If Half of Web Traffic Is Fake, Good Content Marketing Is Even More Important

If Half of Web Traffic Is Fake, Good Content Marketing Is Even More Important

In December, New York Magazine dropped an atom bomb on digital media. And no, I don’t mean this story on Snapchat filters for dogs. The day after Christmas, tech reporter Max Read analyzed and synthesized reports from the Justice Department, a New York Times report on follower factories, one of many lawsuits against Facebook, a list from MarketingLand, and takedowns of YouTube, Instagram influencers, and deepfakes, all to conclude that digital metrics are fake and overinflated. We’re all just soaked in a seven layer dip of made-up, falsified baloney. According to the article, roughly half of traffic and engagement is fraudulent. Sure, having a big audience looks great, and it does carry some value, but honestly, your most important signals of success are the metrics that lead to action. These metrics further your relationship with an audience instead of just boosting your ego. Anyone can chase clicks or jump on a relevant news story, but brands that invest in good content can rise above all that. I’d caution any content marketers who blanched at the whole “the internet is fake” thing to take a breath, remind yourself of your mission and purpose, and aim higher than vanity metrics. They’ll engage with you in a way that a bot never could.

4 Tips for Expanding Your Content Marketing Campaign
5 Content Marketing Ideas for March 2019
Using social media to jump-start your content marketing strategy

In December, New York Magazine dropped an atom bomb on digital media. And no, I don’t mean this story on Snapchat filters for dogs.

The day after Christmas, tech reporter Max Read analyzed and synthesized reports from the Justice Department, a New York Times report on follower factories, one of many lawsuits against Facebook, a list from MarketingLand, and takedowns of YouTube, Instagram influencers, and deepfakes, all to conclude that digital metrics are fake and overinflated. We’re all just soaked in a seven layer dip of made-up, falsified baloney.

According to the article, roughly half of traffic and engagement is fraudulent. As if that wasn’t damning enough, Reddit’s ex-CEO Ellen Pao shared the article on Twitter, adding, “It’s all true: Everything is fake.” For many of us who make a living analyzing web metrics, it was a confusing time. I stopped checking Twitter for a full week, sitting in my kitchen like Dr. Manhattan on the moon, asking myself why I didn’t just go to law school.

You remember that panel from Alan Moore’s graphic novel Watchmen, right? Actually you shouldn’t, because just like half of the internet, from viewer statistics to monthly uniques to Twitter followers, it’s fake….

COMMENTS

WORDPRESS: 0
DISQUS: 0