Comscore Reports Traffic to Leading UK Sites in March

Social Networking and Major Consumer Sites See Marked Traffic Increases During the Month

London, UK, April 30, 2007 – Comscore, a leader in measuring the digital world, today revealed the top 20 UK Internet properties and the top gaining properties during March 2007, based on data collected through its Comscore World Metrix audience ratings service. Notable findings include:

  • Google maintained its place as the most-visited site in the UK with 27.3 million UK visitors, followed by Microsoft Sites and eBay, which attracted 26.8 and 22 million visitors, respectively.
  • The biggest gainer within the top 20 sites was British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB), with a 36-percent increase to 9.7 million UK visitors. This increase can probably be attributed to a major advertising campaign aimed at promoting BSkyB’s entertainment and communication packages, in the midst of increasing competition for new customers from Virgin Group, which attracted 11.1 million visitors in March (up 4 percent from February).
  • Several social networking sites showed notable gains in March, including Tagged.com, which became the UK’s biggest gainer with a 226-percent increase to more than 3 million visitors. In addition, Facebook.com grew 38 percent to 2.7 million visitors, and Six Apart sites grew 30 percent to 3.5 million visitors. Bebo.com grew 9 percent to 7.8 million visitors, and is the only one of these sites to be represented in the top 20 list.
  • The UK Top Gaining Properties list was dominated by major consumer sites, including:
  • Vodafone, up 47 percent to 4 million visitors
  • British Airways, up 43 percent to 4.4 million visitors
  • Ticketmaster, up 36 percent to 3.7 million visitors
  • Wal-Mart, up 15 percent to 2.6 million visitors (driven by traffic to ASDA)
  • Sony Online, up 14 percent to 3.7 million visitors
  • Tesco Stores, up 10 percent to 7 million visitors
  • Marks & Spencer, up 10 percent to 2.7 million visitors
  • The easyGROUP, up 9 percent to 3.3 million visitors

Top 20 Online Properties by U.K. Unique Visitors, Age 15+
March 2007
Total U.K. – Home and Work Locations*
Source: Comscore World Metrix

Feb-07 (000)

Mar-07 (000)

Percentage Change

Total U.K. Internet Audience, Age 15+

30,016

30,753

2%

Google Sites

26,441

27,344

3%

Microsoft Sites

25,999

26,776

3%

eBay

21,667

22,034

2%

Yahoo! Sites

20,396

20,775

2%

BBC Sites

17,910

18,410

3%

Time Warner Network

13,924

14,459

4%

Amazon Sites

13,826

14,066

2%

Ask Network

13,390

13,969

4%

Fox Interactive Media

11,555

12,406

7%

Wikipedia Sites

11,218

11,925

6%

Virgin Group

10,730

11,144

4%

Apple Computer, Inc.

9,450

10,020

6%

DMGT

9,330

9,986

7%

British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB)

7,135

9,724

36%

CNET Networks

8,998

9,577

6%

BEBO.COM

7,153

7,810

9%

Gorilla Nation

6,443

7,100

10%

MULTIMAP.COM

6,799

7,048

4%

Home Retail Group

6,986

7,035

1%

Tesco Stores

6,357

7,005

10%

* Excludes traffic from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs.

Top 20 Gaining Properties by Percentage Change in U.K. Unique Visitors*
March 2007 vs. February 2007
Total U.K. Visitors, Age 15+ – Home and Work Locations**
Source: Comscore World Metrix

Feb-07 (000)

Mar-07 (000)

Percentage Change

Total U.K. Internet Audience, Age 15+

30,016

30,753

2%

TAGGED.COM

1,084

3,535

226%

Vodafone Group

2,707

3,980

47%

British Airways

3,049

4,369

43%

FACEBOOK.COM

1,945

2,679

38%

Ticketmaster

2,710

3,696

36%

British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB)

7,135

9,724

36%

Six Apart Sites

2,653

3,462

30%

The Mozilla Organization

2,234

2,853

28%

Wal-Mart

2,281

2,633

15%

Terra Networks

5,000

5,755

15%

Sony Online

3,219

3,661

14%

NHS.UK

3,537

3,999

13%

DIRECT.GOV.UK

3,182

3,558

12%

Gorilla Nation

6,443

7,100

10%

Tesco Stores

6,357

7,005

10%

Marks&Spencer

2,439

2,684

10%

Automobile Association Ltd

4,426

4,873

10%

Answers.com Sites

3,618

3,983

10%

Real.com Network

4,153

4,557

10%

EasyGroup

2,995

3,275

9%

*Ranking based on the top 100 U.K. properties in March 2007.
** Excludes traffic from public computers such as Internet cafes or access from mobile phones or PDAs.

About Comscore

Comscore, Inc. 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 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 more than 700 clients, including global leaders such as AOL, Microsoft, Yahoo!, Verizon, Best Buy, The Newspaper Association of America, Tribune Interactive, ESPN, Fox Sports, Nestlé, MBNA, Starcom USA, Universal McCann, the United States Postal Service, Merck and Expedia. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com.

Press
Bill Daddi
Daddi Brand Communications
646-370-1341
press@comscore.com