Do Viewing Patterns Tell A Story?

Looking Beyond Numbers & Rankings

[austtr]

The graphs of viewer activity for my sites consistently shows that the peak is mid-week and drops to its lowest on the week-end, usually Saturday. Every so often, Friday will be the slowest day. Sunday sees the start of the climb back to the mid-week high.

I have always assumed that this the probably the norm for most sites, reflecting that people make less use of the internet during their leisure time, but become more active during the week, either after or during work.

Does this type of data simply confirm what everyone knows or are there some messages/lessons to be learned from understanding what these patterns mean?

[theperlyking]

I've seen this pattern on my sites too, I guess its common. I seem to remember looking at thecounter.com's total stats and seeing they also had a peak on wednesday and the weekend was the slowest.

[evinrude]

I think there are definatly lessons to be learned in browsing patterns. And the patterns are probably very dependent upon the type/genre of site you have.

In the case of one of the sites I run, peak is generally start of the week, with mid-day (Alaska time) being peak usage. Weekends see virtually no use at all on occasion, but always well below a third of week days. We're a utility website, and those that hit our page generally do so from work (I can explain this, but it'd take a while...), or are venders, or are looking for a job. :)

A lot can be deduced from these numbers. It's definatly something to look at.

[JamesR]

Interestingly enough, my sales and traffic increase on the weekends...all depends on the demographic.

[Xoc]

Definitely depends on who is looking at your site. I get bumps at the start of work, lunch, and as people quit. I seem to get a little dip as people eat dinner. Low time is 1-3 a.m., then picks up again. Weekend is slowest, but Monday is the highest.

But that's just one web site. I get somewhat different results on other web sites.

[typophile]

>Low time is 1-3 a.m.

What time zone?

[Xoc]

Pacific. I was just noticing on another web site that Monday is one of the slowest days. Exactly the opposite.

[pat_s]

I've noticed that the weekdays are busiest on most of the sites that I track. I the one I'm currently keeping the closest track of is a site for a band. Mornings are almost always slow. Weeknights are busiest. On another, which attracts a more middle aged audience things stay a bit steadier throughout the week and even some weekends, but around big holidays it slows down, and summer months are quieter than winter.

[rcjordan]

Hey pat, welcome to WmW!

>attracts a more middle aged audience

Yes, the demographic is the key. For years now, Monday has been my peak day for my travel guide and July and August are the top months. I have a slowdown around the big holidays and March Madness.

[pat_s]

Thanks for the welcome! Very nice forum. I'm glad to have found it.