comScore Releases Top Japan Web Site Rankings for August 2008
TOKYO, Sept 30, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX News Network/ -- comScore, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released its August 2008 rankings of the largest and fastest-growing Internet properties and site categories in Japan, based on data from the comScore World Metrix audience measurement service. The month saw growth at travel sites as many planned trips for vacation season. The 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China triggered gains at sports sites, while strong storms in August prompted increases at weather sites.
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"Interest in the Olympics was a key driver in Web activity for August," said Maru Sato, managing director of comScore Japan. "The Internet's ability to provide real-time information was a valuable resource for those seeking the latest results of their favorite competitors, such as gold medalist swimmer Kousuke Kitajima, or popular events, such as the judo and baseball competitions."
Top Gaining Site Categories for August 2008
Several travel-related categories experienced gains in August, as vacationers planned their trips and sought vacation deals. Travel - ground/cruise sites increased 24 percent to 4.6 million visitors on the strength of gains at rail travel sites, with many Japanese vacationers opting to stay closer to home and save on the increasing costs of air and car travel due to high gasoline prices. JR-odekake.net, a Japan Railway operated site which provides train transportation information, led the category with 1.2 million visitors in August. The travel - transaction category also achieved strong gains during the month, growing 20 percent to 7.5 million visitors.
The weather category also experienced gains in August -- up 17 percent to more than 13 million visitors -- as vacationers sought to stay abreast of the latest weather patterns. In particular, strong August storms that carried the possibility of affecting travel plans, had people anxiously seeking weather information online.
Several events caused the sports category to gain 17 percent to nearly 20 million visitors during the month. Interest in the 2008 Olympics led to strong traffic to sports sites, as visitors searched for the latest results and medal counts. The high school baseball championships also drew visitors to sports sites to follow the status of the August tournament.
Top Gaining Site Categories by Number of Unique Japanese Visitors
August 2008 vs. July 2008
Total Japan, Age 15+ - Home and Work Locations*
Source: comScore World Metrix
Total Unique Visitors (000)
Site Category Jul-2008 Aug-2008 % Change
Total Internet : Total
Audience 56,786 57,356 1
Travel - Ground/Cruise 3,733 4,632 24
Retail - Movies 5,720 6,867 20
Travel - Transactions 6,217 7,462 20
Weather 11,280 13,221 17
Sports 17,000 19,873 17
* Excludes traffic from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs.
Top Gaining Properties for August 2008
With the Olympics and high school baseball driving interest in the sports category, some of the fastest gaining properties in August were sports sites, including NikkanSports.com (up 46 percent to 4.9 million visitors) and Sponichi.co.jp (up 44 percent to nearly 2.9 million visitors).
MapFan.com, the top gaining property in August, grew 48 percent to 2.7 million visitors as those opting for ground travel for their August vacations sought directions and local information online.
Top 10 Gaining Properties by Number of Japanese Unique Visitors*
August 2008 vs. July 2008
Total Japan, Age 15+ - Home and Work Locations**
Source: comScore World Metrix
Total Unique Visitors (000)
Property Jul-2008 Aug-2008 % Change
Total Internet : Total
Audience 56,786 57,356 1
MAPFAN.COM 1,839 2,730 48
NIKKANSPORTS.COM 3,377 4,928 46
JIJI.COM 3,116 4,510 45
SPONICHI.CO.JP 2,037 2,937 44
DMM.COM 2,269 2,819 24
NTV.CO.JP 3,387 4,065 20
VOICEPORT.JP 2,570 3,016 17
OKWAVE.JP 5,569 6,325 14
IMPRESS.CO.JP 4,978 5,560 12
WAKWAK.COM 2,554 2,851 12
*Ranking based on the top 100 Japanese properties in August 2008.
** Excludes traffic from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs.
Top 10 Properties for August 2008
Yahoo! Sites maintained its strong #1 position in the Japanese market with more than 48 million visitors in August, an increase of 3 percent from July. Google Sites maintained the #2 spot with nearly 38 million visitors (up 4 percent), followed by Rakuten Inc. with more than 32 million visitors.
Top 10 Properties by Number of Japanese Unique Visitors
August 2008 vs. July 2008
Total Japan, Age 15+ - Home and Work Locations*
Source: comScore World Metrix
Total Unique Visitors (000)
Property Jul-2008 Aug-2008 % Change
Total Internet : Total
Audience 56,786 57,356 1
Yahoo! Sites 46,979 48,171 3
Google Sites 36,390 37,804 4
Rakuten Inc 32,084 32,142 0
Microsoft Sites 30,134 30,122 0
FC2 inc. 28,465 28,871 1
NTT Group 28,158 28,152 0
Wikimedia Foundation
Sites 23,373 23,480 0
Livedoor 23,550 23,298 -1
GMO Internet Group 23,612 23,225 -2
Nifty Corporation 22,814 22,888 0
* Excludes traffic from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs.
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 http://www.comscore.com/boilerplate
SOURCE comScore
http://www.comscore.com
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