1. Simpson 1
Shelby Simpson
Analysis of Web Site Popularity and Traffic
The Original Muck Boot Company Analysis
WEB SITE OVERVIEW
General Company Information
Outdoors, adventure, work, durability, versatility, waterproof, rugged; all these words
come to mind at first glance of The Original Muck Boot Company. The company began in 1999
with a desire to create a comfortable and high performance boot for messy conditions. By
surpassing consumer expectations via creating a waterproof, versatile, and durable boot, The
Original Muck Boot Company has grown rapidly over the past twenty years (The Original Muck
Boot Company: Heritage). The Original Muck Boot Company headquarters is located in
Smithfield, Rhode Island and brings in about 6.1 million dollars in revenue annually (Owler.
Muck Boot Company: Company Profile). The Original Muck Boot Company focuses on boots
but also has a few basic options for apparel. Apparel is available in men’s, women’s, and kids,
but is very simple with just The Original Muck Boot Company logo on a solid or camouflage
shirt.
The Original Muck Boot Company also has their own blog called “#MUCKLIFE” where
they can engage consumers and share or post information about their product and other related
articles. For example, one article talks about “Life In The Rainy States” and pushes readers to
find the positives in a rainy location. After informing the reader about the most rain ridden states
The Original Muck Boot Company informs
readers on how to get the proper rain gear,
and they do not shine the light directly on
their company, but they refer the reader to
other “finer quality” rain gear companies
(website). Name-dropping other companies is a great way for The Original Muck Boot Company
to show their customers they are not just focusing on making a profit, but they want to expose
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them other quality products as well. The blog is a great way for their brand to do more than
provide a product by giving their stakeholders a reason to come back to their site, even when
they do not need a new pair of boots.
Along with the web site and blog, The Original Muck Boot Company is very active on
their YouTube channel, which is most of what I found
for news on the owler.com. They share many different
types of videos, from general The Original Muck
Boot Company overviews/advertisements, to recaps where they are
vendors at events. For example, there were a couple videos from different festivals where they
set up “The Boot Room” where they set up what looks like a trailer that event goers can walk
through. There are different types/styles of boots on display as well as other items branded with
the The Original Muck Boot Company logo. They also share videos that are almost like the
“anatomy of the boot” videos, where they take one specific boot and show details from top to
bottom, inside out. Most of the videos were less than two minutes long. They are short and to the
point getting across the most vital information.
Content Analysis
The Original Muck Boot Company sells boots for a wide variety of activities and needs.
Under the option of “shop all”, women have 47 options, men have 60 option, and kids have 20
options to choose from to find the perfect boot for their needs. The consumer can also sort boots
by activity, for example; hunting, rain, equestrian, cold weather, casual, etc. This shows the
consumer there is a wide variety of boots available and they cater to different activities with
varying criteria for what they need in a boot.
The Original Muck Boot Company has many ways to help the customer have a simple
and successful buying experience on their site. There are many categories to choose from to find
the perfect boot. Sorting is available by activity, gender, size, price range, newest products, or
best sellers. From there the customer can look at each boot on its own product page. The product
page breaks down the boot with a 360-degree view, color and size options, and different options
if the customer does not intend on buying at that exact second.
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Here is an example of a product page for the Women’s Cambridge Tall.
Along with viewin the boot and buying options on product page there are three additional
tabs giving more information about the product; description, review, and shipping. There is a
description section where The Original Muck Boot Company
explains the “bells and whistles” of that particular boot. This is
where certain criteria comes in such as; insulated, extended
rubber coverage, Achilles reinforcement, steel toe, angled
topline, high traction, etc. There are also small infographic
images for information at a quick glance.
The second tab is the review tab. On the review tab, some boots have customer
reviews/opinion of the boot along with a star rating out of five. This can be helpful in the buying
process if someone is unsure about buying a certain style. If that specific boot does not have any
reviews then there are boxes for the customer to write their own review of the product.
