Bluesky Emerges As Traffic Source: Publishers Report 3x Engagement

Bluesky, a decentralized social network, recently shared that it’s become a growing traffic source for online publishers.

The blog post included quotes and data from several well-known news outlets, showing more engagement and conversions on Bluesky than on other social media platforms.

Publisher Testimonials Highlight Bluesky’s Impact

Matt Karolian from The Boston Globe reported, “Traffic from Bluesky to @bostonglobe.com is already 3x that of Threads, and we are seeing 4.5x the conversions to paying digital subscribers.”

Dave Earley from The Guardian also chimed in, suggesting that traffic from Bluesky to The Guardian is “significantly higher than the very obvious 2x that of Threads.”

According to Kevin Rothrock from The New York Times, “It’s hard to exaggerate how nuts the engagement is on Bluesky compared to 𝕏. A vastly smaller user base (at this point) but so much more active and attentive.”

Marc Elias from Democracy Docket noted, “Traffic from Bluesky to @democracydocket.com is surging while X is falling and Threads remains largely dormant.”

Open Source Web Development Community Thriving on Bluesky

Bluesky has a highly engaged user base that benefits more than just news publishers.

Patak, an open-source web developer, noted that even though they have only 6% of the followers on Bluesky compared to 100,000 on X (formerly Twitter), their announcement post for Vite 6.0 received half the reposts and a third of the likes.

“Most of the comments and quotes from OSS maintainers happened here,” Patak noted. “I don’t know about other communities, but OSS web dev is a Bluesky game now.”

SEO Community Finding a Home on Bluesky

Many SEO professionals, publishers, and developers are now using Bluesky. They like the platform’s features and high engagement, which support discussions and knowledge sharing.

Bluesky is more accommodating towards links compared to X. A company representative stated:

“We want Bluesky to be a great home for journalists, publishers, and creators. Unlike other platforms, we don’t de-promote your links. Post all the links you want — Bluesky is a lobby to the open web.”

This contrasts with a recent statement from Elon Musk, who didn’t deny claims that X demotes posts with links in them.

Just write a description in the main post and put the link in the reply. This just stops lazy linking.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 24, 2024

Bluesky’s algorithm could help SEO-related content get more visibility. Unlike X, where posts can disappear quickly, Bluesky’s decentralized system and focus on user control allow SEO content to stay visible longer and reach a bigger audience.

Bluesky also offers “starter packs” and curated feeds, making it easy to join industry conversations in real-time.

Looking Ahead

Bluesky could become a preferred social network for SEO professionals, offering space to share website content without losing engagement.

It’s important to watch how Bluesky develops and grows to see if it can replace X as the main platform for the SEO community.

You can take advantage of this platform’s opportunities by staying updated and adapting to changes.

Featured Image: Shutterstock/NasShots