As a general rule, holding the total number of pageviews constant, I value a wider distribution over time, since that reflects sustained interest rather than shallow, topical interest. For instance, I think it’s better to get 1000 views spread evenly over a year versus 1000 views on one day and 0 for the rest of the year (one reason is that the trend line for the former suggests 1000 views every year; another is that topical interest tends to be less focused so the people reading the article are less likely to concentrate and imbibe it).
Another rule is that traffic through social media is more shallow than traffic through search or direct visits, since the latter reflect stronger intent to learn while the former is more of a passive activity. This is another reason why I would discount pageviews that came from social sharing (an exception is focused small-group sharing; what I am really trying to discount is social media virality).
As a general rule, holding the total number of pageviews constant, I value a wider distribution over time, since that reflects sustained interest rather than shallow, topical interest. For instance, I think it’s better to get 1000 views spread evenly over a year versus 1000 views on one day and 0 for the rest of the year (one reason is that the trend line for the former suggests 1000 views every year; another is that topical interest tends to be less focused so the people reading the article are less likely to concentrate and imbibe it).
Another rule is that traffic through social media is more shallow than traffic through search or direct visits, since the latter reflect stronger intent to learn while the former is more of a passive activity. This is another reason why I would discount pageviews that came from social sharing (an exception is focused small-group sharing; what I am really trying to discount is social media virality).