Race Report for Squidoo vs. HubPages: One Horse has Stumbled

09.13.2008 | Author: Dave | Posted in Analysis

Monthly Page Views are Dead Even According to Quantcast but Alexa Shows a New Trend.

Quantcast numbers show that the race has tightened with both Squidoo and HubPages achieving 19.2 million page views in the past month. Squidoo and HubPages are both “Quantified Publishers” which means that Quantcast directly measures their visits. Therefore, the Quantcast numbers are an accurate view of what is happening now.

In fact, looking at the monthly page views for Squidoo (top) and HubPages (bottom), you notice that HubPages had a slight lead in monthly page views in June and July although Squidoo recently closed the gap.

Squidoo Page Views According to Quantcast (click for latest)

HubPages Page Views According to Quantcast (click for latest)

Hubs Get More Traffic on Average

However, Squidoo has approximately 5 times more pages than HubPages. That means that the average page on HubPages is getting 5 times more visits than the average page on Squidoo since the total pages views are the same.

Given that most of the income on both sites is via Google Ad impressions, the average Hubber is receiving 5 times more income than the average Squidoo Lensmaster. I recently posted similar pages on HubPages and Squidoo and my HubPages got 7-8 times more traffic. Once Squidoo Lensmasters learn this, I expect many will shift to HubPages as their primary publishing method for new content.

Alexa Shows a New Trend

Alexa Pageviews are the total number of Alexa user URL request for a site. Therefore, they are a sample of all internet traffic since they represent those who have installed the Alexa Toolbar. Recent Alexa traffic shows that HubPages page views have started on an upward trend while Squidoo pages are on a downward trend.

Squidoo vs. HubPages on Alexa (click for latest)

Quantcast vs. Alexa

According to Quantcast’s directly measured traffic, page views on HubPages in June and July were slightly ahead of Squidoo. According to Alexa’s sample of internet traffic, page views on HubPages in June and July were about half of Squidoo. In August, Alexa is finally starting to show short time periods where page views on HubPages are exceeding Squidoo.

Analysis

I suggest that the Alexa sample is made up of people who are early adopters. They may have been early to adopt Squidoo in 2006 and had no reason to adopt HubPages when it appeared later. HubPages made some changes early this year that may have appealed to the early majority.

The fact that Squidoo page views are showing signs of weakening on Alexa may signal real trouble in crossing the chasm from the early adopters to the early majority. The early majority is choosing HubPages over Squidoo and that means trouble for Squidoo in the future.

What To Do?

If you’re a Squidoo Lensmaster, read the following links:

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