Oh.. That's the ranking graph. They have different graphs for different data on Alexa. That graph is showing how Answermugs ranking fluctuates. So if your site is 1million that means your site has 999,999 more active sites ahead of you.
Finally. Thank you. What made it so difficult to explain? Men. Just complicating stuff to make themselves look like we can't live without them. Pfft. ;-)
No that's backwards on the ranking scale and graph. Lower number is better than high. that's why she is confused. On the search and hits graphs the higher the number the better.
Yes it is when you consider blurtit is a world wide site that has been around 11 years and is on the steady decline. Answermug is doing fine for a smaller site. JA should be proud.
I've posted that here in the past- mostly to demonstrate what happened to Answerbag and Experience Project when people ask about why they closed. I don't think Alexa data is really accurate, though. It can give you a general indication of the popularity of a site and whether they're on an upward or downward swing... like on ours, you can see us rise when AB and EP closed. We'll probably see another hike on the graph now that a lot of people from Blurtit are here as well. I know I can see it in the stats that I monitor. I think we saw somewhere between a 5-10% hike in traffic. But, when you get into the specifics, it's off. For the longest time, Alexa said most of our traffic came from Greece and listed the Greek ranking... umm... no. I don't think we've ever even had a member from Greece and it surely wasn't represented anywhere else I tracked. The average visit length and bounce rate are way off as well. When we were smaller, Google analytics had us at about one hour for an average visit, but Alexa said it was only 20 minutes or something.
I am a statistics geek, but only to the point where I use it to satisfy my curiosity about why things are happening a certain way. I don't think the measure of the site is in the stats. I mean, when we did have a small group, and I knew that one-hour visit length was accurate, that was really special to me. That told me that the people who were here had made aM a part of their lives. Can you really get more impactful than that? It's lower now, but that's only because we have more traffic and not everyone has an hour to spend. It's nice that we've climbed in popularity, and I sincerely appreciate your compliments, but to me, the measure of the success of the site is what the people who are here feel. If we do right by the members who are here, and they feel good coming here, none of the stats matter. It is cool to watch though. :)