This document presents key metrics and performance indicators for websites in different industries that are in the top 20% for those metrics based on Adobe Analytics Cloud data. It summarizes trends in 2017 regarding mobile usage and growth, dependence on search engines, the impact of social media, conversion rates, and other measures. The document also provides methodology details and definitions for terms used in the analysis.

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Best of the Best 2017
Adobe Digital Insights

2. © 2017 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
Best of the Best: 2017
03 What is Best of the Best
04 Better Mobile Experiences Everywhere
05 Mobile Growth: Raising Some Higher Than Others
06 As Competition Heats up Time Spent is Cooling
07 Everyone is Becoming More Dependent on Search
08 Social, Finally, Driving Traffic Growth
09 Mixed Results for the Share of Return Traffic
10 Desktop Learning From Mobile on Conversion
11 Methodology
12 Glossary
Table of Contents
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3. © 2017 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
What is Best of the Best
The Best of the Best 2017 report refers to companies using the Adobe Analytics Cloud who rank in the top 20% of fellow Adobe
clients in their industry on various key performance metrics. It is called the Best of the Best because Adobe Analytics Cloud
customers are already ahead of the masses through their investment in excellence.
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How to Read the Best of the Best:
Industry being
measured
Overall average for
sites in this industry
Overall average for the Top
20% of sites in this industry
Year-over-year change.
This is the percent change in the
average for the industry
Gap between Top 20% and
average from 2016 to 2017.
Narrower means the gap is closing.
Wider means it’s increasing.

4. © 2017 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
Better Mobile Experiences Everywhere
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 All industries saw higher relative
engagement rates for smartphones in
2017.
 Smartphone relative engagement is
used to compare a website’s mobile
experience to the traditional or
desktop experience. During 2017 the
average visitor engaged with about
80% as much content on a
smartphone as they did when using a
desktop/laptop.
 At about 95%, the best websites are
finding little room for improvement,
causing the gap to narrow.

5. © 2017 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
Mobile Growth: Raising Some Higher Than Others
5
 Double-digit percent growth in the
share of traffic should quiet anyone
expecting mobile to slow down.
 Not everyone is benefiting equally
from mobile growth. The gap
between the best and the average is
widening in most industries.
 Marketers looking for an example on
how to attract mobile traffic should
look at websites where it matters
most, like Wireless Providers in the
Telco industry.

6. © 2017 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
As Competition Heats up Time Spent is Cooling
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 Despite higher mobile engagement
scores, time spent per visitor
continues to decline emphasizing the
importance of a smooth experience.
Spoiled consumers are showing less
patience with slow and confusing
websites.
 Media & Entertainment is the one
exception. The best M&E websites are
now seeing nearly 11 minutes spent
per visitor, and even this high mark
doesn’t fairly represent the wide range
in the distribution of time spent for
the best websites.

7. © 2017 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
Everyone is Becoming More Dependent on Search
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 Some thought the tide had turned,
but search engines may be benefiting
more from mobile than expected.
 All industries, except travel, saw a
higher share of traffic from search in
2017 compared to 2016. And in most
cases the gap between the average
and those most dependent on search
is widening.
 Auto websites, despite an abundance
of linear and display advertising, are
finding that consumers would rather
search than type domains for these
well-known brands.

8. © 2017 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
Social, Finally, Driving Traffic Growth
8
 30% social referral growth for the
average industry.
 Media & Entertainment websites
can’t overlook this important source
of eyeballs, but weary of their growing
dependence on social networks, will
be glad to be the only industry with a
declining average share of traffic from
social.
 Retail and Auto may have finally
cracked the nut on converting social
awareness into web visitors, with 4-
5% of traffic from social for the best
websites.

9. © 2017 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
Mixed Results for the Share of Return Traffic
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 Website Affinity, or the share of
visitors that have visited before,
remains flat at about 20% for the
average industry.
 However, Auto and Financial Services
companies should pay careful
attention to this metric, as the average
share of return traffic is falling sharply
for those two industries.

10. © 2017 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential. 10
Desktop Learning From Mobile on Conversion
 As mobile conversion increases so
does desktop. The best marketers
seem to be applying to the traditional
experience what they have learned
from simplifying the mobile
conversion process.
 Mobile conversion is still about a third
of desktop but growing at 13% and
30% respectively for Retail and Travel.
Mobile won’t be a sore spot for
conversion for much longer.

11. © 2017 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. Adobe Confidential.
Methodology
11
Consists of aggregated and anonymous data from 200 billion visits to 10,000+ U.S. websites
during the 2017 calendar year.
Data from different Adobe Experience Cloud solutions:
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Glossary
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 Share of Visits: Share of visits to a website by device
 Stickiness: Percent of traffic that stays and engages with a site
 Visit Rate: Average monthly website visits per visitor, overall and by device
 Smartphone Traffic: Percent of visits to a website originating on a smartphone
 Time Spent: Average minutes per visitor
 Conversion: Average orders or bookings per visit, overall and by device