The third tab is the shipping tab. The Original Muck Boot Company offers free shipping
and free 30-day hassle free returns for all orders in the continental United States. This helps
maintain customer satisfaction and loyalty. There are options for expedited shipping for a fee
depending on the turnaround. The Original Muck Boot Company does not ship outside of the
United States, but they do have a retailer in Canada and European sites. The web site does offer a
store locator where the customer can find a store near them.
This shows the
sortingsteps taken
to get to the boot.
These are all the
angleoptions
availableto look at to
see all aspects of the
boot - a 360-degree
view.
Color and pattern
options for the boot
Price(without tax)
Choose a size and a quantity
ADD TO BAG: for checkout
COMPARE: add to this list
with other boots to see side-
by-sidecomparison with
another product
WISH LIST: saveit for later
These small infographics show
the boot’s temperature comfort
range, that it is insulated with
fleece, it is 100% waterproof.
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The Original Muck Boot Company also offers a twenty-five percent discount to active
military and their families, as well as a discount on bulk orders. These discounts are only
available on orders made over the phone.
This chart is a simplified way to look at and compare The Original Muck Boot Company
options under the categories men, women, and kids. All the information in the chart is from The
Original Muck Boot Company web site.
MEN WOMEN KIDS
HIGHEST PRICE
SHOP ALL BOOT
$265
Men’s Pursuit
Shadow Tall
$210
Women’s
Winter
Hunting Boot
$100
My Little
Pony/Transformers
Rugged II
LOWEST PRICE
SHOP ALL BOOT
APPAREL OPTIONS
Realtree Camo t-shirt,
white long sleeve shirt, and
gray short sleeve shirt with
The Original Muck Boot
Company logo
Pink camouflage and plain
white t-shirt with The
Original Muck Boot
Company logo
Pink camo, brown
traditional camo, and
white baby onesie with
The Original Muck Boot
Company logo
NUMBER OF BEST
SELLERS AND
PRICE RANGE
12 options
$90-$175
10 options
$85-$170
9 options
$60-$100
BOOT SIZES
sizes 4-16
most options 7-15
half sizes from 7-12
(4 options on each half size)
sizes 5-13
most options between 5-11
no half sizes
1-7
6/12/18/24 months
K1-K13
Y7-Y13
Competing Site
As a benchmark for the success of MuckBootCompany.com, I will compare it to
HunterBoots.com. Both companies strive to make sturdy boots for many different lifestyles.
After founding the North British Rubber Company, Henry Lee Norris used the
vulcanization process created rubber products such as boots and other industrial items. The
company grew from 4-600 staff members in 1870. As World War I began in 1914 the mill was
operating 24 hours a day to keep up with soldiers demand for sturdy rubber boots. Due to the
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success of the boots in WWI, the British Rubber Company produced gear again as WWII began.
Hunter Boots continue production from 28 handcrafted parts. Hunter has won many prestigious
awards for their boots in the late 1900’s. (Hunter Boots: Heritage).
After learning about some of Hunter’s history, I was confused because I really do not
know what the vulcanization process is, so I researched. The vulcanization process changed the
way rubber was utilized in the mid-1800s. Charles Goodyear discovered the process that allows
rubber to endure a wide range of temperatures. The process happens by chemically adding sulfur
or other accelerators to rubber which creates cross-links between polymer chains; making it more
durable (Somma). Hunter headquarters is located in Edinburgh, Scotland, GB and brings in
approximately one million dollars in revenue annually (Owler. Hunter Boots: Company Profile)
In comparison to The Muck Boot Company history page, Hunter Boots provides more
information about the history of the company and background on the product. As far as the
product goes, both sites have tons of options for boots. Both separate their products by men,
women, and kids. At first glance of the Hunter Boot web site, it is very similar to The Muck Boot
Company.
Many of the differences between sites come from Hunter Boots having more products
than boots and logoed shirts. They have to market more products, whereas The Muck Boot
Company has a focus of boots with minimal apparel or other product options. Hunter Boots also
sells backpacks and bags, boot socks, umbrellas, raincoats, gilets, and more.
