Google once was the top source of referral traffic for musicians and all web site publishers. Then Facebook surpassed it. Now, for many, Google is back on top again. In 2017, Facebook sent 25% less traffic to web publishers this year, while Google traffic was up 17%, according to data from Parse.ly.
There are several reasons for the traffic shift from Facebook back to Facebook, according to a recode analysis of Parse.ly data including:
“Facebook is constantly updating its news feed algorithm and any changes to the way Facebook surfaces stories could have far-reaching effects on publishers. Last year, for example, the social media company tweaked its algorithm to prioritize posts from friends and family over publishers."
“There’s been a broad move toward publishing video directly on Facebook, which could affect how many links to web stories publishers put on their Facebook pages. Any algorithms on Facebook that prioritize native video over text links could have an effect, too."
There are several reasons for the traffic shift from Facebook back to Facebook, according to a recode analysis of Parse.ly data including:
“Facebook is constantly updating its news feed algorithm and any changes to the way Facebook surfaces stories could have far-reaching effects on publishers. Last year, for example, the social media company tweaked its algorithm to prioritize posts from friends and family over publishers."
“There’s been a broad move toward publishing video directly on Facebook, which could affect how many links to web stories publishers put on their Facebook pages. Any algorithms on Facebook that prioritize native video over text links could have an effect, too."
