A report from Chartbeat reveals that Google Chrome’s mobile article recommendations have become the fourth largest driver of referral traffic, following Twitter, Facebook, and Google Search.
Mobile article recommendations appear when a user opens a new tab in the Chrome app. These are also referred to as “Articles for You,” “Chrome Content Suggestions,” and “Chrome Suggestions.”
Chartbeat’s data indicates that traffic from Chrome’s Articles for You increased by 2,100% in 2017. Referral traffic rose from 15 million visits per month to 341 million visits per month, with Chartbeat tracking referral traffic only from Android devices.
Chartbeat attributes the rise in referral traffic from Articles for You to users transitioning from desktop computers to mobile devices.
“Since January 2017, mobile web traffic to Chartbeat clients has grown over 20 percent, reflecting just how much more time users are spending on their mobile devices.”
Several other factors contribute to this growth, including Chrome being the leading browser worldwide. Additionally, Articles for You appears by default every time a new tab is opened in the Chrome app, making these suggestions unavoidable for users.
Another reason Chrome’s article suggestions effectively drive traffic is that they are personalized based on browsing history.
While it is too early to determine how site owners can optimize for Chrome’s Articles for You, publishing AMP versions of content may be beneficial. Chartbeat notes that Articles for You primarily features AMP pages, with 72% of article suggestions leading to AMPs.
As Articles for You has become a significant source of referral traffic, Chartbeat has added it to their “research agenda.” We will closely monitor this development and report on any new information as it emerges.
