{"id":98744,"date":"2022-04-20T09:48:00","date_gmt":"2022-04-20T14:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/?post_type=resource&p=98744"},"modified":"2024-01-03T01:50:09","modified_gmt":"2024-01-03T07:50:09","slug":"wordpress-alexa-ranking","status":"publish","type":"resource","link":"https:\/\/wpengine.com\/case-studies\/resources\/wordpress-alexa-ranking\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Get an Alexa Rank for Your WordPress Site"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Editor’s note: The homepage of alexa.com<\/a> states, “We retired Alexa.com on May 1, 2022, after more than two decades of helping you find, reach, and convert your digital audience. Thank you for making us your go-to resource for content research, competitive analysis, keyword research, and so much more.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thanks to the popularity of Amazon\u2019s smart personal assistant Alexa, this might be the first thing you picture when you read this headline. However, long before the Echo was born, Amazon acquired another service named Alexa<\/a>. In fact, it might be an influential factor in how your website is perceived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alexa<\/a> is a data analytics system that collects commercial web traffic data through a set of web extensions and toolbars. It\u2019s actually been around since 1996, and became part of Amazon<\/a> in 1999. The big draw with this service is the ranking system it provides, which measures how your website is doing compared to all other websites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article, we\u2019ll get to know the \u2018Alexa Rank\u2019 and how it\u2019s determined. We\u2019ll also take a look at how you can improve your WordPress website\u2019s Alexa Rank. Let\u2019s get started! <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

What Is Alexa Rank?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Just to be clear, the Alexa Rank actually has no connection to the Amazon Echo. With this taken care of, let’s take a look at what the traffic ranking is. In a nutshell, it’s a system that compiles global internet data and determines what websites gets the most website traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As in golf, the lower your Alexa website ranking, the better. The website ranked number one by Alexa is identified as the most popular on a rolling basis. You can test out some of the Alexa metrics by pasting a URL into the site\u2019s online site information tool<\/a>. In order to get a better understanding of these numbers let\u2019s take a closer look at how the rank is determined and what it means for your WordPress website. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Is Your Alexa Ranking Determined?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The rank itself is created by combining an estimate of both a website’s average daily unique visitors and its daily page view numbers over a three-month time period. The website with the highest total is ranked number one for that time frame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The data is collected from internet users through various browser extensions, so the ranking is representative of a sample of all internet users. However, it\u2019s important to note how page view numbers are counted. Alexa counts views on domains only. This means if someone views a subpage of your domain, it\u2019s not counted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another thing Alexa\u2019s website suggests to note is that the meaningfulness of the ranking is on a bit of a sliding scale. Whether your site falls below 100,000 or above 100,000 is a good starting point for determining how much weight to give your Alexa traffic rank. They state that the closer your site\u2019s Alexa Rank is to one, the more meaningful and accurate it will be. Additionally, the Alexa team admits that the less website traffic your website gets, the harder it is for their process to accurately calculate what’s needed for the traffic ranking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Understanding Alexa Rankings: How Does Alexa Collect Its Data?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Alexa\u2019s data comes from the millions of internet users that have downloaded 25,000+ browser extensions, including the Alexa toolbar<\/a>. These extensions record every domain a user visits. Web developers can also add the Alexa script to their website, which \u201ccertifies\u201d visitor data. Alexa collects the \u201cnon-certified\u201d browser extension data in its global traffic panel (also called the data panel). By combining this information with the certified data and normalizing it for any biases, they can calculate a site\u2019s Alexa ranking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The data collected in Alexa\u2019s traffic panel relies on two metrics: a site\u2019s average daily unique visitors, and its pageviews from the past three months. The panel takes this incoming information and runs it through sophisticated statistical models to determine a website\u2019s Alexa rank, provide recommendations for improvement, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s important to note that because Alexa only sources data from specific browser extensions and special Alexa scripts, not all internet traffic is captured. Compare this to a search engine like Google, where all <\/em>incoming traffic can be utilized for analytics. Still, Alexa is a useful tool for any WordPress user.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exploring the Benefits and Drawbacks of Alexa Rankings<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Alexa rankings have existed for more than 20 years, so they\u2019ve become a standard benchmark in the industry. However, there are some pros and cons to the ranking system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, the pros:<\/p>\n\n\n\n