SLurls on NWN Get Way Less Clickthrough Than URLs

SLurl links, which take you directly to SL's web map and the option to launch the client, get way less clickthroughs than more traditional web links, such as an SL blog or an SL Marketplace listing. That's the case on New World Notes at least, which is probably the largest SL-oriented blog by traffic, but I suspect that's generally true with other sites. I track these clicks with bitly.com, the crazy useful service that shortens URLs, and also tracks clickthroughs in terms of site and national origin, and other nifty info. Above is a typical spread, with 27 clickthroughs to a SLurl, and 75 clickthroughs to Tyche Shephard's Grid Survey site, which I recently wrote about. This 3 to 1 ratio of URLs to SLurls is pretty typical, with the very most popular SLurls getting clickthroughs of around 150 or so then topping out, and the very most popular URLS getting 500-900 clicks. Even most non-SL sites I link to get stronger traffic than SLurls -- for example, that immersive Ana Somnia web experience I blogged yesterday has so far gotten 139 clickthroughs.

What does this mean? For New World Notes readers, it strongly suggests this: You are generally more interested in visiting websites with content about SL (and other virtual world/gaming/tech) than visiting SL itself. This isn't a total surprise, because if you are browsing the web, you don't necessarily want to interrupt or slow that experience by launching a heavy 3D client. But my original assumption was that readers would come back to interesting SLurls over the weekend or when they had more leisure, and that doesn't generally seem to be the case. (This is one of the reasons I write less about SL events.)

I think this observation is probably important for other SL content creators:

If you run an SL blog, or Marketplace listing, or a related site, for example, I'd strongly recommend you create bitly links, to see if a similar pattern applies. If it does, then it suggests the conclusion I've come to make: Your SL-related web presence is much more important than your in-world SL site, and you should develop your content, promotion, and community outreach accordingly. In any case, please share your own findings in Comments.

Interesting side note: Bitly's lead scientist, Hilary Mason, did some very interesting graduate projects in Second Life tracking user visits on her school's sim, which she told me about at Foo Camp, but I sadly never got around to writing about them. So instead, watch Hilary (who rocks) talking about Bitly and web traffic at Web 2.0 below:

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Comments

[Ciaran Laval]

There's a well known third party forum, which carries adverts for SL users, they recommend that your banner adverts lead to a website instead of a SLURL, probably for the same reasons you've identified.

[shockwave yareach]

That's because we may be on our laptops, cellphones, small computer, library computer with no client, netbook, or just don't feel like going to SL at that moment. Why should I have to log into SL to read some blog post? SL has a few strengths, but RSS reader is not one of them.

Whereas to use the SLURL, we have to be at the computer we have our clients residing upon. I don't know how many computers I access in a day's time, but I know that the number is FAR higher than the ONE computer I have my SL client on.

[Ajax Manatiso]

I never click SLURLs because they want to launch the LL official client, and I am using a TPV -- as simple as that.

[Kim Anubis]

I read NWN on an iPad, and not even in a web browser, but in a specialized newsreader app. No point in clicking on a SLURL from here.

[Account Deleted]

Well, that's not a suprise to me.

The main reason is probably the one you have pointed out: you don't want to interrupt your experience by launching a heavy 3D client

The second main reason is probably the one Ajax pointed out: it lauches the LL official client and many users prefer a TPV.

That's why I became used to make a machimina about the subject I want to discuss, upload it to YouTube and embed it in the webpage. This way, the user not only read about it but has enough of the experience without having to leave the Web and go inworld.

[Pussycat Catnap]

People go into SL to play the game.

If you gave me 'WoWrls' that loaded up item repair vendor, profession trainers, or dungeon queueing from my browser...
- I'd probably click on it a -LOT- less than I would the link next to it to some page on the World of Warcraft website.

This seems pretty obvious to me, and I wonder why it surprises anyone.

[Ciaran Laval]

If LL would let us have group and parcel pages along with our user profiles, then some of this traffic could be directed to their site.

I'm thinking here along the lines of Facebook and Google + pages, which give scope to describe places in a web browser.

