Unique vs Returning Traffic

There is a large debate among traffic exchange owners and users. Which is better? Unique hits, or returning traffic?

Unique Hits

Each unique hit is a new person visiting the site. Most new users will want the most people to see their site, so they’ll want the highest amount of unique hits.

Returning Traffic

When a person visits your site again, they are in the returning traffic category. Many older traffic exchange users will say that you want more returning traffic because it takes multiple times for someone to consider clicking or buying.

Case Study: StartXchange

I use Google Analytics to track the statistics of StartXchange. I can see which splash pages perform better, which exchanges deliver better, which users refer better, and a whole lot more.

The interesting thing to note is that 30% of the signups are from returning traffic, while 60% are from unique traffic! Twice as many people sign up the first time, rather than waiting again.

Before you say “I told you so”, there are some other factors that I cannot track. For instance, downline builders. Many people will sign up just because it is listed, and they don’t click the link one day and then sign up a few days later.

The second is word of mouth/other websites. This is the most powerful form of advertising because it is usually from someone you trust. They give you the details and testimony, so you don’t need to see the splash page a dozen times to join. I can’t track how many times someone mentions StartXchange to you before you sign up.

The conclusion: I’ll have to compare only signups that come from splash pages to get a more accurate picture of what’s better.