traffic

The amount of user activity on a Web site. Visitors who have received some form of compensation are known as "incentivized traffic."

In another sense, the millions of data packets that stream through cables, cords, glass, and air are commonly referred to as "traffic."

Historical perspective: It's easy to get dazzled by the notion of "traffic" and to assume that the more hits you're getting on the site, the better the site is performing. However, it's not uncommon for high-traffic business sites to perform poorly when it comes to sales conversions. What really matters to a business isn't the total number of visitors your site receives, but the number of relevant, qualified visitors. For example, a site that converts 25 out of 100 visitors into customers is significantly more effective than one that converts 10 out of 1,000 visitors. In other words, higher traffic can provide a great ego boost, but it doesn't necessarily improve your bottom line.