Facebook the Fastest Growing Site in the U.K.
LONDON, UK, OCTOBER 1ST, 2007 – Comscore (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released its report on the top Internet properties and the top gaining properties in the U.K. for August, based on data collected through the Comscore World Metrix audience measurement service.
Google was the most visited property in August, with 28.3 million unique visitors age 15 or older, reaching 89 percent of the total U.K. Internet audience. It was followed by Microsoft Sites, which attracted 26.8 million unique visitors, an 83 percent reach.
Yahoo! grew by 1.3 percent in August to challenge eBay for its position as the third most visited property from within the U.K. eBay attracted an audience of 21.6 million unique visitors, compared to Yahoo! with 21.0 million. Meanwhile, online shopping site, Amazon, proved to be the fastest growing of the Top 10 U.K. properties, increasing total traffic by 6.3 percent to attract 13.3 million unique visitors – a reach of 42 percent.
Top 10 U.K. Online PropertiesRanked by U.K. Unique VisitorsAugust 2007 vs. July 2007Total U.K., Age 15+ – Home and Work Locations*Source: Comscore World Metrix
Property
Total Unique Visitors (000)
% Reach
July 2007
Aug 2007
% Change
Total U.K. Internet Audience
31,791
31,918
0%
100.0%
Google Sites
28,151
28,345
0.7%
88.8%
Microsoft Sites
26,947
26,759
-0.7%
83.8%
eBay
22,079
21,559
-2.4%
67.5%
Yahoo! Sites
20,760
21,039
1.3%
65.9%
BBC Sites
18,921
18,578
-1.8%
58.2%
Ask Network
14,598
14,815
1.5%
46.4%
Time Warner Network
14,934
14,322
-4.1%
44.9%
Amazon Sites
12,472
13,261
6.3%
41.5%
Fox Interactive Media
13,215
13,032
-1.4%
40.8%
Wikipedia Sites
11,699
11,534
36.1%
* Excludes traffic from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs.
Facebook.com was the fastest growing property in the U.K. The social networking site grew 18.3 percent in August to reach just under 9 million unique visitors. The site has experienced a dramatic 2,167 percent growth within the U.K. since September 2006, when it made the decision to open up registration to the general public, a change from the previous policy requiring a valid email address from a university or a selected group of secondary schools and businesses. During the same period, traffic to the site has increased strongly across Europe, where it has grown by 2,446 percent to reach 13.2 million unique visitors.
British Sky Broadcasting experienced a 10 percent growth in traffic, reaching 7.4 million unique visitors. This increase was sparked by interest in skysports.com, thanks to the onset of the new football season. Premiumtv.co.uk, also benefited from the start of the football season. The company, which manages the digital rights of football in the U.K. and produces multi-platform club specific content, enjoyed a 17.1 percent growth to reach 3.1 million unique visitors.
Elsewhere, price comparison sites also enjoyed heavy traffic. Shopping comparison site Shopzilla.com grew by 10.2 percent to 3.4 million unique visitors, whilst travel price comparison specialist, Priceline.com, increased 8.6 percent to 3.1 million.
Top 10 U.K. Gaining PropertiesRanked by U.K. Unique VisitorsAugust 2007 vs. July 2007Total U.K., Age 15+ – Home and Work Locations*Source: Comscore World Metrix
% change
0.4%
Facebook.com
7,604
8,996
18.3%
Premiumtv.co.uk
2,632
3,081
17.1%
Disney Online
3,190
3,713
16.4%
WordPress
2,716
3,030
11.6%
News International
5,806
6,405
10.3%
Shopzilla.com Sites
3,096
3,412
10.2%
British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB)
6,725
7,396
10.0%
Priceline.com Incorporated
2,842
3,086
8.6%
Nationallottery.co.uk
3,727
4,038
8.3%
The Carphone Warehouse Group
3,370
3,606
7.0%
About Comscore
Comscore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world. This capability is based on a massive, global cross-section of more than 2 million consumers who have given Comscore permission to confidentially capture their browsing and transaction behavior, including online and offline purchasing. Comscore panelists also participate in survey research that captures and integrates their attitudes and intentions. Through its proprietary technology, Comscore measures what matters across a broad spectrum of behavior and attitudes. Comscore analysts apply this deep knowledge of customers and competitors to help clients design powerful marketing strategies and tactics that deliver superior ROI. Comscore services are used by more than 700 clients, including global leaders such as AOL, Microsoft, Yahoo!, BBC, Carat, Cyworld, Deutsche Bank, France Telecom, Best Buy, The Newspaper Association of America, Financial Times, ESPN, Fox Sports, Nestlé, Starcom, Universal McCann, the United States Postal Service, Verizon, ViaMichelin, Merck and Expedia. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com
Ayaan MohamudComscore, Inc.+ 44 (0) 207-099-1775worldpress@comscore.com