On Wednesday, the first of the month, I ran March stats for my clients. Internet business traffic means sales. We like to provide our clients with a list showing the number of visitors they had along with downloadable pdfs for possible viral marketing, and their most popular pages. Once the stats are complete Peggy sends out the invoices. With many people not working due to restrictions with Covid-19, I should have been a little worried, but I had an inkling the numbers would be okay. They were much better than okay. With so many people forced out of their jobs and simply staying home, circumstances actually pushed people onto the internet for news, entertainment, and shopping.
I hadn’t really been worried because I had seen activity for two clients via a simple email form on their sites. Mostly these emails are just spam, but client Circle B Ranch (dog breeders) had half a dozen request for both puppies and adult dogs, and Titan Lawn had several requests for lawncare service.
We have a well-seasoned website that is strictly dedicated to product and client reviews; just reviews of our clients and their products and services. Since joining us several years ago, Nth Degree Accounting out of Seattle has always led the list of reviews each month. Their total fluctuate from fifty to seventy something. In March they reached 109.
Local theater good news: To provide entertainment, Tacoma Little Theatre uploaded their production of Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth. In a little less than a week their play had 202 views. Lakewood Playhouse followed with their version of the Gilbert & Sullivan’s more upbeat production of The Pirates of Penzance. In less than 24 hours it had 286 views. Both theatres and all others have closed their doors and canceled or postponed scheduled productions.
Searching for similar reactions from news sources, I found nothing. I did post on several Facebook business sites asking about similar stats. E.G. in Bellevue said she thought her business traffic had indeed blossomed. R.K. in Seattle noted that he thought their stats remained the same, but they were backlogging requests for when they go back to work. He was happy with the results.
Tracy Peacock, executive director of St. Vinnie’s here in Tacoma/Pierce County asked for help Friday afternoon. They have gift cards for gasoline and food to help families, but are running low on funds. With the Covid-19 restrictions, both of the St. Vinnie’s thrift shops are closed. We created a Facebook post and uploaded a gas station image and a message to about a dozen local pages. We saw a number of comments from members, so I hope the postings resulted in donations as well.
All of these details mean surprisingly good news, but there could be problems ahead if the internet should falter:
“Planes are grounded, factories shuttered and cities on lockdown. Yet data — the lifeblood of the modern economy — keeps flowing.” Internet Traffic is Surging But The Pipes Aren’t Bursting Yet – bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-20/internet-traffic-is-surging-but-the-pipes-aren-t-bursting-yet
Internet Traffic Surges As Companies And Schools Send People Home – npr.org/2020/03/17/817154787/internet-traffic-surges-as-companies-and-schools-send-people-home
“With people going online more in the pandemic, internet traffic has exploded.” – Surging Traffic Is Slowing Down Our Internet – nytimes.com/2020/03/26/business/coronavirus-internet-traffic-speed.html
For now, the internet is keeping businesses going, entertaining viewers, and giving people a sense of community.
