weekday vs weekend page views

1. 39

   Greg Sageposted 13 years ago

   Hey, guys.
   
   My own site's still got a lot of work before it goes live, but I'm trying to figure out a few things.  I'm considering the idea of adding new content daily, but only on weekdays.
   
   So far, I only have my HP views as a guide, but I'm wondering how indicative they are of web traffic overall.
   
   For instance, yesterday (Friday) I had 500 views.  Today, it'll probably be around 200.  This general theme seems to hold true each weekend, and I've stopped writing on weekends.
   
   So far, most of my traffic is internal, though, and I'm not sure if it holds true out in the "real-world"
   
   Any of you that have a good amount of traffic data, is this the general way it works with Google traffic?  Is the 5 days a week thing a good plan?  Trying to coordinate with a few other contributors too, and I think they'd appreciate the weekends off if it's workable.

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   1. 77

      Garrett Mickleyposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Most of my traffic comes during the week.  I figure this is due to people being bored at work (or school).
      
      As for posting only during the week, I'm not sure whether that's beneficial or not.
      
      Let us know what you do and how it works out!

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   2. 67

      BristolBoyposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      There is very little difference between weekend and weekday views for me.  If anything, I get more Hubpages views during the weekend.

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2. 39

   Greg Sageposted 13 years ago

   I'm happy with the decision not to post on HP on weekends... just not sure about how that philosophy transfers.

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3. 39

   Greg Sageposted 13 years ago

   hmm.
   
   It's almost 2:1 the other way for me.
   
   I think I appeal to slackers who are pretending to be working.

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4. 78

   psycheskinnerposted 13 years ago

   I am not sure it matters whether you initially post on a higher versus lower traffic day. Most of my traffic is from Google and started when the page is indexed rather than when it is posted. If you are trying to maximize the initial traffic burst and are seeing a weekend slump posting on Sunday would make more sense than posting on Friday.

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5. 79

   mega1posted 13 years ago

   yeah, I agree with psycheskinner - it does seem that for instance, when I post a new hub here on HP I don't see much traffic to it until a couple days later, or even longer.  So posting on Sunday for traffic that will come during the week makes sense.  And I don't have hard data to confirm this, but my readers (some are regulars I think) tend to come read and post comments on Sundays - my weekend traffic lately has been better than weekdays.  I thought I got more traffic when I was in the forums being silly or smart (either one) but no - because I usually take Sundays off from the forums and that's when I get the most views.  Maybe, people miss me so much they go looking for me?  haha  not likely - I consider this whole think just a fluke - it is a fluke that I am going to get my first payout next month since over the weekend I reached the payout figure!  Whoopee - we can all drink our margaritas next month (I'll celebrate when I get the check, and invite you all for forum cocktails, which are really the best)

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6. 94

   melbelposted 13 years ago

   Unless your website deals with extremely hot/recent news, there is no real relationship between when you should post and when you'll get traffic.
   
   What I mean is -- if you post an article on a Saturday, it'll still get as many views on a Saturday as it would have if it was posted on a Wednesday.
   
   It takes a while for content to get into the search engines and most of your traffic will come from there -- because of this, it really doesn't matter which days of the week you post.
   
   Since it seems that you're looking for traffic from Google, yeah just post whenever you feel like, it won't really make a difference if you post 10 posts on a Tuesday or 10 posts spread evenly throughout the week.

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   1. 61

      manthyposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Makes sense to me, well said

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7. 59

   Mark Ewbieposted 13 years ago

   I have conducted an analysis on this by writing 150 pages of crap evenly spread during various days of the wek, or when I can be bothered.  I can honestly say that it makes no difference to the traffic at what time of the day I post, or indeed what the star signs are doing.
   
   If I were to paint my next offering on my naked body and parade around the town square I think I would (briefly) get more views and a similar number of clicks.
   
   Not very happy. Thanks for listening.

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   1. 94

      wildernessposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Clicks or rocks?

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8. 39

   Greg Sageposted 13 years ago

   Well, in my particular case, the reason I'm asking is the launch of a site that aim to be a DAILY stop for people.  Just wondering about ROI for weekend vs weekday efforts.
   
   One way or another, even if all the content is created at once, it needs to be released daily... at the same time in early a.m. each day.  That much I'm sure of for general practice.
   
   Take break.com for example.  They have new videos being posted daily and so on...  or a daily blog with high readership... wondering specifically if those types of examples tend to have a weekly ebb and flow in return visits.  New visits dont matter because it's all new to them anyway.

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   1. 94

      melbelposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Oh on a the daily stop/returning visitors scenario, then I totally understand what you mean!
      
      I know of a prominent YouTuber who releases news segments on a Monday/Wednesday/Friday rotation. XKCD.com, a comic site, uses the same rotation. I've noticed that's a popular rotation, but in other rotations, Sunday doesn't really seem to be involved.
      
      I'd have to say that, personally, Saturday is my lowest traffic day. Sometimes there's a spike when I get a higher SERP, but overall, yeah, Saturday's my demon.
      
      Your site my be different since it's really geared more toward, yeah, returning visitors. I wonder if there is a way to take a look at Google Analytics and look at traffic stats solely from visitors who are considered "regular" to see which days are the most popular.
      
      A lot of the customization of Analytics is a pain... benchmarking and whatnot, but if you can show me how to hone it down to which days are popular for returning visitors only, I really don't mind sharing some stats with you.

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   2. 78

      psycheskinnerposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      So you mean a non-hupages site?
      
      The way to get the highest traffic is to post frequently but not on a regular schedule.
      
      So, daily on average but maybe not at all one day and three the next. That gets you the highest visits overall.
      
      It helps to have the last few entries stay on the front page.

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9. 39

   Greg Sageposted 13 years ago

   I don't know.  This will be my first site, and I'm new to the tools.
   
   I guess the question really breaks down to this:  For sites that have new content seven days a week, is there a significant difference in return traffic on weekends as opposed to weekdays?
   
   I just figure if there is a significant drop on weekends, maybe I'll just start with the assumption that new content on Sat and Sun is overkill... or maybe just Sun... really depends on traffic patterns.

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10. 66

    relacheposted 13 years ago

    Some of my Hubs draw more traffic on weekdays, some on weekends.  YMMV depending on topic.

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    1. 59

       qodrnposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       I always draw more on weekends.  period.  Doesn't mean I don't draw during the week.  But there seem to be just more people around on the weekend.

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11. 60

    FloraBreenRobisonposted 13 years ago

    For me, Sunday  is the slowest day, followed by Monday. Otherwise the days don't seem to have any difference.  Of course, Sunday rarely has much activity, period. Few hubs are published and few comments are made for any hubber or topic I am following.

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12. 39

    Greg Sageposted 13 years ago

    I guess maybe I'll start with a 6 day a week schedule.  I'll try to get as much content as possible done ahead of time, and then meter it out each morning except Sunday.

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    1. 61

       manthyposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       That may be a good idea and work out great for you,if you do it,let us know what your results are please

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