When comparing prices I had to convert from pounds to dollars (according to Google
$1=0.75pound). The price range for boots is a little steeper for The Muck Boot Company, but
Hunter has products that are more expensive for example the top selling item under ‘women’s
coats and jackets’ is the Original Vinyl Smock for 155 pounds, or $205. On Hunter, the Original
Top Clip Backpack priced at 235 pounds, or $312.
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The price of Hunter’s Original Tall Wellington Boot for women is 95 pounds, or $126.
The Original Muck Boot Company’s Cambridge Tall priced at $150. Both boots sown here, both
with similar characteristics: waterproof, inner lining, texture outsole for grip. The product pages
are very similar from one site to the other. Options for colors, sizes, information, reviews,
options to see the product from different angles, and the option to add to buying list.
Overall, the two sites are very similar. They both have options for the customer to find
exactly what they are looking for by searching or looking by a certain group. There are options to
learn about each product and see characteristics it has, as well as read reviews. They both have
more material for their loyal customers to engage them in their web site even if they do not plan
to make a purchase. Both are very customer oriented.
POPULARITY ANALYSIS
Link Analysis
Popularity is the number of sites that link to MuckBootCompany.com and the quality of
those sites. A backlink is a link coming from one site and linking back to your site. A referring
domain is when a website refers to your website.
Total Backlinks
No. of Referring
Domains
Average # Per Site
MuckBootCompany.com 70,000 588 Approx. 119
HunterBoots.com 66,700 1,600 Approx. 41
Analysis of link quantity
Link quantity is the number of sites that link to said site. For MuckBootCompany.com
they have a total of 70,000 backlinks and 588 referring domains, an average of approximately
119 links per site. HunterBoots.com has 66,700 total backlinks and 1,600 referring domains, an
average of approximately 41 links per site.
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Analysis of link quality
Link quality is the caliber or quality of sites that link to MuckBootCompany.com. A link
is of high quality if it is from a recognized news source, a recognized brand site, or a source with
a restricted domain (.gov/.edu/.mil).
The two screenshots above show the top five referring domains for The Original Muck
Boot Company and for the competitor, Hunter Boots. I went to all five sites and tried to find
where the link was and whether it was a picture or text link, or both. I also looked around to
determine what the site was for and if it would be considered a “good” site.
The Original Muck Boot Company
1. honeywellsafety.com: As I searched The Original Muck Boot Company on this site, it had
a picture and description. The Original Muck Boot Company is a brand of Honeywell.
2. sperian.com: This web site also directed me to Honeywell: Industrial Safety. So when I
searched for The Original Muck Boot Company it came up with the same results as
number one.
3. xtratufboots.com:This brand “xtratuf” is actually a brand of The Original Muck Boot
Company. I knew that from exploring their website for the first part of the paper. On the
site, the footer has their other brands and I recognized the logo. I did not find any specific
Muck Boot Company products.
4. sperianprotection.com: Just like number one and two, this site also led me to the
Honeywell Safety site. Same results.
5. cheapuggbootonline.com: This site is no good. It is sort of an e-commerce site, but all of
their pages link to other web sites where a purchase can actually happen. It is similar to
Pinterest, and even has some photos linked to Pinterest.
Hunter BootsThe Muck Boot Company
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Hunter Boots
1. hunter-boots.com: As I tried to explore this site, it was unavailable. Must be a bad or fake
site.
2. royalwarrant.org: This is the web site for the honors that Hunter Boots has received. On
the site there is a picture of the Hunter logo as well as a description of the honor they
received. Under the information, there is the link to the site.
3. thecoolhunter.net: The Cool Hunter is an online journal that explores “design,
architecture, lifestyle, art and travel” and then writes about it while trying to stray away
from simple fads. I searched Hunter Boots on this site and I found one article that talked
about a new store opening for Hunter. It also talked about the background as well as how
Hunter is a successful brand.
4. fashionhauler.com: Fashion Hauler is an e-commerce site that shows pictures of deals
and products for other companies. When I typed in Hunter Boots into the search bar, it
came up with 60 results that showed different parts of HunterBoots.com. Once clicked it
would refer the buyer directly to the site.
