Websites Are Dead, Long Live The Web

Very interesting post from Geoff Northcott on the decline of the destination site (and the corresponding rise of the social media sites). Geoff points out that since 2007 most of the major brands out there have witnessed traffic erosion. The examples below illustrate the point perfectly, there are more examples on the original post here:







This traffic is not lost to everyone as Facebook, Twitter et al continue to grow apace. I would be interested to see how brands are reacting to this, how they are reallocating budget and attention from the old "build it and they will come" mentality to a more off-site focus that puts the content where the consumers are, see below:





As Steve Rubel points out:

'Unfortunately, digital marketing is still wired for the destination web era. To succeed going forward we have to change our thinking. "Earned media" through direct public engagement in the venues where our consumers spend time will become the only way to truly influence a behavior change. The greatest advantages will go to the first movers who embrace this shift. It's not too late."

The website is dead, long live the web...