Rather see the above links in your inbox or feed reader?
Subscribe to our Links for hand-picked items from around the web
2 Hip-Hop Sites, 1 Prime Spot on Google · by Rafi Kam
For years, All Hip Hop has been the most visited of all hip-hop sites with SOHH in the runner-up spot.
On the Hip Hop Ads Yahoo Group, Hip-Hop blog O.G. Hashim Warren just pointed out a power shift had transpired while nobody was paying attention:
SOHH, the new online hip-hop leader?
Peep: Compete says SOHH has been beating Allhiphop in uniques since October.
Also, Google Trends shows that searches for the term “sohh” have caught up to searches for various forms of the term “allhiphop”.
The question was now open, what could have disrupted this long-standing heirarchy of the two biggest hip-hop sites? It’s been the same ol’ business as usual at both and now we have SOHH surging up 50% in just three months.
The clue as to why is right there on the same Compete page.
Which one of these is not like the other ones?
2 girls 1 cup is the leading search term for SOHH traffic. Could that have something to do with this boost in the number of visitors?
I did a quick search on Google for 2 girls 1 cup and sure enough a SOHH forum page was the #1 top ranking site for the biggest internet meme of the past few months. On subsequent searches I also see it popping up 3rd after two YouTube videos. Still, that’s incredible placement.
How did SOHH acheive this? Well they sorta lucked into it. It so happens that their large community’s discovery of the video was one of the key tipping points for it spreading. That page got a lot of linkbacks and then the keyword kept popping up on SOHH as each reaction video was posted in the forums. See over 400 results for 2 girls 1 cup on sohh.com.
So, is it possible that this kind of fortuitous Search Engine ranking on a forum page was entirely responsible for SOHH becoming the most visited hip-hop site of the past few months?
I’d say it’s damn likely.
Hashim had used Google Trends to observe that SOHH was overtaking AllHipHop. Lets use the same tool to compare the 2 sites plus 2 popular search terms that each site holds the top spot on Google for.
AllHipHop which ranks highest on a search of hip-hop, and SOHH which ranks highest on a search of 2 girls, 1 cup.
That HUGE spike in the Trends chart in the last quarter of 2007 – that’s 2 girls 1 cup. That’s also the period of time when SOHH took over on Compete. Their #1 ranking page went up September 30. The timing fits perfectly.
The hypothesis is confirmed as far as I’m concerned when we switch to looking at page views on Compete. While AllHipHop is dipping down in page views the same way it’s losing steam in visitors, SOHH shows no real jump in page views that we would expect with all the extra unique visitors.
In other words, people are searching for 2 girls 1 cup. They’re getting the SOHH page and they’re naturally abandoning the site after that page.
We’re guessing that SOHH’s reign in most visitors will be shorter than leprechauns unless their community can make a habit of predicting (or arguably creating?) the next viral video.
P.S. I told you guys that the Hip Hop Advertising Group was worth joining. Keep your head up in these hard times Mike. Peace.
Man what a great article, very very informative!!
Thanks
Paul
http://nextthing.wordpress.com
— Paul Jan 12, 04:47 AM
Great stuff Rafi. Maybe the new incarnation of Oh Word should kick things off with some scat porn on the low to get those ratings boosted up.
Or maybe not.
— Dan Love Jan 12, 10:35 AM
anytime anyone asks me how to get a surge of hits on their site; i always tell them “naked girls”.
seriously, dope article.
— khal Jan 12, 01:23 PM
2 girls 1 cup and SOHH have a lot in common.
— Colin C. Jan 12, 10:33 PM
Wow you hipped me to so much good info with this article. I didn’t even know there was a Google Trends. That and Compete are 2 great little tools.
— 510 Jan 13, 07:34 PM
Just goes to show that short term trends don’t usurp the value of quality content that keeps people coming back.
— DJ Flash Jan 17, 02:25 AM
now THAT’S what i call investigative journalism. i know a lot of industry folks that could learn a thing or two from this post.
thanks for the shout btw. i’m holding up.
— dj mirateck Jan 18, 11:57 AM
wow great find
— Rekzai Feb 16, 03:18 AM
I was trying to tell Gyant, who runs the SOHH Atlanta blog that his assertion that the site’s popularity was due to him was way overblown. Or even his assertion that his blog registered AT ALL on the internet traffic blip! It always amazes me just how uninformed bloggers are.
— The Sponsor Jun 28, 05:43 PM