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Jul 19, 2005

Automakers Shift Web Traffic Into High Gear in June

RESTON, VA, July 19, 2005 - comScore Media Metrix today released its monthly analysis of consumer activity at the top online properties and categories.  In June, General Motors' new financing option and other highly publicized promotions helped automotive manufacturers drive significant traffic increases compared to last year.  Additionally, Web traffic paralleled seasonal behavior as Americans sought travel, sporting and cooking information to help them kick off the summer.

 

"The Web has long offered automakers a dynamic and effective marketing channel while providing consumers with a critical source of information," said Peter Daboll, president of comScore Media Metrix.  "In June, consumers also turned to the Web with more traditional pursuits in mind, such as planning summer vacations, meals and outdoor activities."

  Automakers Entice Consumers with Deep Discounts

General Motors' "Employee Discount" financing promotion helped the automaker retain its top spot in the category with 8.5 million visitors to its brand sites in June - a seven-percent increase in traffic compared to May and a 60-percent increase compared to last year.  More than 3.5 million people visited GM.com alone, an increase of 29 percent versus last month. 

 

MitsubishiCars.com saw a massive traffic spike in June, increasing 259 percent to 1.2 million visitors thanks to an interactive advertisement for its latest Eclipse model.  The ad allowed users to experience the new model by virtually test driving it using their keyboards.  Meanwhile, traffic to DaimlerChrysler jumped 17 percent between May and June due in part to the buzz surrounding the release of its new Dodge Charger model.

 

Summer Travel Fever Sweeps the Web

June's warm weather and vacation time propelled visitation to a number of travel sites and subcategories (see Table 2).  Online travel spending reached $5.1 billion in June 2005, up 25 percent over June 2004.  Hotels and Resorts was the strongest subcategory, growing nine percent to 34.9 million visitors in June.  InterContinental Hotels Group and Marriott were among the Web's highest-gaining properties for June, with 21- and 18-percent visitation gains, respectively (see Table 1).  The Ground/Cruise subcategory gained five percent, climbing to 10.6 million visitors as Carnival Cruises led the category with 2.1 million visitors. 

 

Short trips associated with summertime, such as those taken during the 4th of July weekend, drove increases at Maps category sites.  The four-percent increase in the Maps category was led by MapQuest (45.7 million visitors, five-percent gain), Yahoo! Maps (21.3 million visitors, five-percent gain) and MSN MapPoint (5 million visitors, eight-percent gain).  Many Americans also turned to car rental sites to help plan their trips.  Traffic to the category increased by five percent to reach 6.9 million visitors on the heels of eight-percent growth in May. 

 

Hot Properties Continue To Sizzle

America's continued fascination with the rich and famous helped Forbes become the highest-gaining property for June.  The release of the Forbes' "Celebrity 100" list of the top-paid personalities garnered significant attention, boosting the property's traffic by 28 percent to 6.4 million visitors.  Meanwhile, online photo site Snapfish saw the second-highest visitation gain - up 27 percent to 3.6 million visitors - thanks to a price cut for photo printing.  In addition, Mozilla.org ranked as the third highest-gaining property in June with 5.8 million visitors, up 21 percent from May.  Mozilla's increasingly popular Firefox Web browser,  released a security update and was named PC World magazine's "2005 Product of the Year" in June.  Continuing with the technology trend, Vonage Holdings Corp saw traffic to its site climb 17 percent with the help of a promotion offering the first month of its Internet telephone service for free.

 

Web Users Seek the Great Outdoors

Summer leisure and sports interest helped make Retail - Sports/Outdoors the second-highest gaining category in June, rising nine percent to 20.2 million visitors.  Retailers who sell gear associated with water sports saw major gains.  Swimming wear and equipment seller SwimOutlet.com was a standout, growing by 53-percent in June.  GSI Network was among the Internet's top-gaining properties in terms of traffic, climbing 18 percent to 5.3 million visitors.  A number of GSI's sporting goods sites drew significant increases, including MCSports (up 65 percent), Modell's (up 53 percent) and Dick's Sporting Goods (up 25 percent).  Other hunting and fishing sites such as Cabela's Inc. (up 17 percent) and Bass Pro Shops (8 percent) also saw traffic gains.   

 

Gay Pride Celebrations Reflected in Traffic Increases

Traffic to sites with Gay and Lesbian content jumped ten percent in June to 1.6 million visitors as gay pride was celebrated with parades and festivals in several major cities across the country in June.  The top property in the category in June was PlanetOut with 1 million visitors, recording a traffic increase of 12 percent compared to May.  The property is a network of sites, including Gay.com and Out & About Travel, which contains gay and lesbian content related to everything from news & politics to entertainment to personals ads.

 

BBQ Nation Turns to the Web for Grilling Guidance

Americans turned to the Web for grilling tips in June as summertime gatherings went into full swing.  The Food category reached 33.2 million visitors in June, up five percent over May.  AOL Food saw its traffic soar by 46 percent to reach 2.4 million, primarily due to heavy traffic to its extensive grilling content.  Meanwhile, McDonald's enjoyed a 24-percent increase in traffic to its site as consumers flocked to the Happy Meal page to enter the "Extreme Dream" sweepstakes where kids can win $5,000 towards the remodeling of their bedrooms. 

