Widgets bring traffic to social networks

There is more going on with widgets than simple syndication. According to a recent report from Quantcast, widgets are actually driving traffic to some social networking sites.

by Kristina Knight

Personal media network Slide saw traffic triple when widgets were offered. According to the data, daily unique visitors from the US grew from 312,000 to more than 1 million (a 265% increase). Social site HOTorNOT saw traffic double, increasing from 182,000 unique daily visitors to just over 350,000. Finally, widget creation and distribution site RockYou saw site traffic quadruple according to Quantcast. Unique daily visitors grew from 145,000 to more than 520,000, an increase of 228%.

It seems social networks grow more popular every week and with the creation of widgets advertisers actually have a bit more control over their ad dollars. By tracking site statistics through widgets, offering some content via widgets and allowing syndication through widbets advertisers have a clearer picture of how, when and why their content is being used. Widgets also make advertising a simpler thing for marketers.

"Niche social networks offer a tremendous opportunity for advertisers," said Konrad Feldman, CEO and co-founder of Quantcast. "If you have a product that is associated with that focus you have a ready-made audience. The trick is to find a combination of those niche audiences."