[Indigo Mertel]

I am not surprised. And this is why Linden Lab should seriously consider enhancing groups with a web interface as I advocated time ago: http://bit.ly/otlKJp

Think of the advantages of having a mini forum integrated in a group as I explain in my post. It can be a great tool for all those groups which offer support for services or products. It can be much needed repositories of information (FAQs, file libraries, etc). Overall, web enabled forums can be great promotional tools for content creators, while Linden Lab can benefit for the extra exposure given by all the content available on the web. It can be the perfect showcase of the vast amount of activities and topics covered in Second Life.

If Linden Lab made web-enabled groups a perk for Premium members, that would *really* add value to Premium accounts

[Nalates Urriah]

Shockwave, Ajax, and I skip clicking SLURL’s for similar reasons. I will right click SLURL’s and save them in the Notepad for later use. Bit.ly doesn’t track that. Google Analytics has click tracking. I’ve never looked to see if it distinguishes right-clicks.

The SLURL going to the wrong viewer is a common problem. Unless one takes deliberate action the SLURL uses the last viewer installed. Some viewer installs give you a choice change SLURL handling. The main SL Viewer does not. Since I often have a project viewer installed last, I seldom want a SLURL click to fire up the project viewer. I’ll right-click copy the URL and paste it into the location bar in the top of the viewer.

Back in the Emerald days I actually figured out how to change the core Windows settings to use the viewer of my choice. Also Firefox and Chrome can be set to use any SL capable viewer with SLURL’s and over ride the Windows settings. But, it is a pain to change once set. With viewer names like Firestorm, Firestorm-Beta, Firestorm-Release, etc. changing frequently, changing the browser SLURL association becomes a tedious task. So, I forego setting it in the browsers. I prefer the freedom to easily change my mind.

See: http://blog.nalates.net/2010/07/27/emerald-viewer-vs-slurl/

[foneco zuzu]

Here i use Slurs:
http://lindakellie.com/exploring/
On Second Life, i had to set up my Tpv but now i can use them as well!
Of course i can only use them if im at home, in front of my computer, so right now, on my work 1, i can't even try them!

[Ann Otoole InSL]

Because nobody wants to click slurls. People who actually use SL and know the clients know why.

[Natali]

Launching the client aside -
Who's reading this blog?
Very rarely do I see any references to small obscure events/places that I've never heard of. If it's a reblog then I want to go to the source and any slurls I`ll be hitting will be from that blog/site.
Chances are, if your readership is made up of mostly engaged and longish SLusers then they already have LMs or know how to open map and type in the SIM name or use search. Yes, sometimes search actually works.
I hit slurls all the time from blogs for small unknown stores. But when clicking advertising a slurl is a turnoff, I want a webpage.

[Veri]

I *never* ever ever click SLURLs, because as others have said, they don't launch the right viewer.

But that doesn't mean I don't visit them -- I just right click, copy link, paste it into SL chat and use it there.

Or, sometimes, I just forget the SLURL entirely and find it easier to go to the place through in-world search.

You just can't reliably measure SLURL clickthroughs like with regular URLs.

[Hamlet Au]

But the clickthrough the bitly counts is to the SL map, not the client launch button. If people wanted to copy the SLurl, they could just get it from the map page that comes up, but they don't even get that far.

[Wait What?]

Hamlet cites - "What does this mean? For New World Notes readers, it strongly suggests this: You are generally more interested in visiting websites with content about SL (and other virtual world/gaming/tech) than visiting SL itself"

I'd say its more likely "You are generally more interested in getting paid 1kl for doing a survey than launching SL because you may be reading this at a time when you can't log inworld/are already logged inworld and prolly having pixelsecks/don't feel like logging inworld at the moment." I know that I took that survey here at work.

[Hitomi Tiponi]

I never click SLURLs because it never seems to work for me - I just make a note and visit some time later.

[Amanda Dallin]

"But the clickthrough the bitly counts is to the SL map, not the client launch button. If people wanted to copy the SLurl, they could just get it from the map page that comes up, but they don't even get that far."

There's no need to go that far when you can right click and copy the original SLURL. I do that all the time. Your conclusions in the original article is based on incomplete information.