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Entrecard Traffic Brings 0:00 Average Time On Site
To my readers who come to my blog for my musings on the Telecommuting lifestyle, please bear with me a moment as I take a momentary diversion. I promise the next post to be back on topic.
As a means to drive new visitors to this site, I’ve added the Entrecard widget to the right column of this page. This service was created expressly for bloggers to network with one another and drive traffic to their sites. Compared to other services with a similar aim, Entrecard has shown some promise and I have seen a dramatic increase in traffic for this blog which was launched only two months ago.
I won’t go into the basics of the Entrecard model, which you can learn more about here. What I wanted to talk about for a moment is the quality of the traffic I receive from the service. Traffic for traffic’s sake should not be the goal of any website owner. You want people to find your site and make use of your content. If you are trying to make some revenue from your site, you also want them to find and click on an ad or affiliate link.
The best indicator for site visitors making use of your content is the Average Time on Site statistic (I will abbreviate it as ATS). This statistic is available via Google Analytics and can be displayed per traffic source. Here is my direct traffic (bookmarked or type-in) ATS number:
Notice that for this traffic source, the ATS is 5:28 while the site average (all traffic sources combined) is dramatically lower at 1:36. The reason for the disparity is due to the highest traffic source for my new blog – currently Entrecard. You can isolate the ATS for a particular traffic source by clicking on Traffic Sources in Analytics on the left and then by clicking on Referring Sites. After isolating the referral traffic driven from Entrecard (entrecard.s3.amazonaws.com and entrecard.com), I can see that the ATS is zero:
I’d rather it be something closer to my direct traffic ATS figures.
A lot of this phenomenon is due to the fact that at least half of the traffic comes from other Entrecard users – other site owners trying to drop their card and gain credits. What I think is happening is what I will call “Chain-dropping” and this is what leads to a zero ATS:
- Click through to my site from my Entrecard ads or from the Entrecard site
- Find my Entrecard widget on the page
- Drop the card
- Click on the ad 2mm above the drop area and move on to the next site for another card drop
Once you get a rhythm, the above process takes less than a second to perform. Since site owners buy ads (campaign) with credits gained partially from dropping cards, it is a very fast way to collect credits. Since site owners want to purchase ads on the highest profile or highest-traffic sites, it can cost a lot of credits so they need to click on a lot of ads to collect them.
I must say that I have only put the Google Analytics tracking script into the blog a few days ago so my sample size is admittedly small, but I’m confident that the trend will probably continue until something material is changed with the Entrecard model. A suggestion I would have for Entrecard would be for them to delay the clickability of the ad for several seconds after a card drop. This would force Entrecard visitors to do something while they wait – read your content. However, I think it would result in an implosion in traffic, available credits and ad costs so they probably won’t do it. I think Entrecard users are mesmerized by their newfound traffic and would lose interest if the traffic dropped substantially, regardless of the quality of that traffic.
That all being said, I am certain that I have received new regular readers via Entrecard as I have seen some comments left on my posts from other bloggers using the service. I’m keeping an open mind on Entrecard and will keep the widget on my site and bask in the newfound traffic, even if the traffic comes with an * asterisk. I welcome other thoughts on my analysis and your thoughts on Entrecard.
21 Comments
tokyoexpat says: I think you are exactly right about Entrecard. There are too many people out there with too much time on their hands…
anti says: Interesting. I admit I came to your site via Entrecard. You asked to advertise on my site (thanks for the compliment) so perhaps I was more motivated to check out your site. I also have not tried “gaming” the system. I am keeping Entrecard on probation for now mostly because loading an external widget slows my site sown somewhat. I will also pull it if I notice a lot of traffic but no benefit. Thanks for the insights.
Woobie says: I dunno. I found a lot of great sites through entrecard and a lot of other bloggers found me. I think the concept of Entrecard is great.
It’s their aim to bring you the traffic, but it’s your job to hook every single person that comes in. If they stop for just 0 seconds and drop there cards then go asap, maybe your subject area isn’t their interest.
Yours is really interesting, though. But my point is that everyone’s clueless as to what the rest of the blogosphere looks for in a blog to subscribe or stay loyal. If they don’t stay means they dont like you, If they do means they like you. Simple, really .
Breezie says: I am an EntreCard member, I tend to check out the blogs of the ones who drop the cards on a regular basis, more so that the one hit wonders.
PhiRatE says: That number seems odd to me. Obviously I’m biased by 0 seconds on average? how is that possible? that would in theory mean that for every visitor who was here for more than a second (there MUST be one surely?), there were others who were gone before they even arrived!
Maybe give it a week and post again to see if the number changes? I’d be very interested.
pamibe says: I just came to your site via entrecard. Since it’s new to me I use about 3 to 5 minutes a day -because I too am busy- to find new blogs that I might like.
