The end of the 2013 calendar also coincides with end of the Houston Texans season, an occurrence that hasn't happened here since 2010. A new year always lends itself to reflection of the past 12 months, a way to evaluate what took place and what can be improved upon the next go around.
In my previous job at the SEC Digital Network, I did an annual ‘year in numbers’ story, as a way to remember and quantify the digital side of the conference. It was also a way for fans to get a glimpse at how they consume our web content. It was popular there, so here we are today, with the first NFL version of that column.
As we look back at the Texans website traffic over the past season, the focus is really on the past five months. The team's first preseason game was Aug. 9, a trip to Minnesota that many predicted would end in another trip to the playoffs.
For the purposes of this review, no actual numbers will be released. Next time we do this at the end of 2014 (hopefully February 2015), we'll do a breakdown of the past two seasons of data. All traffic metrics are courtesy of the Adobe Marketing Cloud, known as Omniture in our business.
Houston Texans Web Traffic
95.0%: 95 percent of traffic to the Houston Texans comes from inside the United States. No surprise here. Canada (1.2%) was the only other country to register over one percent.
65.6%: The amount of non-mobile visitors during the season. That means desktop/laptop computers, a medium most are quick to dismiss as old and out of touch. There is still strength in numbers it appears. Apple's IPad and IPhone combined for 20 percent of traffic.
Sept. 10:Cheers to Monday night memories. The day after the Texans 31-28 win over San Diego was by far the highest traffic day of the 2013 season. The combination of an exciting comeback win along with a late evening start the night before combined to drive the largest daily crowd to our website. This won't be the first time you see this game referenced. Stay tuned.
Top 10 States for HoustonTexans.com Web Traffic
1. Texas
2. California
3. Washington
4. New York
5. Florida
6. Illinois
7. Georgia
8. Pennsylvania
9. Ohio
10. Maryland
Analysis: Everything is bigger in Texas, especially when it comes to the team's traffic. Texas absolutely dominated all other states, accounting for 64 percent of all traffic during the 2013 season. The only other state to be close to double digits was California. For comparison's sake, California's traffic to the web site was more than Washington, New York and Florida combined.
Top 10 Cities for HoustonTexans.com Web Traffic
1. Houston, Texas
2. Spring, Texas
3. Katy, Texas
4. Austin, Texas
5. San Antonio, Texas
6. Sugar Land, Texas
7. Pearland, Texas
8. Dallas, Texas
9. Cypress, Texas
10. Pasadena, Texas
Analysis: We do not have a problem, Houston (I know). These rankings make a lot of sense. Any team's strongest fan base should be in the city they reside in. That's the case here, with seven out of the top 10 cities all being in the Houston area. The first non-Texas city on the list was New York, which checked in at the 18th spot.
Top 5 Stories of the Season
1. Houston Texans announce season ticket prices
2. Texans release final cuts, trim down to 53-man roster
3. Gary Kubiak statement
4. [Andre Johnson, Matt Schaub explain argument
5. Update on Gary Kubiak’s condition**
Top 5 Videos of the Season**
1. [DeAndre Hopkins TD Catch (Preseason against Minnesota)
2. [Brian Cushing Mic'd Up
3. Brian Cushing Pick 6 vs. San Diego
4. McNair on the Kubiak decision
5. Kubiak’s locker room speech (after San Diego win)
