Report: Travel And Social Media Sites Fare Well In June

Summer travel, out-of-school students, and out-of-work workers were largely responsible for shaping the Internet landscape in June, according to new data from the comScore Media Metrix service.

"Travel sites typically see an increase in activity around this time of year as Americans look to get away," said Jack Flanagan, EVP of comScore Media Metrix. "Summer vacation also means more leisure time for those out of school, leading to a seasonal increase in leisure categories including online gaming and entertainment."

The Airlines category, in particular, ranked as the top-gaining category for June, growing 22% month-over-year to 33.2 million visitors.

Also among the top gaining categories were Travel Transactions, Online Travel Agents, and Travel Information.

Southwest Airlines, the top-ranked site in the Airlines category, achieved especially strong gains -- growing 64% to 16.4 million visitors, and grabbing the Number 2 position among the top-gaining properties.

Online travel agent sites also experienced growth in June, increasing 9% to 42.8 million visitors. Expedia led the category with 27 million visitors -- up 12% -- followed by Orbitz with 12.5 million visitors -- up 10% -- Priceline with 11.3 million -- up 7% -- and Travelocity with nearly 9.8 million visitors -- up 8%.

Online gaming sites, meanwhile, saw a surge in activity in June as the beginning of summer vacation provided students with more leisure time for such pursuits. The Gaming Information category attracted 50 million Americans in June -- up 6% month-over-month.

With school out for the summer, students found ways to spend their free time on sites such as GiantRealm and GameStop, with both sites ranking among the top ten-gaining properties in June. GiantRealm jumped 25% to more than 7 million visitors, while GameStop grew 19% to nearly 5.8 million visitors.

Rising unemployment during the past year has led to an increasing number of Americans seeking jobs and career opportunities online. Both the Career Resources and Career Training & Education categories ranked among the top ten-gaining categories for June as the unemployed, underemployed and recent grads scoured the Web for opportunities.

The Career Resources category grew 6% to 46.8 million visitors, while Career Training & Education grew 13% to 6.7 million visitors.

Overall, Google sites continued to lead as the most-visited property in June with nearly 157 million visitors, followed by Yahoo sites with 154 million visitors, and Microsoft Sites with 127.4 million visitors.

Facebook moved up two positions to Number 6, marking its highest-ever ranking.

"It's hard to believe that Twitter.com had fewer than a million visitors in June 2008, and now attracts more than 20 million visitors a month and ranks among the top 50 U.S. properties," Flanagan said.

CareerBuilder ascended 6 spots to Number 39 with 21.7 million visitors -- a reflection of the Career Services & Development category gain.

The Mozilla Organization, meanwhile, jumped 13 spots to Number 28 with nearly 27 million visitors, due to the release of Firefox 3.5.

Also of note, Platform-A led the June Ad Focus ranking, reaching 91% of all U.S. consumers online. Yahoo Network ranked second, reaching 88% of the population, while ValueClick Networks ranked third with an 84% reach.

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