Google has been taken to task for being obtuse with its engagement metrics for Google+. After parsing the definition Google provided, All Things Digital described it as anyone who "registered for Google+ any time since it launched this summer, and you used any other Google product–say, search!–in the past day or week, while signed into your Google account, you got counted in those percentages."
Compete has now given the Google+ brand a lift, with new numbers that show dramatic growth recently. The page drew over 40 million unique visitors in December alone, with more than 10 times that amount in visits, while also passing 3 billion page views.
Facebook’s numbers, as well, don't necessarily hold up scrutiny. Barry Ritholtz takes a look at what Facebook considers a daily or monthly "user"—a significant metric that captures Facebook's reach and user base and has much to do with the company’s rich valuation. "There is far less to being counted as a FB user than meets the eye," he writes.
"If you click on a Like button any given day, you are counted by Facebook as an active user that day."
The S-1 defines Daily Active Users as a registered Facebook user who logged in and visited Facebook through its website or a mobile device, or took an action to share content or activity with his or her Facebook friends or connections via a third-party website that is integrated with Facebook, on a given day, he noted.
That means anyone who clicks on a Like button can be accounted as a daily active user even if he or she never signed in to Facebook.
Another Way to Look at Facebook
For Facebook advocates—or at least those who think it is worth $100 billion—Pagetrafficbuzz has gathered the most up to date figures about Facebook traffic, based on Hitwise’s calculations.
1. Facebook.com captures one in every eleven Internet visits, or 9% of all visits online.
2. 1 in every 5 page views occurs on Facebook.com.
3. The average time a US user spends on Facebook is 20 minutes.
4. Women use Facebook more than the men in the United States, by 57% to 43%.
