Member Avatar for MktgRob

In an analysis of search engine and social media sites, Facebook was shown to have the most loyal visitors in terms of browsing habits. The study done by the ad network Chitika studied browsing habits of the top SE and SM sites in the month of September. What was really surprising to me is that Digg came in second and Yahoo a close third. Bringing up the rear were Google and Bing (tied for fourth) and Twitter in last. Here is the link to the study on the Chitika website


http://chitika.com/research/2009/digg-facebook-loyal-readers/

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The Chitika analysis referenced by raises a useful distinction: some sites create habitual, relationship-driven visits while others solve immediate, task‑oriented needs. ’s point about social networks fostering stronger recurring behavior captures that difference well. The headline takeaway should be interpretive, not prescriptive — a cross‑site comparison is a prompt for follow‑up measurement, not an automatic roadmap for where budget or effort must go.

Key questions to ask when evaluating this kind of research:

  • How is “loyal visitor” defined (return rate, visits per unique, session length)?
  • What data source was used (ad logs, browser panel, server logs) and what biases does it introduce?
  • What time window and seasonal events might have skewed results?
  • Which audience segments (geography, device type, demographics) are included?
  • How were bots and automated traffic filtered?
  • Is the sample size large enough for meaningful comparisons?

Practical implications for marketing and product work follow from those questions. Treat social sites as discovery + retention channels and search as intent-driven discovery; then convert social attention into owned relationships (email lists, site accounts, push) so repeat value is captured on first contact. Track returning‑visitor rate, frequency per user, and lifetime engagement by referral source, and run small experiments — e.g., different share assets, subtle follow/subscribe CTAs, or timed notifications — to see what actually raises repeat visits in the target audience.

Regarding the Google Wave point raised by : any new sharing product will only increase habitual visits if it delivers persistent value (useful threads), low friction for social connections, and a reliable notification model that users trust. Those mechanics, plus strong initial adoption, are what create stickiness — not publicity alone.

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Member Avatar for InsightsDigital

Thank you for sharing. In a way I am not surprised about DIGG since it does demonstrate the level of social connection on DIGG and Facebook which is not as strong on search engine Google. Why? That is not what the site is intended to do in the first place!!

Member Avatar for MktgRob

Thank you for sharing. In a way I am not surprised about DIGG since it does demonstrate the level of social connection on DIGG and Facebook which is not as strong on search engine Google. Why? That is not what the site is intended to do in the first place!!

But what about the potential of Google Wave in terms of sharing? That is where Google could jump over all but facebook.

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