Forbes.com and fuzzy web stats
Cory Bergman August 28th, 2006
A Forbes ad claims “more people get their business news from Forbes.com than any other source in the world” using a report from Comscore as proof. But Comscore found some inconsistencies with its own report and revised the numbers downward. And then there’s the little detail that 45 percent of the traffic goes to ForbesAutos.com. But Forbes is still sticking with the assertion, citing internal numbers. Which all goes to prove that it’s easy for anyone to claim they’re number one at something on the web. And sites that are number one have an incredibly difficult job proving it.
3 Comments Add your own
1. Terry Heaton | August 28th, 2006 at 1:01 pm
Rafat had some good info on this in PaidContent today. Including this gem:
“…some competitors argue that Forbes.com’s popularity derives in part from racy, provocative or wealth-obsessed lifestyle features that have little to do with traditional business news — examples from this year include “The Hottest Billionaire Heiresses,” “Top Topless Beaches” and “America’s Drunkest Cities.” Also, competitors say that while eye-catching lifestyle stories may attract lots of readers, those readers are more transient and less likely to be the kind of high-powered professionals that advertisers pay more to reach.”
If any of that sounds familiar, let’s not be surprised by their numbers.
2. themanhattanchannel | August 28th, 2006 at 6:28 pm
coming soon to forbes.com: America’s Drunkest Billionaire Heiresses…Topless!
3. MOJO | January 18th, 2008 at 6:16 am
Wow, thanks for the excellent information!
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