23 million Brits visit search engines- research
- Added:
- Mar 31, 2006
The figures, from Internet research firm Nielsen//NetRatings, indicates that the retail sector benefits most from search engines, garnering the greatest number of people clicking-through from the likes of Google, Yahoo, MSN and Ask.
The UK Internet population clicks on over half a billion links on search engines every month. Mass merchandisers received the greatest number of people clicking-through, 7.6 million, which represents 33% of the search audience and 28% of the entire UK Internet population.
Alex Burmaster, European Internet analyst at Nielsen//NetRatings said: “Retail, government, broadcast media and universities are sectors particularly benefiting from search. The staggering percentage of people using search engines and clicking on links show how deeply ingrained the search experience is in today’s Internet. For many search has become the lifeblood that flows through the Internet body.
“Different sectors have been successful in terms of benefiting from or utilising the leading search brands.” Burmaster continued. “For example, universities are the most popular destinations for Google searchers whereas broadcast media sites are the most popular destination for MSN searchers.
"It shows that despite Google’s overwhelming popularity there are other viable options. For example, if you provide a web service such as file-sharing or music software you’ve got a greater probability of driving visitors through a smaller search engine such as eWoss,” he added.
Top 10 sectors receiving visitors through search engines
|
Rank |
Sector |
Unique Audience clicking-through to sector (000’s) |
% of total search audience |
Leading brand in sector (illustration only) |
|
1 |
Mass Merchandiser |
7,587 |
33% |
Amazon |
|
2 |
Shopping Directories & Guides |
7,069 |
31% |
Yahoo! Shopping |
|
3 |
Government |
7,049 |
31% |
The NHS |
|
4 |
Broadcast Media |
6,805 |
30% |
BBC |
|
5 |
Universities |
6,750 |
30% |
Oxford University |
|
6 |
Research Tools |
6,277 |
28% |
Wikipedia |
|
7 |
Member Communities |
6,263 |
28% |
Friends Reunited |
|
8 |
Directories/Local Guides |
5,814 |
26% |
Yell |
|
9 |
Current Events & Global News |
5,578 |
25% |
BBC News |
|
10 |
Multi-category Travel |
5,526 |
24% |
Expedia |
E.g. In Jan 2006 7.6 million people clicked on a link in a Top 10 search engine to a mass merchandiser site. This represents 33% of all people visiting a Top 10 search engine. Source: Nielsen//NetRatings UK NetView, home & work data, excluding Internet applications, Jan 2006
Source: www.nielsen-netratings.com
The Top 10 Search Engines (by Unique Audience)
|
Rank |
Search Engine |
Unique Audience (000’s) |
% of UK Internet Population (‘reach’) |
Most likely click-through destination |
|
1 |
|
18,768 |
68.6 |
Universities |
|
2 |
Yahoo! Search |
5,901 |
21.6 |
Shopping Directories & Guides |
|
3 |
MSN Search |
5,790 |
21.2 |
Broadcast Media |
|
4 |
Ask.com |
4,003 |
14.6 |
Shopping Directories & Guides |
|
5 |
AOL Search |
2,692 |
9.8 |
Shopping Directories & Guides |
|
6 |
Wanadoo Search |
1,545 |
5.7 |
Mass Merchandisers |
|
7 |
My Web Search |
1,043 |
3.8 |
Mass Merchandisers |
|
8 |
Microsoft Search |
814 |
3.0 |
Software Manufacturers |
|
9 |
eWoss |
677 |
2.5 |
Internet Tools/Web Services |
|
10 |
Kellysearch |
637 |
2.3 |
Mass Merchandisers |
E.g. In Jan 2006 18.8 million people (69% of the UK Internet population) visited Google and their most likely click-through destination were University websites. Source: Nielsen//NetRatings UK NetView, home & work data, excluding Internet applications, Jan 2006
Source: www.nielsen-netratings.com
Top 10 destinations from Google
|
Rank |
Sector |
Unique Audience clicking-through to that sector (000’s) |
% of sector’s total audience |
|
1 |
Universities |
5,622 |
62% |
|
2 |
Government |
5,420 |
54% |
|
3 |
Mass Merchandiser |
5,311 |
37% |
|
4 |
Research Tools |
5,242 |
62% |
|
5 |
Broadcast Media |
5,103 |
39% |
|
6 |
Shopping Directories & Guides |
5,084 |
52% |
|
7 |
Member Communities |
4,761 |
36% |
|
8 |
Current Events & Global News |
4,433 |
39% |
|
9 |
Directories/Local Guides |
4,302 |
52% |
|
10 |
Special Interest News |
4,243 |
54% |
E.g. In Jan 2006 5.6 million people clicked on a link in Google to a university website = 62% of all people visiting a university website
Source: www.nielsen-netratings.com
The Top 10 Search Engines (by share of click-throughs)
Source: Nielsen//NetRatings MegaView Search, Jan 2006
Source: www.nielsen-netratings.com