I have found a couple that caught my eye and I’ve bookmarked… I think it’s a great little tool for that; some may play it, but I’m enjoying the exploration.
JMO!
ArahMan7 says: Yeah, I understand what you mean, but to me, a traffic is still a traffic. Does Alexa rating count the amount of times a visitor to a site?
With Entrecard, I met, read and leave comments on new interesting blogs daily, including this one, 
On my part, to give incentives to my traffic, I’ve added a special link for Entrecard’s members who read and leave a comment or two on mine. That’s the least I can do to help them spreading the Linky Loves from a PR3 blog.
As you can on my blog, till now there are only fifteen bloggers who leave their comments, ;-(
See you around.
Greetings and lotta loves from Malaysia.
~ ArahMan7
Jenz Iggo says: Stumbled upon your site on EC. Yes it’s a great alternative way for traffic exchange! And i completely agree with woobie, card dropping activity is completely useless unless u manage to pull readers!
Debo Hobo says: There are those out there that are only collecting credits so they can buy ad space. But that is bad for all of us because they are missing out on reading great content such as yours and they are not stopping to leave a quick comment. It only takes a second to say “hey I was here and I agree or disagree with what you said”
So, “Hey I was here and I definitely agree with what you said”
steverobbo says: I came across your site via Entrecard, and stopped and read your post.
I don’t work from home, but have found the posts interesting.
Perhaps most people just use it to increase traffic – and will b happy with the Alexa ranking increase.
Pericles says: Well, I found this site through Entrecard. I general I agree with your comment though. I will be very surprised if there are a hand full of regular visitors due to Entrecard.
LGR says: While I agree that Entrecard users don’t spend a lot of time on a site, I think there might also be a technical explanation for such a low number.
If the user only loads the home page and leaves with out loading another page, Google Analytics (or any other stats package for that matter) has no way of knowing how much time they actually spent because the time on site is estimated from page loads. So while I actually spent more than one minute on your site reading your post my time on site in your stats will be 0.
StumbleUpon and Digg users have a similar pattern. High bounce rates and low time on site. They come read and leave without going anywhere else. Not quite as high as Entrecard.
apretender says: You said exactly what I was thinking. I’ve been using EntreCard for about a week now and my traffic has gone up by about 300%. But, the average time on site has dropped dramatically.
On the other hand, I have had incredible feedback from the people that do actually come to my site and take the time to look around. I guess I’m going to keep it around until I don’t think it’s useful anymore.
I do like your site, by the way. 
)
Rudy says: I gauge the success of a post or site by its user participation. Looking at all the comments here, I say you’re doing just fine. EntreCard is working for you.
I’m not affiliated with Entrecard. I’m just a user.
Cromely says: I got here via Entrecard, too. Most sites I visit with Entrecard I spend several minutes reading articles but I may don’t always click on another page or link on the site.
In otherwords, most of the sites I read via Entrecard will report my average time on site as 0:00 even though I spend several minutes there.
If you’re judging the system solely on the average time on the site, you may be underestimating the quality of the traffic.
Of course if the only traffic you are valuing is the traffic that clicks the ads on your site, then your assessment may be right on.
Who We Are says: Still new to entrecard, but so far people have come and stayed to read the content.
Rachel says: I just joined Entrecard, and I have only seen maybe 1 new commenter… but tons of new traffic. Kind of defeats the purpose, IMO.
I always try to stop and if it interests me at least comment on two separate posts. That way I get a feel for the place and then drop my card. Maybe I won’t be the ‘biggest traffic dropper’ but at least I won’t be an obnoxious spammer either
I think you have a neat thing going here.
Bloggrrl says: I call it “bouncing” and I do it. However, I’m here. Some blogs are worth staying at. Also, Entrecard can bring you visitors who are checking out spaces to advertise on, which is what I’m doing.
Building Observer says: While you will have chain droppers, I was one when I first signed up, it will get old to people over a period of time. People will stop, like I did, and will read your sites content.
I found your site by EntreCard. I have read several post of yours even though this is the first time I have commented on your blog. I think that if you keep up the good work and stick with it you will see a little less of the card dropping in the months to come.
aries_arevalo_ax says: hmm… You got me there. There are some people with tendencies to just visit the site to drop the entrecard, and not to read the content, which is very sad. Maybe if you can put the Entrecard widget somewhere in the middle of the page, visitors should at least see some posts, cue words, and maybe read more. Good observation you did.
Debby says: I have added quite a few RSS feeds to my reader through Entrecard, including yours. I have found some really informational blogs through the system. It has been worth my time to click through to the different sites.