Decoding Traffic’s Hidden Desires: Bridging “Traffic Secrets” and “Everybody Lies” with Data Discovery
Hello, fellow Google SEO strategists, marketing aficionados, brand storytellers, and fellow explorers of the digital realm! Today, I want to share a personal journey sparked by the insightful words of Russell Brunson in “Traffic Secrets” and the provocative revelations of Seth Stephens-Davidowitz in “Everybody Lies.” These two seemingly disparate perspectives have converged in my mind, leading to a fascinating exploration powered by the robust tool that is Similarweb.
“Traffic is people.” Brunson’s concise yet profound truth resonates at the core of my marketing philosophy. Behind the myriad clicks and sessions lie individuals with distinct desires and needs, and understanding their online journey is the fundamental first step towards crafting successful online strategies – a belief I’ve held steadfastly.
Stephens-Davidowitz’s “Everybody Lies” added a layer of depth to this conviction. The unfiltered truths about people’s secret yearnings and concealed interests, laid bare within the vast ocean of Google search data, offered a perspective that was both unsettling and deeply insightful. The realization that digital footprints – search queries, website visits – hold truths often masked in offline interactions solidified my belief that understanding these hidden desires could be pivotal for marketers aiming to deeply connect and resonate with their target audience.
Against this backdrop, I embarked on a quest to find tools that could help me transcend the surface-level data of ‘traffic’ and delve into the underlying ‘mind’ of the online user. My comparative analysis of various traffic analytics websites led me to focus on the in-depth data provided by Similarweb.
While platforms like Google Analytics and Google Trends offer valuable insights into content category trends, Similarweb presented a more granular and, dare I say, intriguing perspective. Its core categories often mirrored those found in Google’s ecosystem:
Comparison of Key Content Categories
| Key Content Categories (25) – Google | Key Content Categories (29) – Similarweb |
|---|---|
| Health 💊 Game 🎮 Science 🔬 Finance 💰 News 📰 Books and literature 📚 Beauty, Fitness 💪 Real estate 🌆 Judicial and government agencies ⚖️ Business, industry 🧑💼 Shopping 🛒 Sports 🚴♀️ Food and drink 🍱 Pets and animals 🐶 Travel 🧳 Arts, Entertainment 🧑🎨 Online Community 🫂 People, Society 👥 Internet, Communication 🌐 Interior and landscaping 🏡 Automobile 🚘 References 🔖 Hobbies, Leisure 🎱 Employment, education 💼 Computer and Electronics 💻 | Health 💊 Game 🎮 Science 🔬 Finance 💰 News 📰 Books and literature 📚 Beauty, Fitness 💪 Real estate 🌆 Judicial and government agencies ⚖️ Business, industry 🧑💼 Shopping 🛒 Sports 🚴♀️ Food and drink 🍱 Pets and animals 🐶 Travel 🧳 Arts, Entertainment 🧑🎨 Online Community 🫂 People, Society 👥 Internet, Communication 🌐 Interior and landscaping 🏡 Automobile 🚘 References 🔖 Hobbies, Leisure 🎱 Employment, education 💼 Computer and Electronics 💻 Lifestyle 🚶 Adult 🔞 Gambling 🎰 Unknown ❓ |
However, Similarweb went a step further, offering additional categories that piqued my marketer’s intuition: Lifestyle 🚶, Adult 🔞, Gambling 🎰, and Unknown ❓. The inclusion of categories like ‘Adult’ and ‘Gambling,’ often representing human interests that are not publicly expressed, resonated deeply with the insights from “Everybody Lies” and became a significant factor in my choice of Similarweb as my exploration tool.
Furthermore, Similarweb’s comprehensive regional data provided an opportunity to analyze global trends with greater granularity. With detailed traffic data spanning 6 countries in South America, 3 in North America, 14 in Asia Pacific, and 36 in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, it became easier to discern the unique online behavioral patterns and underlying needs of different regions.
Regional Data Availability on Similarweb (Number of Countries)
- South America 🌎 (6): Argentina 🇦🇷, Brazil 🇧🇷, Chile 🇨🇱, Colombia 🇨🇴, Peru 🇵🇪, Venezuela 🇻🇪
- North America 🌎 (3): Canada 🇨🇦, Mexico 🇲🇽, United States 🇺🇸
- Asia Pacific 🌏 (14): Australia 🇦🇺, Hong Kong 🇭🇰, India 🇮🇳, Indonesia 🇮🇩, Japan 🇯🇵, Malaysia 🇲🇾, New Zealand 🇳🇿, Pakistan 🇵🇰, Philippines 🇵🇭, Singapore 🇸🇬, South Korea 🇰🇷, Taiwan 🇹🇼, Thailand 🇹🇭, Vietnam 🇻🇳
- Europe Middle East Africa 🌍 (36): Austria 🇦🇹, Belgium 🇧🇪, Bulgaria 🇧🇬, Croatia 🇭🇷, Czech Republic 🇨🇿, Denmark 🇩🇰, Egypt 🇪🇬, Finland 🇫🇮, France 🇫🇷, Germany 🇩🇪, Greece 🇬🇷, Hungary 🇭🇺, Iraq 🇮🇶, Ireland 🇮🇪, Israel 🇮🇱, Italy 🇮🇹, Kuwait 🇰🇼, Morocco 🇲🇦, Netherlands 🇳🇱, Norway 🇳🇴, Poland 🇵🇱, Portugal 🇵🇹, Qatar 🇶🇦, Romania 🇷🇴, Russia 🇷🇺, Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦, Serbia 🇷🇸, Slovakia 🇸🇰, South Africa 🇿🇦, Spain 🇪🇸, Sweden 🇸🇪, Switzerland 🇨🇭, Turkey 🇹🇷, Ukraine 🇺🇦, United Arab Emirates 🇦🇪, United Kingdom 🇬🇧
Through consistent analysis of Similarweb’s Top 50 Websites data, I tracked the monthly changes in content categories across different regions. While categories like Technology and News often maintained high rankings, I occasionally observed unexpected surges in traffic to categories like ‘Adult’ or ‘Gambling’ in specific regions. These data points offered intriguing, albeit indirect, glimpses into the hidden desires that “Everybody Lies” so compellingly highlighted.
Of course, I’m not suggesting that this data analysis is akin to discovering a goldmine overnight. However, as “Traffic Secrets” emphasizes, traffic is ultimately ‘people,’ and as “Everybody Lies” reveals, their online behavior often betrays their honest desires. By leveraging tools like Similarweb to understand macro-level trends and combining these insights with a deep understanding of human psychology, I firmly believe that we can unlock invaluable perspectives for conceiving new business models or more accurately defining the target audience for existing ones.
Moving forward, I will continue my exploration of the human mind through the lens of data, driven by the insights of “Traffic Secrets” and the keen observations of “Everybody Lies,” with the unwavering goal of uncovering hidden business opportunities. I invite you to join me on this ongoing journey, share your own fascinating discoveries, and let us grow together in our understanding of the digital landscape and the people who navigate it.
