Five by Five: Thinks Most Popular E-commerce and Internet Marketing Posts 2008-2012

We’re beginning to wrap up the year here around Thinks Central. But I don’t want to miss an important event: Our anniversary. That’s right, Big Thinkers. Your favorite little ol’ e-commerce and marketing blog (well, this blog, anyway) is 9 years old this month. Give or take[*].

Over the course of those 9 years, I’ve published more than 1,750 posts, received some 3,400 comments, received many hundreds of thousands of site visitors and pageviews, and gone through roughly 387 laptops (I may be wrong about that last number).

Anyway, to commemorate this occasion, I thought you might enjoy the 5 most popular posts from each of the last 5 years (2008-2012; I’ll have a full list of the most popular posts of 2013 next week). To determine “most popular” posts, I’ve selected those posts that had significant traffic, better-than-average bounce rate, and large number of social shares. Each post is listed by year and includes its overall rank, too. As a sign of the value of having “legacy” content or “tent-pole” content on your site, many of the oldest posts on the blog continue to gain traffic and, as a result, tend to rank highest in terms of overall traffic. Something to think about as you optimize and enhance your site in 2014.

Without further ado, I offer you The Most Popular Thinks Posts (2008-2012). Enjoy!

Top Posts From 2008

1. The most popular post from 2008, and still the #1 most popular post overall on the blog is Smart companies use Twitter. Here’s how.
2. Another biggie, I Heart Zappos – The best customer service story you’ll ever hear (#4 overall)
3. A very popular look at your need for a website: Is your business still invisible? Why? (#6 overall)
4. For a long time, the most popular post on the blog was this review: Comparing Jimdo to SiteKreator, Webnode, Weebly and WordPress (#7 overall)
5. Visitors consistently enjoy this look at how to set up your first business blog (#12 overall)
6. Twitter was a big topic back in 2008, as this shows: What’s the business value of twitter? (#14 overall)

Top Posts from 2009

1. This next one is a hugely popular post straight through to today and is frequently among the top 15 most-visited pages each month: 5 Questions About Landing Page URL’s (#2 overall)
2. This look at the downside of social media still offers some good tips. (#15)
3. Another post that continues to do well asks: What does an A/B test look like, anyway? (#17)
4. One of my personal favorites: What are the best tools to improve online marketing? Here’s a hint: Who cares? (#20)
5. Another slow and steady, but still popular post that continues to do well each month: 4 Steps to Create Great Content For Your Business Blog (#23)

Top Posts from 2010

1. A big entry from my (on-hiatus) “Small Business E-commerce Link Digest” series: Improving web analytics to improve your business (Small Business E-commerce Link Digest – July 9, 2010) (#10 overall)
2. Good look at analytics tools and theory: What’s the best tool to measure your website? (#45)
3. First entry that falls outside the top 100, but also my first detailed look at the value in mobile… from three years ago. Just sayin’: Is Amazon’s $1 billion in mobile sales enough to convince you? (#105)
4. A very popular guest post: Jumpstart E-Commerce Sales with These 5 Easy Tips (#107)
5. Good question: Is it possible to fail too fast online? (#112)

Top Posts from 2011

1. A consistently strong performer. Keeps climbing in popularity year after year: Subdomains and Subdirectories for Branding (#9 overall)
2. I can’t lie. I love this post: You Don’t Need a Website (#26)
3. Another guest post. Ironically enough, it’s about the value of guest posts: The Benefits of Guest Posts For Your Small Business Blog by Carol Wilson (#36)
4. Good insights into SoLoMo: Learning 21st Century Social, Local, Mobile and Video Marketing From a 19th Century Company (#51)
5. Another exploration of social: Social media marketing is a good idea: Reason #324 (well, it’s #54, not 324, actually)

Top Posts from 2012

1. Good content marketing tips: A dozen useful content marketing best practices worth reviewing (#27 overall)
2. Good overview and another personal fave. Glad it made the list: Building your brand story (#32)
3. Great tips: 5 amazing mobile strategy tips from HEDNA (#46)
4. Excellent guest post: Guest post: Four Keys to Increase E-commerce Exposure in 2012 by Nii Ahene (#49)
5. And another “Small Business E-commerce Link Digest” entrant: 9+ tips for improving your website’s effectiveness (Small Business E-commerce Link Digest – March 23, 2012) (#54)

Well, Big Thinkers, I hope you enjoyed this look back as much as I did. But don’t worry. I’m not getting all nostalgic on you. Look forward to more great e-commerce and Internet marketing content tomorrow (and the next day. And the next. And the next…)

If you’re interested in learning more about the future of e-commerce and marketing via the social, local, mobile web, register to receive a special report I’ve produced in conjunction with hotel marketing firm Vizergy, “Digital Hotel Marketing in a Multiscreen World.” While it’s targeted specifically at hotel and resort marketers, the lessons apply to just about any business. You can get your free copy of the report here.

You might also enjoy some of our past coverage of the social, local, mobile web and what it means for your business, including:

1. The Secrets Behind “It’s All E-commerce” for 2014
2. The Zen of Digital Marketing Strategy
3. 7 Steps to E-Commerce Heaven
4. Today and Tomorrow: Mobile and The Changing Customer Journey
5. Warning: Mobile Drives Booking Costs Up and 4 Ways to Prevent It (Travel Tuesday)
6. Mobile Makes E-commerce Even More “Frictionless”
7. 3 Key Trends for 2013

Here’s a little history. I originally launched Thinks over on Google’s Blogger service, way back in December, 2004 (you can still view the retired old blog here). Back then, I focused less on marketing and business, to avoid any conflicts with my employer. Instead, I posted slightly snarky observations about Web culture, technology, and really anything that caught my interest.

In December, 2005, I moved the blog to a self-hosted WordPress site (the very one you’re on today, although I switched hosts in November 2007 when my old hosting company folded its tents and vanished in the middle of the night. No joke. You can read about the aftermath here, if you’re interested).

In June, 2006, I launched a second blog, called “TravelStuff,” on WordPress.com to catalog developments in the world of online travel distribution and e-commerce (I worked for a hotel company at the time). Much like the original Thinks, I avoided too much direct commentary about the industry to avoid any conflicts of interest. That content evolved into my current “Travel Tuesday” series. Both the original TravelStuff items and new weekly “Travel Tuesday” posts are now hosted within Thinks but you can still view all travel-related content separately via the TravelStuff.TimPeter.com domain.

And, there you have it. The complete history of Tim Peter Thinks in a nutshell. Hope you enjoyed it. And I hope you keep coming back for more in 2014 and beyond.