The Top 10 Most Read Articles of 2020 by Similarweb

This wasn’t a year like any other. 2020 will appear in the history books of the future; sadly, as a year of tremendous challenge. For many of you, it was a turning point of some sort; for others, an ongoing struggle.

We at Similarweb were fortunate to focus on what we do best: provide our customers with the highest quality data and real-time analytics to react quickly to changing customer needs. Another thing we did was increase our efforts to share our expertise and deliver a continuous flow of helpful content on our blog. All while managing to work remotely, many with children climbing on our laps (am I right, parents?) and ever-evolving strains from our home and work life. But, as they say, the show must go in. And it did.

So today, I want to share with you what you, our readers – researchers, digital marketers, sales professionals, and investors – found most valuable. So make yourself a hot cup of tea and enjoy our top ten most-read and engaging posts of 2020.

Because 2021 will be better. Your businesses will be stronger. And the more you know, the more you’ll be ready for what lies ahead.

The top 10 Similarweb blog posts in 2020

Digital Marketing Intelligence Solution

Digital marketers were among the fastest to recover from the initial shock of the pandemic—no lockdown for digital ads or content marketing. With worldwide traffic increasing by 11% this year, compared to 2019, the opportunities also skyrocketed.

I am not surprised that one of our most popular posts was this guide addressing the most common questions about content marketing. Understand content marketing, and you’ll understand why it’s nothing without reliable data.

Pro Tip: Part of your content efforts should be directed at building brand loyalty. Retain your customers, keep them interested, and engage with: personalized emails, social media, webinars, and ebooks.

Read the full post:  Content Marketing Checklist: 11 Things You Need to Know to Get Started

Zero-click searches have become a marketer’s nightmare. SEO strategists are losing sleep over the growing phenomenon as Google snatches away search responses and prevents click-throughs.

“What now? How to cope?” Marketers asked. Similarweb’s answer was the launch of the Zero-Click metric. Its purpose is to help analysts get a grip on the situation and pinpoint keywords resulting in zero clicks.

It was duly needed, as the popularity of the introductory post reveals. The article includes a tutorial video in which Tomas Seliokas, an Industry Consultant at Similarweb, offers hands-on user guidance. He also chips in some effective tips on which other metrics to track and how to analyze so that you can protect yourself from the zero-click monster’s appetite.

Pro Tip: Similarweb’s newest Zero-Click metric will enable you to sanity-check your most valuable keywords over time to ensure they continue to earn their way.

Read the full post: Zero-Click Searches – How to Measure The Impact on SEO

Similarweb’s Digital Marketing Intelligence provides an all-inclusive tool kit for optimizing your traffic across search, display, affiliate, and more

Research Intelligence

You probably noticed practical guides were the big winners on the Similarweb blog in 2020. Here’s another one.

As personal encounters became few and far between, the need for online engagement increased. So everyone measured the engagement rate. And? What did they learn?

Truth is, many marketers still use it to show off. But that’s not enough in a world where engagement determines sales and ROI.

The next post provides tips and ideas on how to measure and use engagement effectively. Understand what your visitors or users are really up to. Turn engagement metrics into a tool that works for you.

Pro Tip: Benchmark your performance against competitors that have similar characteristics. When you’re running a website or app, it’s easy to overlook significant differences between similar services. Compare their engagement rates per marketing channel.

Read the full post:How to Calculate Engagement Rate Effectively 

Watch this video to learn more about our Research Intelligence solutions:

Did you buy anything online this year? I certainly did. eCommerce’s upward trend was jacked up by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that tied us all to our homes and screens. What choice did we have?

Similarweb shared some of the most helpful benchmarks and statistics about the booming industry. The data is significant for any eCommerce business and even for those who aren’t directly involved with eCommerce (yet).

Get the statistics about the most popular sites, device distribution, traffic acquisition, and more. As an extra giveaway, the post includes helpful tips on how to best use the data for your strategy.

Pro Tip: Compare your SEO-to-PPC ratio to the industry average and look at your rivals’ online behavior to find opportunities to increase your PPC spend (when they’re higher) or decrease it (when they’re lower).

Read the full post:2020 Industry Benchmarks to Inform and Boost Your eCommerce Strategy

eCommerce Intelligence

If there’s a year of eCommerce, 2020 is it. Online sales are booming, and so is the demand for eCommerce-related data. For many, it’s completely new terrain.

