Usage Statistics within the Snowbird Network 

The snowbird network is a true network. This means that it is not simply a single website, but rather many websites which are integrated together seamlessly. The sheer volume of content (well over 10,000 pages) makes tracking technically challenging.

Having said that, we know a great deal about how many people visit, where they come from, how long they stay and the kind of technology they use. Most importantly, because of the software we use, we also have a pretty good idea of why!

Statistics

1. How many hits ?
2. Where Do they come from ?
3. Why Do they come - Why do they stay ?
4. Who are they ?
5. When do they visit (important) ?
6. What technology do they use ?

How many hits ?

As a niche medium, the Snowbird Network does not focus on attracting massive numbers of hits. Instead, we focus on steady growth of highly-qualified, unique individuals with a specific demographic - People who come with a specific purpose in mind. (see "why they visit" below)

Snowbird has grown month over month, year over year, continuously since 1997. Each year, the numbers have grown so substantially that the scale of the previous year's activity pales by comparison. You can see this trend illustrated in the graph below which shows unique visitor statistics for December 2000 through November 2001.

In this time period, the Snowbird Network had 566,309 hits and 83,658 unique visitors. Tracking and forecasting is, by now, quite accurate. We can state with a high degree of confidence that:

In 2002, the Snowbird Network will receive 784,000 hits and 115,000 unique visitors. 

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Where do they come from ?

The majority of visitors are from North America with distribution that closely approximates population density in each time zone. Predictably, the Eastern Time Zone scores well as does the Pacific.

There is also a growing percentage of Western European snowbirds

Less predictably, you will notice that we have a small percentage of African and Eastern European Snowbirds. This supports something that we've been maintaining for some time - That some of our visitors (while they may be mature lifestyle travelers) are not retired, but actively working overseas.

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Why do they come - Why do they stay ?

This is an important issue for advertisers, since it has a direct bearing on click through rates and lead generation.

Visitors to the snowbird network "come to do business". Granted, some visitors are looking for things like weather information or currency exchange rates, but the overwhelming majority are actively researching a specific topic.

Because of our tracking software, we know that  85% of visitors are referred to the network by search engines. Additionally, we can back-track to see the search terms that were originally used. A typical search might be "buying real estate in Florida" or "great deals on snowbird insurance". This indicates that the network is primarily used as a research tool for purchases.

We also have an idea as to why they stay and what they do while they are here. Setting aside the "accidentals" (meaning those people who come into one specific page and then leave) - Visitors tend to go very deeply into the network. While the industry average for page views per visit may be 2-3 pages, most of our visitors visit 5-6 pages and 10-20 pages is not unusual.

We also track "exit pages", which tells us that visitors use the snowbird network as a junction in their continuing research. In plain English, this means that a substantial portion of visitors leave the network having completed a lead generating form or by clicking on a sponsored link. 

The net effect of this is that in 2002 we expect to serve 115,000 visitors - Most of whom are active purchasers of Snowbird goods and services.

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Who are they ?

There's more written about the demographic profile of snowbird network visitors written elsewhere. But in broad terms, they are:

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When do they visit ?

Snowbirds have long been thought of as highly cyclical in all their activities. This is logical since many snowbirds go South for the winter. In most snowbird-specific businesses, this creates a "trough" or slow-season

However, in the case of the snowbird network, the cycling is not necessarily what one would expect. And it has an important bearing on advertisers who wish to communicate with snowbirds consistently.

The graph below has been modified to illustrate the usage levels throughout the year. 
(Please note that Sept 2001 was an anomaly in every sense of the word and created a dip in usage at Snowbird.)

What this indicates is that usage levels dip in the summer months (as does all internet usage), but that it also cycles up vigorously during spring, fall and the onset of snow. The implication to advertisers is clear:

Regardless of the cyclical nature of the Snowbird related business one is involved in, visitors to the Snowbird Network are researching it on a year round basis.

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What technology do they use ?

From a technical standpoint, it's important that we have an understanding of what technology is being used (java script compatibility, style sheets, graphic compatibility and so on). What is interesting from a marketing standpoint is how up to date the browser versions are. Snowbird visitors are remarkably current when it comes to the technology they use.

The implication of this to advertisers is that visitors to the Snowbird Network are almost by definition "early adopters". This makes the Network a useful vehicle for new product launches.

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Revised: November 28, 2001 .