Network with the Alexa Toolbar for FireFox!

If you use Twitter or Facebook, then we have something cool for you. I am happy to announce that we have released a new version of the Alexa Toolbar for Firefox. This new version supports an improved site stats button, and gives you direct access to both Twitter and Facebook while you browse.

Getting the Buttons

If you want to try the new buttons, the first thing you need to do is install or upgrade to the latest version of the Firefox toolbar. If you use IE don't worry, we will be adding them to the Alexa Toolbar for IE soon. Once installed you should see the new buttons at the right hand edge of the toolbar. If not, click on the little down arrow next to the Alexa icon and select "Add Buttons...". This will take you to Alexa's button page, where you can choose which ones you want to add. If you want to remove a button, choose "Organize Buttons..." from the Alexa icon drop down menu and select a button for removal. It's easy!

I know I am biased, but I really love the new social networking buttons. We've worked hard to create tools that we want to use ourselves, and I think we've come up with something that casual and power users alike will find useful. Of course we want to hear what you think, so please post your opinions (or bug reports) in our help forums.

Facebook

The Facebook button was designed to help you keep track of what your friends are saying, and allow you to interact with them without leaving the page you're currently on. Once you've logged in, which you might have to click on the button to do, you will see the profile photos of the last three posts to your News Feed (updated every 5 minutes) to the right of the Facebook icon. If you click on a photo, you can read the status update and any comments, like it, or leave a comment. As new comments appear, the Facebook logo will flare to let you know there is something new.

Clicking on the Facebook logo will allow you to post a link to the page you're currently on to your Facebook wall. Found something you like and want to share? Click the icon, write a message (or not), and share. It's easy, and you never have to leave the page you're on. Using the Facebook icon drop down menu, you can also refresh the faces, open up your wall, or log out of Facebook. This is my new favorite way to interact with Facebook, especially when I'm busy, and the button has even made some Facebook converts here at Alexa.

Twitter

The Twitter button is similar to the Facebook button, but designed with the idea that you're going to want to keep up with more than just the last few Tweets. If you're not already logged into Twitter, clicking on the icon will prompt you to. Once logged in, the icon's drop down menu will display the past 20 tweets from the people you follow (updated every five minutes). The Twitter icon will flare when there are new updates, and the drop down menu also allows you to refresh your feed.

Clicking in the Twitter icon will allow you to tweet directly from the toolbar, and if you want to add a bit.ly URL for the page you're currently on you can do that too. Adding the URL is optional, though, since tweeting is about more than just sharing content. We also don't prompt you to follow Alexa's Twitter feed, although you are welcome to if you want.

Site Stats

As with previous versions of the Alexa Toolbar, if you click on a site's Alexa Rank in the toolbar you will be taken to it's Site Info page on the Alexa website. Now, though, if you click on the site stats button, the toolbar will display a short highlight of the Site Info page. This means you can quickly and easily see how a site is ranked internationally, get an estimate of the number of sites linking to it (a measure of SEO), and get a little more insight into how well reviewed the site is. All without leaving the page that you're on.

I hope I was able to share some of the excitement I have over these new features. We're constantly trying to make the Alexa Toolbar more useful. Download the updated version now, and let us know what you think.

New Sites Linking In and Demographics data now live!

In addition the the Alexa Traffic Rank, Alexa's Site Info pages provide a plethora of information about each site on the web. Two of our more popular data sets are Sites Linking In and Demographics, and we now have fresh data for both.

If you are interested in search engine optimization, or SEO, then you are no doubt familiar with how important sites linking in is to search engines such as Google. It's no secret that Google uses the number, and quality, of the pages that link to pages on your site to determine how important your content is. The more links from trusted pages to your page, the more your page is trusted. You can use Google to easily search for the number of pages linking to a page, but chances are doing that for every page on your site is going to be somewhere between tedious and impossible. But what if you want a higher level view of the topology of links leading to all the pages on your site? Well, that's what Alexa's Sites Linking In is, a count of the number of sites that contain links to the site of interest. The count isn't perfect, of course, the web is an immense and constantly evolving place. Still, you can compare the sites linking in for your site with your competitors, and see how your SEO efforts are stacking up. Are you ahead, or is it time to start working?

Which site is the winner, with the most sites linking in? That would be Google, the number one ranked site in the world also has the most sites linking to it.

The Demographics tab on the Alexa Site Info pages displays estimates of who makes up the audience of a given site, compared to everyone who surfs the web. So, if a site is listed as popular among those aged 18-24 and relatively unused by those 65+, it means the site appeals to a younger audience despite the fact that there tend to be more younger people online than older. For example, etrade.com (upper graph) is popular among younger people, presumably those trying to build their portfolio, while schwab.com (lower graph) is very popular among those thinking about retirement.

Alexa's demographics data often confirms what you might expect given the content of a site, but this can actually be a useful tool, especially when what you expect turns out to be off. If you have an idea of who your target audience is, compare it to Alexa's Demographics data and see if it matches. Do you know your audience? Or is there a segment you were missing? Now, do the same for your competitors. Does your idea of their target audience match the data? And are your competitors better at attracting your audience? If so, it's probably time to start asking why.