Hitwise closes: What are Alternatives to Hitwise data and software

Avast-owned clickstream analytics company Jumpshot closed down on Feb 3rd 2020, following reports that it sold its user’s web browsing data.

As a result, many businesses as well as suppliers of search intelligence lost access to important Market Intelligence data that relied on this clickstream output to help it measure or estimate market performance. Hitwise was unfortunately one of these providers, which in turn announced it was ceasing operations to its customers on 6th February.

Hitwise announces its closure to customers Feb 6th 2020

Email to Hitwise customers from Managing Director Giles Longhurst

Hitwise was truly insightful

I've always really liked Hitwise. Back in the day (around 2010) the blog written by Robin Goad offered greater insight to web activity, search stats and market performance than any other. It was superb - Robin became a hero of mine. But the blog slowed down as Hitwise's customer base grew (I was told their articles were becoming too sensitive for their client base). And I think it if fair to say Hitiwse itself slowed down under the ownership of Experian, too, until it was bought by Connexity.

But ultimately Hitwise was truly insightful.

Hitwise's clickstream data - the pros and cons

The Hitwise platform initially used sample data then later clickstream data supplied to it to estimate website traffic, website clickthroughs, up and downstream visits, attribution data, search volume, PPC versus organic share. Plus they offered pretty rudimentary search engine performance and tracking.

The benefits of Clickstream data

The data is as good as the panel or sample you are getting it from. Large opt-in sample sizes can give extremely rich data and insight, at very rapid iterations. For example a brand can see emerging trends early and react accordingly.

Like polling companies before an election the sample's participant's activity is extrapolated to give a larger estimation of the nation. The very best polling companies get this right with just small samples.

The flaws of Clickstream data

With Clickstream data all search activity needs to be extrapolated across an entire market. For the ambitious data providers this could have multiple demographic points, regions and devices, browsers and so on. If the sample is too small, or if anomalies are not picked up, trends can vary hugely with Clickstream data.

An example of an (obvious) anomaly I heard about was someone who was working for a footwear company. They were told by their clickstream data that there was a huge spike in searches for "Red stilettos size ten" in the south east of the country and "shoe licking" in the north. These types of searches (and many less obvious ones) were being shown as regional trends, based presumably on very low levels of searches.

But what anomalous data did they use to fulfil their strategy that they didn't spot?

As with polling companies who do well, the flip side is polling companies who get this seriously wrong. And the more differentiations involved in the data, the greater the chance for anomalies.

Pi Datametrics Search Intelligence an Alternative to Hitwise

At Pi Datametrics we believe we can offer an ideal alternative to Hitwise data and other lost insight, with our two platforms, Pi Platform and Pi Market Intelligence.

Pi Market Intelligence is the ultimate market analysis solution, enabling you to analyse the organic share of the players returning in your market, based on any number of searches.

One search can return hundreds of results and competitors in Google. When you want to analyse your share of those results across thousands of searches, Pi Market Intelligence does the heavy lifting; revealing share of voice & value, global market share, historical consumer behaviour trends, and a panoramic view of search opportunity.

These insights can offer an alternative to Hitwise insight, if you have lost data.

What insight can you get from Pi Market Intelligence?

Global share of voice

Pi Market Intelligence gives you the full perspective on your market, across global search engines and marketplaces.

Unlike other solutions, Pi Mi showcases your top 30 competitors for any consumer search you can think of (at a category, sector or market level) with no need for you to predetermine your rivals.

By auto-detecting competitors that are completely aligned with your most important searches, Pi Mi unearths your true rivals - not just those already on your radar.

For example, if Wikipedia were present in your sector online, you may not think of this site as a threat, but it is still taking up a valuable share of your market that could otherwise be owned by you.

And a competitor discovery isn’t just about beating your rivals. By showcasing your true competitor set, PiMi divulges new opportunities in the form of potential resellers, advocates and PR opportunities, giving you the knowledge to build lucrative partnerships with those who already capture a significant proportion of your audience.

Chart information:

• Share of voice leaders | Chart type: Landscape performance | Period: Daily | Data: Previous day’s snapshot

Historical share of voice

[metaslider id=29177]

With share of voice over time charts, you can follow top-level performance growth and decline, to monitor the effects of your business efforts.

Pi Mi enables doesn’t just enable content and SEO performance monitoring, but also brand health observation.

Simply load your account with search terms / groups related to your brand and all of its assets, to populate your PiMi report and assess brand performance.

Chart information:

• Share of voice timeline | Chart type: Landscape performance | Period: Weekly or Monthly | Data: 17 weeks or 36 months
• Share of voice market rank | Chart type: Personal performance | Period: Weekly or Monthly | Data: 17 weeks or 36 months

[icon-cta-banner colour='jazzberry-jam' headline="Demo Pi Market Intelligence" icon='/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Jon-Earnshaw-Article_icon.svg' cta_action='/sign-up-for-a-demo/' cta_text='Book your demo']

Search trends

[metaslider id=29181]

With 36 months of retrospective search volume data, Pi Market Intelligence enables you to identify trends in your market over time; from one-off peaks, to seasonal demand.

Knowing this insight is invaluable for planning across the business.

Know that search interest around ‘Bikinis’ peaks highest in January? As a women’s fashion retailer, ensure your product pages are ranking in the top spots to capture this demand.

PiMi search trends give you the confidence to make informed decisions of when to activate different elements of your business strategy, to make the most return.

Chart information:

• Estimated Organic Traffic | Chart type: Personal performance | Period: Weekly or Monthly | Data: 17 weeks or 36 months
• Search Volume Timeline | Chart type: Landscape performance | Period: Monthly | Data: 36 months

Organic Value Score and revenue opportunity

[metaslider id=29185]

Every single search term that you submit to PiMi is marked up with a value, based on its visibility, popularity and overall converting potential.

At Pi we call this proprietary equation OVS, and use it to assign a pound / dollar value to organic search.

By introducing your Average Conversion Value and Conversion Rate, Pi Mi takes Organic Value Score to the next level, giving you accurate trend and share breakdowns of your organic revenue performance.

Estimated revenue share charts reveal the categories with most commercial potential across your industry, showing you what to focus on first.

Comparing estimated revenue trends with search volume trends enables you to make the distinction between when your customers search, and when they convert.

[icon-cta-banner colour='jazzberry-jam' headline="Demo Pi Market Intelligence" icon='/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Jon-Earnshaw-Article_icon.svg' cta_action='/sign-up-for-a-demo/' cta_text='Book your demo']

Chart information:

• Estimate revenue opportunity | Chart type: Personal performance| Data: 1 week | Period: Weekly
• Historic revenue potential | Chart type: Personal performance | Period: Monthly | Data: 36 months
• Estimated revenue performance | Chart type: Personal performance | Period: Weekly or Monthly | Data: 17 weeks or 36 months

Category performance

Pi Market Intelligence gives you multiple layers of market share and trend analysis, including:

• Subcategory
• Category
• Sector
• Market

Whether you’re assessing the value of a campaign, diving into the landscape of a niche topic or looking at your overall brand penetration across global marketplaces, Pi Market Intelligence facilitates all levels of analysis.

If you think Pi Market Intelligence could make a good alternative to Hitwise data, get in touch to book your demo.