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cbs17.com
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cbs17.com

1 technologies
VerifiedGrowingVisit931.9K/mo$28M1381 Tech16 Leads
Deep Dive

The CBS17 Paradox: 1M Visits, Zero Content

How a Raleigh news station's forbidden page became a traffic magnet

You've landed on CBS17.com, but the page is locked. Behind a CAPTCHA wall. Yet somehow, nearly 1 million monthly visitors are trying to get in. This isn't a bug—it's the story of a local news station that accidentally built a more compelling digital experience through denial than through content.

931,868
monthly visits
#73,450
global rank
45%
organic search
44%
direct traffic
$28.3M
annual revenue

"CBS17 isn't selling news—it's selling access. And the market is paying premium traffic for the privilege of being told 'no.'"

The Raleigh Traffic Magnet

With 94.7% of traffic from the U.S. and top keywords including 'raleigh weather' (47K monthly searches) and 'raleigh convention center,' CBS17 dominates local search. But here's the anomaly: 'channel 17' shows zero monthly volume. The station's digital identity isn't tied to its call letters—it's tied to the city itself. This suggests either brilliant SEO that transcends branding, or a brand so weak it's invisible in search.

The CAPTCHA Economy

Traditional news sites chase pageviews through content. CBS17 achieves 931K monthly visits through restriction. The 'Access Denied' page isn't a failure state—it's the primary user experience. With 542K backlinks pointing to a page that blocks visitors, the site has accidentally created a digital speakeasy: you can't see the news, but everyone knows where it is.

The tech stack reveals the minimalism: only Google Fonts detected. No analytics, no ad networks, no CMS footprint visible to crawlers. This is either a privacy-first fortress or a digital ghost town. The 138 employees generating $28.3M in revenue suggest a functioning broadcast operation, but their web presence is a black box. For product people, this is a fascinating case study in decoupling digital and broadcast value chains.

  • Revenue per employee: $205K—healthy for local media
  • Backlink profile: 542K links to a blocked page (SEO paradox)
  • Traffic source: 45% organic, suggesting Google still indexes the 'denied' page
  • Brand visibility: Zero search volume for 'channel 17' despite TV presence
No visible content strategy
Dominates local search for Raleigh keywords
No social media presence detected
Maintains high traffic despite access barriers
No structured data or rich snippets
Strong backlink profile suggests legacy authority
No clear conversion funnel
Broadcast operations appear financially healthy

The Forbidden Fruit Effect

CBS17 proves that in local news, being the only game in town matters more than being accessible online. Their CAPTCHA wall isn't a bug—it's a moat. The question isn't why they block access; it's why the market keeps knocking.

What tech stack does Cbs17 use?

1 detected

How much traffic does Cbs17 get?

Traffic & Engagement

1.0M
Monthly Visits
-15.7%
2.6
Pages/Visit
5:35
Avg. Duration
49%
Bounce Rate
Monthly Traffic Trend-35%
1.6M
Oct 2025
Oct
1.2M
Nov 2025
Nov
1.0M
Dec 2025
Dec

Rankings

#47,789
Global Rank
#10,999
United States Rank

Backlinks & Authority

542.6K
Backlinks
27.8K
Ref. Domains
53
Authority Score
Low
Penalty Risk
Backlinks Trend-2%
556.4K
Jul 2025
Jul
524.0K
Aug 2025
Aug
523.0K
Sep 2025
Sep
535.0K
Oct 2025
Oct
553.2K
Nov 2025
Nov
542.6K
Dec 2025
Dec

Search Traffic

Organic
161.7K

Top Organic Keywords

#1cbs17
9,900 vol5.2%
#1wncn
9,900 vol5.2%
#1cbs 17
6,600 vol3.5%
#10raleigh weather
135,000 vol1.7%
#2great white shark breton north carolina
27,100 vol1.5%

Where is Cbs17's audience located?

🇺🇸United States97.4%
🇬🇧United Kingdom0.5%
🇯🇵Japan0.5%
🇮🇪Ireland0.4%
🇮🇳India0.3%

Device Distribution

Desktop16.6%
Mobile83.4%

What keywords does Cbs17 rank for?

5 keywords
1news10.4M vol$0.75
2raleigh convention center18.4K vol$1.98
3channel 170 vol
4raleigh weather47.2K vol$0.63
5fayetteville32.9K vol$1.60

How is Cbs17's SEO?

Meta Tags

title35 chars

Access to this page has been denied

description10 chars

px-captcha

languageEN

Who works at Cbs17?

Loading leads...

What do customers think of Cbs17?

No Trustpilot reviews available for this company.

Frequently Asked Questions about Cbs17

What is Cbs17's Revenue?
Cbs17 generates approximately $28M in annual revenue. With 138 employees, that's $205,000 per employee.
What does Cbs17 do?
px-captcha
How fast is Cbs17 growing?
Cbs17 has declined by 15.7% in the last 6 months according to traffic data. employee count has changed by -2% year over year.
How do people interact with Cbs17?
When visiting Cbs17, visitors view an average of 2.6 pages per visit, and spend around 5:35 on the site, and the bounce rate is 49.0%.
How do people find Cbs17?
866.2K people (84%) visit Cbs17 directly. 161.7K (16%) find them through organic search.
Who uses Cbs17?
Cbs17's top market is United States with 1.0M visitors (97.4%). United Kingdom is 2nd with 5.4K (0.5%). Japan is 3rd with 5.0K (0.5%).
What technologies does Cbs17 use?
Cbs17 uses 1 technologies across their website including Fonts. Key technologies include Google Fonts.
Who are Cbs17's competitors?
Cbs17's main competitors include Appalachian State University's AppTV, Social and new media/online consulting (self-employed), Nascar Productions, WBTV, Ss Enterprises. These companies operate in similar markets and compete for the same customer base.

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About cbs17.com

px-captcha

Company Overview

cbs17.com
Website
news_and_media
Industry
#73,450
Global Rank
931.9K
Monthly Visitors
1
Technologies
16+
Employees

Technology Stack

cbs17.com uses 1 technologies across their website including Google Fonts.

Fonts

Google Fonts

Traffic & Audience

931.9K
Monthly Visits
58%
Bounce Rate
1.6
Pages/Visit
0:45
Avg. Duration

cbs17.com receives approximately 931.9K monthly visitors and ranks #73,450 globally. The website has a bounce rate of 58% with visitors viewing an average of 1.6 pages per visit. Users spend an average of 0:45 on the site.

The majority of cbs17.com's traffic comes from undefined, undefined, .

Frequently Asked Questions

What is cbs17.com?
px-captcha
What technologies does cbs17.com use?
cbs17.com uses 1 technologies including Google Fonts. View the full tech stack analysis above.
How popular is cbs17.com?
cbs17.com receives approximately 931.9K monthly visitors and ranks #73,450 globally. Traffic is growing by 5.2% month-over-month.

Related Searches

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This page provides publicly available information about cbs17.com. Data is collected from various public sources and may not always be up to date. For the most accurate information, please visit cbs17.com directly at https://cbs17.com.