What is Alexa ranking?

[Babu]

What is the usefulness of alexa ranking? all webmaster trying to increase their alexa site ranking. but why?

Babu Reviewed by Babu on 18th Aug 2008. What is Alexa ranking? What is the usefulness of alexa ranking? all webmaster trying to increase their alexa site ranking. but why? Rating: 5

[Bang]

Your Alexa Rank shows how popular your site is.Lesser the alexa more popular your site is.When a site is on sale,the buyers look at the alexa rank,so a lesser alexa rank would sell your site for a good amount.

That's why webmasters try to decrease their site's alexa rank.

[Babu]

well if there are huge people visit in a site and they don't use alexa toolbar, then the alexa rank will not high. How it is a correct way to know the site is popular or not.

[UltimA]

As far as I know, Alexa bases it's new algorithm off estimated Google traffic.
It's highly inaccurate, and useless in the scheme of things.

[JmZ]

Alexa bases its rank of how many alexa-toolbar users visit your site...
so the more toolbar users the better rank you get

its stupidly inaccurate because not even half the users you get have their toolbar..

[Golden Falcon]

I don't think they use their toolbar as traffic referrer now.

They use something different, but it is still very unreliable.

[Babu]

Alexa computes traffic rankings by analyzing the Web usage of millions of Alexa Toolbar users and data obtained from other, diverse traffic data sources. The information is sorted, sifted, anonymized, counted, and computed, until, finally, we get the traffic rankings shown in the Alexa service. The process is relatively complex, but if you have a need to know, please read on.

Source:
http://www.alexa.com/site/help/traffic_learn_more

[Golden Falcon]

Hmmm I guess they still do.

What alexa should do is make a deal with the top 5 browsers in the world. They will carry their own referrers built into the browsers, that will generate much more acurate readings.