Abstract: Methods and systems are provided for identifying online content that has a higher likelihood of being more effectively promoted (going viral). In one embodiment the invention includes monitoring traffic on an online network early in the life of a post (online publication of the content) to identify whether and/or which online content has a higher potential to be effectively promoted online. By checking the traffic characteristics against one or more thresholds at one or more time intervals early in the life of the post (e.g., within ten hours or less, or five hours or less), the online content with sufficient potential can be further promoted on various online outlets. For example, the promoting may include publishing a content online more frequently, publishing a content online more prominently, publishing a content on additional web pages, and/or modifying search engine results online to increase a ranking of the content.