 

Top 50 Properties

In June, Time Warner Network drew 700,000 more visitors to assume the top spot in the Top 50 Properties (see Table 3).  The rest of the top five properties remained the same compared to the previous month, while Verizon Communications Corporation moved up a spot to claim the number ten position.

 

Dell utilized heavy promotional activity to attract 20 percent more visitors in June than in May and move 13 spots from number 58 to number 45.  Sony Online jumped seven spots to number 43 in June, spurred by traffic for the Lords of Dogtown movie.   Summer travel provided a seven-percent jolt to Travelocity, which moved six spots to number 35 in June.

 

June was also a busy sports month, including the NBA Finals, the NBA Draft, the U.S. Open and Wimbledon.  As a result, ESPN gained 900,000 visitors and five spots to finish in June's number 40 position.  Finally, Sears Sites and Adobe Sites each gained five positions to finish June at number 42 and number 49, respectively.

 

Top 50 Ad Focus Ranking

In June, for the 14th consecutive month, Advertising.com finished atop the Ad Focus Ranking by reaching 78 percent of all Americans online (see Table 4).  Yahoo! reached 70 percent of the U.S. online audience to finish at number two, and Fastclick reached 68 percent to finish at number three.  AOL Media Network debuted in the Ad Focus Ranking at number four, reaching 67 percent of all online Americans.

 

All the sports activity in June helped ESPN secure the largest gain in the Top 50 Ad Focus entities; the three-spot climb moved ESPN to June's number 41.  Gorilla Nation Media debuted in the Ad Focus Ranking in June, reaching 25.8 million Americans and finishing at number 24.  Finally, Disney Online attracted 1.6 million more visitors in June than in May, finishing the month in the number 30 position in the Ad Focus Ranking.

 

TABLE 1

 

Top Ten Gaining Properties by Percentage Change in Unique Visitors*

June 2005 vs. May 2005 Total U.S. Home, Work and University Internet Users Source: comScore Media Metrix
Property

May-05

(000)

June-05

(000)

Percentage

Change

Rank by

 Unique Visitors

Total Internet Population

165,420

166,625

1%

N/A

Forbes Property

4,998

6,402

28%

124

Snapfish

2,823

3,578

27%

228

MOZILLA.ORG

4,776

5,786

21%

140

InterContinental Hotels Group

4,229

5,119

21%

159

IncrediMail Ltd.

3,623

4.361

20%

189

Dell

11,550

13,816

20%

45

GSI Network

4,485

5,282

18%

153

Marriott

4,286

5,050

18%

162

DaimlerChrysler

4,489

5,254

17%

155

Vonage Holdings Corp

5,490

6,420

17%

123

*Ranking based on the top 250 properties in June

  TABLE 2

 


Top Ten Gaining Categories by Unique Visitors June 2005 vs. May 2005 Total U.S. Home, Work and University Internet Users

Source: comScore Media Metrix

 

May-05

(000)

June-05

(000)

Percentage Change

Total Internet Population

165,420

166,625

1%

Community - Gay/Lesbian

1,483

1,633

10%

Travel - Hotels/Resorts

31,397

34,922

9%

Retail - Sports/Outdoor

18,444

20,157

9%

Business/Finance - Online Trading

10,506

11,249

7%

Directories/Resources - Classifieds

23,715

25,293

7%

Entertainment - Radio

35,432

37,527

6%

Travel - Ground/Cruise

10,064

10,575

5%

Travel - Car Rental

6,588

6,917

5%

Hobbies/Lifestyle - Food

31,769

33,222

5%

Directories/Resources - Maps

56,879

59,399

4%

 


 

TABLE 3

 

Top 50 Properties June 2005 Total U.S. - Home, Work and University Locations

Unique Visitors (000)

Source: comScore Media Metrix

Rank

Property

Unique Visitors

(000)

 

Rank

Property

Unique Visitors (000)

 

Total Internet Users

166,625

 

 

 

 

1

Time Warner Network

118,516

 

26

Bank of America

18,931

2

Yahoo! Sites

118,248

 

27

Shopping.com Sites

18,779

3

MSN-Microsoft Sites

112,235

 

28

Classmates.com Sites

18,007

4

Google Sites

79,960

 

29

Gorilla Nation Media

17,924

5

eBay

64,065

 

30

MYSPACE.COM

17,703

6

Amazon Sites

40,092

 

31

Apple Computer, Inc.

17,055

7

Ask Jeeves

39,821

 

32

ORBITZ.COM

16,959

8

Viacom Online

32,258

 

33

CareerBuilder LLC

16,603

9

Vendare Media

31,290

 

34

Comcast Corporation

16,161

10

Verizon Communications Corporation

31,213

 

35

Travelocity

15,834

11

CNET Networks

31,128

 

36

OVERSTOCK.COM

15,678

12

Walt Disney Internet Group (WDIG)

29,853

 

37

United Online, Inc

15,614

13

New York Times Digital

29,057

 

38

Shopzilla.com Sites

15,170

14

Monster Worldwide

28,319

 

39

E.W. Scripps

14,879

15

Weather Channel, The

28,023

 

40

ESPN

14,794

16

Expedia Travel

26,049

 

41

COOLSAVINGS.COM

14,588

17

Lycos, Inc.