5. spamdex.org: I could not find anything specifically about Hunter Boots on this site. The
use of the site is to separate spam emails in an inbox and things of that nature.
More than just the top five links from semrush.com I also checked out SEOtools.com to
look at the top 100 and click a few to see if I found anything better. I found they both had
backlinks from social media sites, like Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest. Most of these social
media links had picture links, but some text links. The Original Muck Boot Company did
have links from their YouTube videos that I had mentioned earlier. Both also had coupon
sites that linked to deals or other coupons available. I did a ctrl+f on the list of 100 in hopes
of finding a site that had gov/.edu/.mil but I did not find any matches.
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TRAFFIC ANALYSIS
Visit Analysis
MuckBootCompany.com HunterBoots.com
Quantcast
(Average Jan-June 2017)
40,810
https://www.quantcast.com/muckbootcompany.com
58,742
https://www.quantcast.com/hunterboots.com
SimilarWeb
(Average June-Aug 2017)
114,981
https://pro.similarweb.com/#/website/audience-
overview/muckbootcompany.com/*/999/3m/?webSource=Total
654,863
https://pro.similarweb.com/#/website/audience-
overview/hunterboots.com/*/999/3m/?webSource=Total
Overview
To get the averages from each website I added up each month’s total and then divided it
by the number of months to find the average number of visitors for each site. I found better
information on Quantcast. I could use the same months of a year so the comparison is accurate.
From January to June of 2017 Hunter Boots has had about 18,000 more visits. Visits are not
necessarily people; a visit is just how many times the site is used. For example, on The Original
Muck Boot Company web site, when you click on a tab at the top it sometimes opens up in a
new tab, this would be a new visit. So one person could potentially have 10 visits if they go to 10
pages that open up in a new tab. This is important to consider when it comes to engagement
metrics later on.
Muckbootcompany.com Traffic and Trends
Looking at the chart from Quantcast, there is a large decrease in traffic from January to
February, and then it increases again in April. After the peak in April, traffic drops again in May
and June. I did not use the data from before January because it is so low, there must have been a
site redesign or maybe a successful ad campaign that caused a huge jump in traffic at the
beginning of the year.
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Hunterboots.com Traffic and Trends
Another chart from Quantcast shows that there is a large increase in traffic between
November and December. The trend of the Hunter Boot web site is more consistent in
comparison to The Original Muck Boot Company site. There is not as much fluctuation. It
increases and decreases at a steadier rate, excluding the jump in the last two months of the year.
This could have a lot to do with the holiday season.
Google Shopping Insights Trends
This Google Shopping trend chart compares Hunter Boots to Rain Boots, showing that
the trends are mirror images of one another. This chart also shows the rise in searches for these
terms in the last couple of months of the calendar year. The user can also see that from May to
July there is a large decrease in searching for these terms. There has been a jump from January of
last year, to January of this year, which is mentioned in the heading of the chart.
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Visit data analysis: similarities and differences
To get this side by side chart comparison of The Original Muck Boot Company and
Hunter Boots I signed up for the free pro version on similarweb.com. Although these are not
averages, it examines the traffic in a single month. On the average charts from Quantcast I
notices that Hunter Boots has a more consistent decline and increase, whereas here, in the month
comparison, Hunter Boots is very inconsistent. The Original Muck Boot Company has a more
consistent change, but also a lot less traffic.
Hunter Boots has a larger number of referring domains in comparison to The Muck Boot
Company, which could be a reason they are more inconsistent, but also have more traffic.
Referring domains come from other sites, so the traffic on those sites can change the traffic to
Hunter Boots. I think this is a large reason Hunter Boots has a more fluctuating graph of visitors.
