Swine Flu Concerns Cause Surge in Visitation to CDC.gov
Social Networking Category Has Record Month Led by Gains at Twitter and Facebook
RESTON, VA – comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, released its monthly analysis of U.S. consumer activity at the top online properties for April 2009 based on data from the comScore Media Metrix service. April saw Americans turn to the Web for the latest information related to the swine flu, causing traffic to soar at CDC.gov. The month also saw visitation to social networking sites reach record numbers, driven by growth at Twitter.com and Facebook.com, as well as an increase in visitation to real estate and home-related sites as the spring season prompted many Americans to consider home improvements. The tax category also experienced strong growth as procrastinating Americans tried to beat the April 15 deadline.
“When news of the swine flu pandemic erupted, many Americans turned to the Internet as their primary source of information for how to keep themselves and their families safe,” commented Jack Flanagan, executive vice president of comScore Media Metrix. “April also saw a record number of visitors at social networking sites with Facebook and Twitter each adding millions of new users as a result of continued media attention and overall interest in the sites.”
Swine Flu Drives Americans Online in Search of Information
News of the swine flu outbreak prompted many concerned Americans to jump online in search of information about prevention, detection and treatment of the virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s site, CDC.gov, witnessed a 142-percent increase to 5.7 million visitors, making it the top-gaining property in April.
Social Networking Reports Record Visitation
The social networking category experienced a record month, growing 12 percent to nearly 140 million visitors, or nearly three-quarters of the U.S. online population. MySpace Sites led the category with 71 million visitors, followed by Facebook.com with 67.5 million visitors, an increase of 10 percent from the previous month. Twitter.com, now the third ranked social networking site, experienced another explosive month of visitor growth, jumping 83 percent to 17 million visitors.
Americans’ Homes Top of Mind in April
Many Americans sought information related to their homes in April with the Real Estate category reporting a 10-percent increase to 48.4 million visitors and the Community – Home category gaining 10 percent to nearly 30 million visitors. Move Network led as the most visited real estate site attracting 13.2 million visitors (up 88 percent vs. March), followed by Yahoo! Real Estate with 6.8 million visitors (up 11 percent) and AOL Real Estate with 3.6 million visitors (up 15 percent).
The start of spring led many Americans to consider home repairs and remodeling, driving traffic to the Community – Home category. About.com Home & Garden led the category with nearly 4 million visitors (up 16 percent), followed by AOL Home with 3.8 million visitors (up 29 percent) and Better Homes & Gardens Network with 3.8 million visitors (up 13 percent).
Top 50 Properties
Google Sites continued to lead as the most visited property in April with more than 155 million visitors, followed by Yahoo! Sites with 149 million visitors and Microsoft Sites with 126.5 million visitors. Facebook.com climbed one spot in the ranking to #8 with 67.5 million visitors.
Top 50 Ad Focus Ranking
Platform-A led the April Ad Focus ranking, reaching 91 percent of the nearly 193 million Americans online. Yahoo! Network ranked second, reaching 87 percent, while Google Ad Network ranked third with an 85 percent reach. Specific Media moved up seven spots to #5 reaching 82 percent, while FOX Audience Network climbed three positions to #6 reaching 77 percent of Americans online.
Table 1
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comScore Top 10 Gaining Properties by Percentage Change in Unique Visitors* (U.S.)
April 2009 vs. March 2009
Total U.S. – Home, Work and University Locations
Source: comScore Media Metrix
Total Unique Visitors (000)
Mar-09 Apr-09 % Change Rank by
Unique
Visitors
Total Internet: Total Audience 192,173 192,875 0 N/A
CDC.gov 2,371 5,736 142 214
CHINAONTV.COM 2,674 6,300 136 185
Move Network 7,002 13,191 88 77
Twitter.com 9,313 17,001 83 56
MLB.com 6,860 12,497 82 87
Betawave Partners – Partial List 3,972 7,145 80 163
Hollywood.Net –
Hollywood Online Network 4,821 6,850 42 169
teen.com Network 5,495 7,806 42 145
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) 3,774 5,086 35 236
Wikia Sites 3,638 4,892 34 239
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*Ranking based on the top 250 properties in April 2009.
Table 2
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comScore Top 10 Gaining Site Categories* by Percentage Change in Unique Visitors (U.S.)
April 2009 vs. March 2009
Total U.S. – Home, Work and University Locations
Source: comScore Media Metrix
Total Unique Visitors (000)
Mar-09 Apr-09 % Change
Total Internet: Total Audience 192,173 192,875 0
Community – Teens 19,947 24,142 21
Business/Finance – Taxes 18,311 20,585 12
Social Networking 124,406 139,781 12
Real Estate 43,924 48,357 10
Entertainment – Music 86,817 95,511 10
Community – Home 27,161 29,857 10
Retail – Computer Software 34,346 37,685 10
Retail – Flowers/Gifts/Greetings 28,356 31,019 9
Online Gambling 11,670 12,754 9
Gaming Information 40,637 44,370 9
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For tables 3 & 4, please refer to: http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Press_Releases/2009/5/Social_Networking_Category_Has_Record_Month_Led_by_Gains_at_Twitter_and_Facebook
About comScore Media Metrix
comScore Media Metrix provides industry-leading Internet audience measurement services that report details of online media usage, visitor demographics and online buying power for the home, work and university audiences across local U.S. markets and across the globe. comScore Media Metrix reports are used by financial analysts, advertising agencies, publishers and marketers. comScore Media Metrix syndicated ratings are based on industry-sanctioned sampling methodologies.
About comScore
comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world and preferred source of digital marketing intelligence. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com/companyinfo.