25,463

 

42

Sears Sites

14,239

18

Wal-Mart

22,650

 

43

Sony Online

14,230

19

Real.com Network

22,392

 

44

iVillage.com: The Womens Network

14,175

20

Trip Network Inc.

20,917

 

45

Dell

13,816

21

AT&T Properties

20,745

 

46

Cox Enterprises Inc.

13,581

22

Target Corporation

19,806

 

47

Ticketmaster

13,384

23

Infospace Network

19,770

 

48

Capital One

13,104

24

Weatherbug Property

19,597

 

49

Adobe Sites

12,971

25

Gannett Sites

19,095

 

50

JPMorgan Chase Property

12,806

 


TABLE 4

 

Ad Focus Ranking

Unique Visitors (000)

Total U.S. - Home, Work and University Locations

June 2005

Source: comScore Media Metrix

 

Rank

Property

Unique Visitors

(000)

Reach %

 

Rank

Property

Unique Visitors (000)

Reach %

 

Total Internet Users

166,625

100%

 

 

 

 

 

1

Advertising.com**

130,272

78%

 

26

ABOUT.COM

24,112

14%

2

Yahoo!

117,354

70%

 

27

AOL Business Network

22,523

14%

3

Fastclick**

112,545

68%

 

28

CNN

21,174

13%

4

AOL Media Network

111,817

67%

 

29

WeatherBug

19,368

12%

5

MSN

97,576

59%

 

30

Disney Online

18,645

11%

6

Vendare Media - TrafficMarketplace**

88,646

53%

 

31

CareerBuilder Network

18,442

11%

7

AOL

86,733

52%

 

32

Travelocity All

18,398

11%

8

GOOGLE.COM

77,383

46%

 

33

CLASSMATES.COM

18,007

11%

9

Casale Media Network**

76,514

46%

 

34

MYSPACE.COM

17,703

11%

10

YAHOO.COM Home Page

74,908

45%

 

35

MaxOnline**

17,235

10%

11

Tribal Fusion**

73,993

44%

 

36

ORBITZ.COM

16,959

10%

12

ValueClick Media**

60,920

37%

 

37

SuperPages Network

16,827

10%

13

EBAY.COM

60,227

36%

 

38

CNET

16,245

10%

14

MSN.COM Home Page

52,106

31%

 

39

REAL.COM

16,153

10%

15

24/7 Real Media**

49,648

30%

 

40

CHEAPTICKETS.COM

15,327

9%

16

BURST! Media**

47,353

28%

 

41

ESPN

14,794

9%

17

Ask Jeeves

39,821

24%

 

42

COOLSAVINGS.COM

14,588

9%

18

EBAY.COM Home Page

36,814

22%

 

43

Claria Applications

14,472

9%

19

Business.com Network

33,437

20%

 

44

WebMD Health Network

14,415

9%

20

Vendare Media

31,290

19%

 

45

iVillage.com: The Womens Network

14,175

9%

21

MSNBC

27,336

16%

 

46

Netscape

13,881

8%

22

Expedia Travel

26,049

16%

 

47

MONSTER.COM

13,475

8%

23

WEATHER.COM

25,998

16%

 

48

IMDB.COM

12,376

7%

24

Gorilla Nation Media Network

25,835

16%

 

49

WhitePages Network

12,078

7%

25

Lycos Network

25,380

15%

 

50

TICKETMASTER.COM

12,051

7%

 

Reach % denotes the percentage of the total Internet population that views a particular entity at least once in June.  For instance, Yahoo! was seen by 70 percent of the over 166 million Internet users in June.  The notation "**"indicates that the entity is an advertising network.

 


About comScore Media Metrix

comScore Media Metrix, a division of comScore Networks, provides industry-leading Internet audience measurement services that report - with unmatched accuracy - 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 continues the tradition of quality and innovation established by its Media Metrix syndicated Internet ratings - long recognized as the currency in online media measurement among financial analysts, advertising agencies, publishers and marketers - while drawing upon comScore's advanced technologies to address important new industry requirements.  All comScore Media Metrix syndicated ratings are based on industry-sanctioned sampling methodologies.

 

About comScore Networks

comScore Networks provides unparalleled insight into consumer behavior and attitudes. This capability is based on a massive, global cross-section of more than 2 million consumers who have given comScore explicit 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 patent-pending technology, comScore measures what matters across a broad spectrum of behavior and attitudes.  comScore consultants 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 global leaders such as AOL,  Yahoo!, Verizon, Best Buy, The Newspaper Association of America, Tribune Interactive, ESPN, Nestlé, Bank of America, Universal McCann, the United States Postal Service, GlaxoSmithKline and Orbitz.  For more information, please visit www.comscore.com.

 


Contact:
Andrew Lipsman
comScore Networks
(312) 775-6510
press@comscore.com