Amazon is retiring Alexa — no, not that one

Amazon is shutting down Alexa Internet, a service that has provided web traffic analysis for more than two decades. Alexa was founded in 1996 and bought by Amazon in 1999 (15 years before the shopping giant revealed its digital assistant of the same name).

Alexa is best known for Alexa Rank, a ranking of the world’s most popular websites, with this information frequently referenced in news coverage and public resources like Wikipedia. The company extrapolates this data from a small sample of web users who use its browser extension and from sites which choose to install its traffic monitoring software directly.

In an announcement post, the Alexa.com team said the company stopped offering new subscriptions on December 8th, 2021, and will shut down the site on May 1st, 2022.

“Twenty-five years ago, we founded Alexa Internet. After two decades of helping you find, reach, and convert your digital audience, we’ve made the difficult decision to retire Alexa.com on May 1, 2022. Thank you for making us your go-to resource for content research, competitive analysis, keyword research, and so much more,” reads the post.

Paid users of Alexa’s services can export their data and delete their account.

Alexa.com’s rankings have always been simultaneously popular and contentious — not surprising given the importance of establishing traffic metrics in many online businesses. Over the years, there have been many accusations that the service’s Alexa Rank could be gamed, but it nevertheless remained the most familiar name in the web-ranking world. A number of alternate services exist, including SimilarWeb, Tranco, and ComScore.