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deepmind.google·6d ago
AI Engineering
Hacker News·Jun 16·5 min read
Nobody clicks your share buttons
TL;DR
Many websites include social sharing buttons, but their actual usage is extremely low. Studies by GOV.UK and Moovweb revealed that only about 0.21% to 0.25% of users clicked these buttons.
✦ Why It Matters
Engineers should reconsider implementing social sharing buttons due to their low engagement rates.
Key Takeaways
- Evaluate the necessity of social sharing buttons in your projects.
- Consider user behavior over assumptions about sharing.
- Focus on optimizing URL sharing methods instead.
- Analyze user interaction data to inform design decisions.
Full Summary
Social sharing buttons are commonly found on news sites and blogs, yet their effectiveness is questionable. A study by GOV.UK tracked social sharing button usage over 10 weeks, analyzing 6.8 million pageviews, and found a mere 0.21% click rate, equating to 1 in 476 visitors.
Similarly, Moovweb's analysis of 61 million mobile sessions showed only 0.2% interaction with these buttons. Interaction designer Luke Wroblewski corroborated these findings, averaging 0.25% across 18 million pageviews.
Users overwhelmingly preferred copying and pasting URLs or utilizing their browser's share functionality. These results suggest that social sharing buttons may not be worth the development effort for many sites.