That’s why I expected this next article on conversion optimization to be among the top 10. Besides, Daniel Schneider is our expert on conversion analysis and knows best to explain its significance to eCommerce. He also shares some secrets on how to increase it with our software and throws in examples of high-converting sites.

Pro Tip: Once you’ve figured out which pages are generating the majority of sales, dive deeper into your best-performing marketing channels. Use Similarweb Pro to compare your marketing channels’ performance and benchmark against the eCommerce industry average.

Read the full post:eCommerce Conversion Rate Optimization: 15 Tips to Grow Sales

It’s been a painful year for travelers and much of the travel industry. I, for one, am stuck with a burning wanderlust that makes me yearn for exotic places. Agents, on the other hand, are in dire need of data.

Our readers didn’t only get itchy feet; they also wanted to know how deep the blow really was. This post provides a detailed analysis of the sectors most impacted by the pandemic and its following travel restrictions. Some are obvious, but some may surprise you.

Pro Tip: Help pages, which offer information and updates on the coronavirus, are a destination that visitors turn to. These pages’ traffic was 600% higher in the first two weeks of March than it was for all of February.

Read the full post: A Look At How Coronavirus Has Affected Travel

Sales Intelligence

Did we mention how popular eCommerce has grown this year? Right. And, of course, everybody wants to know who the top performers are. How fascinating would it be to discover which eCommerce underdogs are likely to grab a nice chunk of market share in the near future?

This blog post has both: A detailed list of the 50 Top eCommerce sites and one of the 50 fastest-growing eCommerce sites. There’s something here for everybody.

Pro Tip: One way to use the list: The startups featured here have experienced rapid growth in the past month. This creates an opportunity to reach out while they’re expanding and looking to scale their efforts with sales tools and services that could make their work more efficient.

Read the full post:The World’s Top 50 eCommerce Companies & 50 Growing eCommerce Companies

Now take a deep breath; time to pause! The next post on the list has nothing to do with any of the typical 2020 issues. It’s a genuine evergreen topic.

You get a step-by-step guide complete with an analysis of customer psychology in every stage, recommendations on which channels to leverage, and several compelling examples. You won’t need anything more; this article has it all.

Pro Tip: Sorry, this post is full of incredibly useful tips, so you better read for yourself.

Read the full post:Sales Funnel 101: The Complete Guide

Investor Intelligence

2020 was the first year of Similarweb’s investor solutions tools, and it put us to the test. It was new for us, and new also for investors who received valuable data they had no access to before.

This tutorial on what alternative data is and how to use it was the new category’s most-read post. Similarweb offers a wide-ranging set of real-time, alternative data to help investors make their best moves. And we’re always ready to innovate and adapt. One month into the Corona crisis, we added a heatmap that shows in real time which industries areas were most affected.

Pro Tip: With access to website traffic data, investors can choose the relevant metrics to evaluate and benchmark company performance and forecast growth. By doing this, investment managers increase conviction in investment hypotheses and find new investment opportunities.

Read the full post:What is alternative data and how to integrate it into your investment process

One of the big winners this year was the American food delivery service DoorDash. As of January 2020, the company owns the largest market share. And it’s been great ever since because the demand for delivery services, specifically for food, has only increased.

Ahead of its IPO (initial public offering) on Dec. 9th, we took a close look at its history, growth, and potential. Just the kind of information investors needed at this point in time. The in-depth financial analysis next to traffic analysis of DoorDash in relation to its rivals—such as Uber Eats—is still relevant after the IPO. 2021 promises to be an exciting year for DoorDash and investors. Stay on top of the data with our alternative data Stock Intelligence.

Pro Tip: In its SEC filing, DoorDash calls itself the market leader but notes that “US consumers on our platform in September 2020 represented less than 6% of the U.S. population as of September 30, 2020.” It adds, “We believe we are in the early phases of broad market adoption.”

Read the full post:DoorDash IPO: Insights into Online Performance

Bonus Blog

I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for a fresh new year. But before we all run off to greet 2021, let’s take a look at some of the positive outcomes of 2020. There’s something good in everything, and Similarweb has the data to prove it:

Read the full post:Digital Trends: On the Bright Side of 2020

Watch this video to learn more about what happened online in 2020:

I hope you found these articles helpful for your upcoming 2021 strategy. If you haven’t read any of the ten most-read posts of 2020, this is your chance to catch up.

My team of content experts will keep providing highly useful insights and updates on our blog in the next year as well. We wish you a successful and healthy 2021.
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