tool, how you can use it and even some insight into developments in store for the future.
Turning the tables a bit, I thought it might be interesting to how Compete.com is doing in relation to rivals Hitwise, Quantcast and Alexa.
This graphs shows the trend of unique visitors (“people” in Compete’s terms, which I don’t agree with)
Quantcast Rising
June marked a notable turning point for rival Quantcast which started to ascend rapidly and hasn’t stopped yet. Quantcast, which is billed as the only open internet ratings tool, lets both advertisers find the right sites to advertise on and publishers to open up their stats to potentially ad space buyers. There could be a viral affect as more and more sites tag themselves for quantification and word spreads.
Alexa, once a leader in traffic, began slipping as early as February and finally dipped into the 3rd place spot in September.
It looks like Compete is being fast outpaced by Quantcast. As they build buzz around their search analytics product they may see a boost. Unfortunately, they don’t provide data at the subdomain level, so I can’t pull out that segmented traffic.
Dehumidifiers: The Key To Web Analytics Success?
One of the most interesting features of Compete Search Analytics is that you can do some keyword research based on categories of sites (like sports magazines or music sites) as well has behavioral targets (like African Americans or Bargain Hunters). The results show you popular keywords among these groups based on sites they visit (behavioral segments) or the sites in the category.
While writing my review, I compiled the entire list of segments (included below for your reference). I noticed a Web Analytics segment on the list, further broken down by Competitive (sites like Compete and Quantcast) and local (meaning traditional tag based sites).
Curious, I ran the report of popular keywords for web analytics local. Not surprisingly, Omniture was high on the list, as well as free tool StatCounter. Google Analytics was nowhere to be found, which was a little perplexing (does it have something to do with Compete not yet tracking subdomains?).
When I started to scrolling through the rest of the list, the keywords got a little more surprising. Dehumidifiers was in the top 10. Perhaps the dehumidifier merchants of the world are more analytically inclined than I suspect…
Another portion of the list was, shall we say, a little risque. I’m not sure how some vendors might be SEOings their site, but I doubt “midget sex” is a common phrase. What’s more likely is that we’re dealing with a small sample size of visits to these sites.
Let that be a reminder to you to take all competitive intelligence data with a grain of salt, especially for small sample sizes.
Full Segment List
This is a complete list of the site categories and behavior segments available in the site referral report in Compete Search Analytics. Just pick a category of sites or behavioral segment and find out which words most often lead to sites in that category or sites favored by that segment. I’ve noticed some quirky results in an off few of these reports, so just use common sense when interpreting the data.
Automotive
- Automotive Dealers
- Automotive Information
- Automotive Manufacturer
- Parts
- Vehicles
Blogging
- Blog
- Technorati 100
Career and Education
- Associations/Development/Resources
- College and University
- Job Search
- K-12
- Online Classes
- Student Resources
- Test Preparation
Entertainment Guide
- Films/Television/Music/Books
- General Entertainment
- Museums and Galleries
- Nightlife
- Performing Arts
- Restaurants and Dining
- Television and Radio
Excluded Sites
- Error and Internal Sites
- Spyware and Virus
Financial Services
- Auto Financing
- Banking
- Brokerage
- Credit Cards
- Credit Reporting
- Financial Media
- General Loan
- General Services
- Home Loan Financing
- Insurance
- Investment Banking
- Online Payment
- Real Estate
- Tax Services
Gaming
- Gambling
- Leisure Gaming
Government
- Federal
- Foreign
- Military
- State and Local
Health
- Alternative
- Companies and Drugs
- Dieting/Fitness/Beauty
- Female Health
- Geriatrics
- Hospitals and Research Centers
- Information and Support Networks
- Insurance and Physicians
- Male Health
- Pediatrics
Hobbies and Interests
- Celebrity
- Computer and Website Personalization
- Cooking
- Crafts
- Environment and Nature
- Fashion and Style
- Games
- Genealogy
- General Interest
- Home Improvement
- Humor
- Motorcycle/RV/Drag Racing
- Movies
- Music and Artists
- Photography and Art
- Politics
- Reading and Writing
- Science
- Sports: Fantasy
- Sports: General
- Technology
- Volunteer and Non Profit
Incentive Programs
- Freebies and Marketing Promotions
- Paysite
- Rewards Program
- Survey Site
Music and Video
- File Sharing
- Music
- Radio
- Videos
News and Media
- Journals and Professional Magazines
- Magazines: Automotive
- Magazines: Business
- Magazines: Entertainment
- Magazines: Hobbies and Interests
- Magazines: News
- Magazines: Sports
- News: Business
- News: International
- News: Other
- News: Regional
- News: Sports
- News: Weather and Traffic
- News: World
- Social Generated News
Portals
- General
- Specialized
Products
- Consumer and Industry Electonics
- Food
- General Merchandise
- Household Goods
- Internet Security
- Miscellaneous
- Packaged Goods
- Software/Downloads/AddIns
Reference
- Citation and Formatting
- Consumer Reviews
- Dictionary/Thesaurus/Encyclopedia
- Lifestyle
- Maps/Atlases/Almanacs/Satellites
- Topical
- Translation
Search
- Coupon and Bargain
- Document Search/Business Database/Research Tools
- Image
- Regional
- Shopping
- Specialty
- Universal
Services
- Ad Networks and Servers
- Assorted
- Business
- Cleaning/Home Remodeling/Landscaping
- Telecommunications
- Webhosting
Shopping
- Apparel
- Auction
- Books and Magazines
- Children and Baby Needs
- Digital Printing
- Electronics
- Entertainment
- Food and Groceries
- Games/Music/Movies
- General and Department Store
- Health and Beauty
- Home and Garden
- Jewelry
- Office and School Supplies
- Rebates
- Shoes and Accessories
- Software and Downloads
- Specialty and Hobbies
- Sports and Fitness
Social Networking
- Personal
- Professional
Travel
- Aggregators
- Air: Airlines
- Air: Airports
- Air: Promotional Sites
- Bus and Train
- Car Rental
- Corporate Site
- Cruise: Agencies
- Cruise: Cruiselines
- Lead Generators
- Lodging: Casinos
- Lodging: Hotel Chains
- Lodging: Hotel Properties
- Lodging: Independent and Resorts
- Lodging: Promotional Sites
- Lodging: Property Management
- Redirects
- Search Engines
- Technology Providers
- Theme Parks
- Tour Operators
- Tourism and Guides
- Transportation Services
- Traveler Information
- Vacation Packagers
- Vacation Rental
Web Analytics
- Competitive
- Local
Web Communication
- Calendars and Address Books
- Dating Network
- Ecards
- Evites
- Forums
- Messaging and Chat
- Photo Sharing
Wireless
- Accessories
- Agent
- Carriers
- Content
- MVNOs
- OEMs
Other
- Adult
Behavioral Segment
- African American
- Asian
- Auto Enthusiast
- Automotive 3rd Party
- Automotive Domestic
- Automotive Imports
- Bargain Hunting
- Conservative
- Environmentally Conscious
- Family Interest
- Female Interest
- Hispanic
- LGBT
- Liberal
- Male Interest
- Premium Brand Driven
- Religion
- Senior
- Sports Enthusiast
- Teenager
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