The problem with web metrics provided by Alexa and Compete is that their numbers are totally dependent on what they gather from users who are using their Firefox and Internet Explorer toolbars. Mostly this consists of people who are trying to inflate their website’s Alexa and Compete ranking by running the toolbar. In other words, both Alexa and Compete’s data is meaningless.
There is a new kid on the web metrics block, IZEARanks, brought to you by the people behind PayPerPost. Their approach is to track real traffic ala Google Analytics by having users embed a snippet of script on their website, which sends unique visitor and pageview data back to IZEA. This will provide an accurate accounting of a website’s traffic ranking compared to other sites that are running the IZEA script. I think IZEARanks has a bright future because it provides real traffic data that can’t be manipulated the way that toolbar-dependent metrics can.
