Facebook boosted traffic to websites by over 100% in 2010

During 2010 the social networking giant Facebook has increased the referral traffic to media sites by over 100% due to its social plugins and Graph API, both of which were launched at f8 back in April. The social network has partnered with a number of entities closely to help them find the best integrations both for all parties involved - more traffic for the media sites and more data for Facebook.

Facebook's Justin Osofsky cited a few examples of organizations the company has worked with and what it has meant for these organizations' respective web properties.

"Sporting News, a multimedia company that that caters to sports fans, deeply integrated Facebook into their online experience to offer its users the ability to like articles, videos, and teams throughout the site," says Osofsky. "In the five months since implementing social plugins, Facebook grew from less than one percent of traffic to the #1 referring domain to SportingNews.com. In addition, Sporting News found that content shared on Facebook received more engagement with average daily re-sharing up by 65% and commenting up by over 18%."

"In April, The Washington Post integrated Facebook Platform to create a social experience across the site with 'Network News,'" adds Osofsky. "The Washington Post has seen more than 280% increase in referral traffic year-over-year, as news becomes instantly relevant and as readers respond to what their friends have liked or what piece of today's news is most recommended."

Cracked.com, a humor site run by Demand Media, has seen over 450% growth in visits from Facebook users, according to Facebook.