• by February 22, 2005

It seems so predictable. At the beginning of a new year, people turn their attention to tax preparation, going on a diet, getting a new job, and finding time to travel. comScore Media Metrix reports that Web sites addressing these topics were among the top properties logging traffic increases.

The company’s taxes category grabbed the top spot on its top gaining properties list with an increase of 235 percent versus its ranking in December. Nearly 21 million Internet users visited tax sites in January, an increase of 12 percent compared to January 2004.

The top gaining property in January was HRBlock.com, which drew 4.1 million visitors, an increase of 636 percent compared to December. IRS.gov also saw a triple-digit increase (238 percent), attracting 11 million visitors in January.

Traffic to eDiets more than doubled between December and January. Nearly 7.9 million people visited the site in January, an increase of 126 percent. Weight Watchers International attracted 4.3 million Americans, an increase of 77 percent from December.

The Job Search segment grew 32 percent in January to 16.2 million visitors. Monster.com Job Search, CareerBuilder.com Job Search, and Yahoo! HotJobs Job Search each posted double-digit increases in January, according to comScore Media Metrix.

With spring just around the corner, four of January's top 10 gaining categories were travel subcategories. The ground/cruise subcategory posted a 48 percent increase between December and January. VacationsToGo.com, a discount cruise merchant and the category's largest site, jumped 99 percent to finish at 3.5 million visitors in January. Carnival.com, RoyalCaribbean.com, and Princess.com posted increases of 105, 79, and 67 percent respectively.

The top 20 sites in the hotels/resorts category all posted double-digit increases between December and January, boosting category traffic by 22 percent. As a whole, the category is up 32 percent compared to last January. The airlines category posted a 22 percent increase in traffic in January with Delta Airlines jumping 80 percent, driven by the launch of its new SimpliFares fare structure