Hunter Boots web site has had more traffic and referring domains in comparison to The Original
Muck Boot Company.
https://pro.similarweb.com/#/website/worldwide-overview/muckbootcompany.com,hunterboots.com/*/999/28d?webSource=Total
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ENGAGEMENT ANALYSIS
MuckBootCompany.com
https://pro.similarweb.com/#/website/audience-
overview/muckbootcompany.com/*/999/3m/?we
bSource=Total
HunterBoots.com
https://pro.similarweb.com/#/website/audience-
overview/hunterboots.com/*/999/3m/?webSourc
e=Total
Averages
From class
Bounce Rate 29.49% 33.37% 20-40%
Page Views
Per Visit
3.15 5.93 4.6
Average Visit
Duration
(minutes:seconds)
1:18 4:17 3:10
Overview
The site data in the chart above is from similarweb.com or information given in class.
Bounce rate is when only one page is visited before exiting. Bounce rate can be good, for
example if you are Google. However, for e-commerce sites a high bounce rate is not good
because you want people to stay on your site and browse the products available. Some things that
could make the bounce rate of a site increase are pop-ups, videos/music that plays instantly as
the page opens, or just not finding what the user is looking for easily and quickly. Page views per
visit is the total number of pages a visitor goes to in the timeframe they are on the site, which
leads me to average visit duration. Average visit duration is the average time someone spends on
the web site. Users doing something on a web site define engagement. All three of these
engagement metrics works together to decide if a web site has successful engagement. Metrics
are numbers that analyze success factors. For an e-commerce site, you would want a low bounce
rate, but a high duration and page view.
The last column has averages, which are overall web averages. These are helpful in the
comparison process so we can see how The Original Muck Boot Company site and Hunter Boot
site compares to the averages.
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Muckbootcompany.com Engagement Data
The Muck Boot Company has a 29.49% bounce rate, which is within the average
parameters for an e-commerce site. There are an average of 3.14 pages visited per visit, which is
below the overall average of 4.6. For average duration on site, the Muck Boot Company average
was 1:18, which is almost two minutes lower than the overall average.
Hunterboots.com Engagement Data
Hunter Boots has a 33.37% bounce rate, which is within the average parameters for an e-
commerce site. There are an average of 5.9 pages visited per visit, which is above the overall
average of 4.6. For average duration on site, the Hunter Boot average was 4:17, which is also
above the overall average.
Web Averages
The web averages serve as a way to decide if either site is better, and to measure how
successful their engagement is. In comparison to the web averages, Hunter Boots has a more
successful engagement on their site. The bounce rate is still within the overall average of retail
web sites, meaning it is normal even though it is higher than The Muck Boot Company metrics.
The Muck Boot Company has a lower bounce rate, but the duration spent on site and pages per
visit is much lower in comparison to Hunter Boots.
Engagement analysis: similarities and differences
Looking at the data it is obvious that Hunter Boots has better engagement in comparison
to The Original Muck Boot Company. With a bounce rate that is within the average and a
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duration and page view that are much higher than the average, Hunter Boots has
exactly what an e-commerce site would want. Some things that could be helping
HunterBoots.com find so much success are the different ways the site asks you to
engage. For example, they have a small tab on the right hand side of the web site
that says “Feedback” (shown in screenshot to the right). When you click on this,
you can rate your experience and then even leave a text comment on why you
chose that rating. Along with the option to give feedback, at the footer of the site
there is an option to “Live Chat” which opens up a new window where the
customer can either use text or videos to ask questions. Both of these would help
get a buyer information, but also keep them on the site for longer. The Original
Muck Boot Company does have a “contact us” option, but nothing as instantaneous as the chat or
feedback option on Hunter Boots.
One big difference I noticed from site to site is the option to sign up for a newsletter. On
The Original Muck Boot Company site there is a pop-up whenever you open the site to get 10%
off your purchase when you enter your email and sign up
to “Join the Muck Boot family”. On the Hunter web site,
there is no pop-up, but a small black bar on the header of
the site. The header says “10% OFF – Sign up for our
newsletter here”. People do not enjoy pop ups and could
get annoyed and leave the page. Whereas the Hunter Boot
site allows the consumer to choose to click on the coupon
for the 10% off. This is
somewhat confusing, because
you would think this would
make the Hunter Boot page have a lower bounce rate in comparison to The Original Muck Boot
Company.
