Social Sharing Buttons Rarely Used on News Sites
A study by the UK government found that social sharing buttons on news sites are clicked only 0.21% of the time, with users instead copying and pasting links. Similar results were found in other studies, with some organizations seeing even lower usage rates.
Key points
- The UK government's study on social sharing buttons found a 0.21% usage rate across 6.8 million pageviews.
- Users were 12 times more likely to click an advertisement than interact with social sharing buttons.
- Studies by Moovweb and Luke Wroblewski found similar low usage rates, with an average of 0.25% across 18 million pageviews.
- Users often copy and paste links or use browser share buttons instead of clicking social sharing buttons.
A recent study by the UK government has shed light on the effectiveness of social sharing buttons on news sites. The study, which tracked usage for 10 weeks across 6.8 million pageviews, found that social sharing buttons were clicked only 0.21% of the time. This low usage rate is consistent with other studies, including one by Moovweb which analyzed 61 million mobile sessions and found that only 0.2% of mobile users interacted with social sharing at all.
The low usage rate of social sharing buttons is likely due to the fact that users often prefer to copy and paste links or use browser share buttons instead. This behavior is not limited to news sites, as a study by Luke Wroblewski found that the average usage rate for social sharing buttons across 18 million pageviews was 0.25%.
The findings of these studies have implications for the way news sites design their user interfaces. Rather than relying on social sharing buttons, news sites may want to consider other ways to encourage users to share content, such as providing easy-to-use link copying tools or promoting browser share buttons.
Sources
The WireByte editorial team synthesises technology news from multiple primary sources, verifies the facts, and links every source. Articles are produced with AI assistance and reviewed under our editorial policy.