One reason that Hunter Boot may have a higher duration and page visit is because they
have more products to offer. Along with boots, Hunter also has apparel and accessories. This
could cause the consumer to browse the site more if other products that are available intrigue
them. On The Muck Boot site, there are not as many options for products other than boots.
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Recommendation
Since my site is The Original Muck Boot Company, I am going to give a few
recommendations of how to make engagement more successful. First off, they could easily add a
live chat option like Hunter Boots. Just to stay competitive. Since The Original Muck Boot
Company is already using YouTube as I mentioned in the very beginning of my paper, I think
they should integrate their videos to their website.
The video I mentioned earlier that I named “anatomy
of the boot” would be the perfect feature to embed on a
product page. This would show the potential buyer all the
features of the boot and the characteristics that make it
particularly perfect for the activity they will wear it.
The screenshot on the right is from boots.com, which
is a beauty, skincare, haircare…etc. web site. This is exactly
how I imagine the product page looking with a Muck Boot
video embedded. The product page still has all the features
that The Original Muck Boot Company uses, such as
multiple pictures to get an all-around view, add to cart, etc.
However, at the bottom where there is a description, they
have added a video. This is where The Original Muck Boot
Company could add their YouTube videos to show the potential buyer all the bells and whistles
of that particular product. On the “about us” page of The Original Muck Boot Company site they
do have a video embedded, just a promotional video for their company. This video plays
automatically. For a recommendation I am giving I would not have the video play automatically
but have it accessible for someone who may want a closer look at the boot.
Adding this embedded video feature would increase duration on site, the videos would
not have to be long, maybe 20 seconds, which would increase the amount of time a customer
stays on the page.
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Sticking to the video idea, another recommendation I have is to create a space in the
review section of the product page where users can add their own videos of how they use the
boot, how it has held up, and what adventures the boots have been on. This could potentially be a
cool feature. As I said at the very beginning of the paper, The Original Muck Boot Company has
a very adventurous feel. These boots are not for splashing in small puddles of water, but rather
for trudging through raging rivers, or climbing snowy mountains. Encourage users to take videos
when they go on adventures and show the scenery, talk about the experience, and talk about how
The Original Muck Boot Company boots they are wearing have helped. They could talk about
the comfort and durability of the boot. Not only does this engage the buyers, but also potential
buyers are more likely to believe another customer’s review rather than the wordy description
produced by The Original Muck Boot Company themselves. I am even thinking with an
advertising mindset now; this could be an entire campaign “Muck Boots Everywhere” or
something like that where people show all the footsteps off their crazy adventures wearing The
Original Muck Boot Company boots.
I digress.
Videos are huge, especially with the invention of Go Pros and other incredible video
devices. This could be a great tool for engagement as well as emphasizing the mood of the entire
site and the brand itself.
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Works Cited
Domain Overview "hunterboots.com" The report provides the data on the current visibility estate
of the queried domain. (n.d.). Retrieved September 11, 2017, from
https://www.semrush.com/info/hunterboots.com?db=us
Domain Overview "muckbootcompany.com" The report provides the data on the current
visibility estate of the queried domain. (n.d.). Retrieved September 14, 2017, from
https://www.semrush.com/info/muckbootcompany.com?db=us
Hunter Boots: Company Profile. (n.d.). Retrieved September 10, 2017, from
https://www.owler.com/iaApp/1835425/hunter-boots-company-profile
Hunter Boots: Heritage. (n.d.). Retrieved September 8, 2017, from
https://www.hunterboots.com/us/en_us/discover/heritage-the-story-so-far/
Muck Boot Company: Company Profile. (n.d.). Retrieved September 14, 2017, from
https://www.owler.com/iaApp/709940/muck-boot-company-company-profile
Somma, A. Charles Goodyear and the Vulcanization of Rubber. (n.d.). Retrieved September 11,
2017, from https://connecticuthistory.org/charles-goodyear-and-the-vulcanization-of-
rubber/
The Original Muck Boot Company: Heritage. (n.d.). Retrieved September 7, 2017, from
https://www.muckbootcompany.com/about-us/
