Three Fourths of US Internet Population, Two Fifths of Americans, Using Search Engines Nielsen//NetRatings reports that 114.5 million, or 39 percent of Americans, used a search engine
during January 2004. The 114.5 million unique users, representing 76 percent of the active online U.S. population, each spent nearly forty minutes using search engines during the month.
"Search engines continue to be the primary tool people use to navigate the Web," said Jason Levin, analyst, Nielsen//NetRatings. "With the big search players having recently updated their search
capabilities, Internet users should expect to find even better search results from the major search engines in the near future."
Top 5 Search Destinations, January 2004 (U.S. Home and
Work)
| Unique Audience (000) | Active Reach (%)
|
| 1. Google | 59,327 | 39.37 |
| 2. Yahoo! Search | 45,774 | 30.38 |
| 3. MSN Search | 44,651 | 29.63 |
| 4. AOL Search | 23,394 | 15.53 |
| 5. Ask
Jeeves | 12,792 | 8.49 |
Source: Nielsen//NetRatings NetView, January 2004
And, Nielsen//NetRatings top sites in computers, electronics,
education, careers, travel and automotive during mid February at home:
| Top 10 Computers &
Consumer Electronics Destinations Week ending Feb. 22, 2004 |
| Unique Audience (000) | Active Reach (%) |
| Microsoft | 41,903 | 37.33 |
| Real | 9,608 | 8.56 |
| Gator Network | 5,282 | 4.71 |
| Apple | 5,279 | 4.7 |
| WhenU | 3,943 | 3.51 |
| McAfee | 3,822 | 3.41 |
| KaZaA | 3,165 | 2.82 |
| eBay Electronics | 3,048 | 2.72 |
| Hewlett Packard | 2,967 | 2.64 |
| FunWebProducts.com | 2,901 | 2.58 |
| Top 10 Education & Careers Destinations Week ending Feb. 22, 2004 |
| Unique Audience (000) | Active Reach (%) |
| Monster | 3,007 | 2.68 |
| CareerBuilder | 2,539 | 2.26 |
| Yahoo! HotJobs | 1,536 | 1.37 |
| U.S. Dept. of Education | 1,254 | 1.12 |
| AOL Research & Learn | 782 | 0.7 |
| ChooseADegree | 743 | 0.66 |
| Merriam-Webster | 540 | 0.48
|
| University of California at Berkeley | 436 | 0.39 |
| harvard.edu | 436 | 0.39 |
| About Homework Help | 434 | 0.39 |
| Top 10 Travel Destinations Week ending Feb.15, 2004 |
| Unique Audience (000) | Active Reach (%) |
| MapQuest | 4,997 | 4.43 |
| Expedia | 3,129 | 2.78 |
| Orbitz.com | 2,470 | 2.19 |
| Travelocity | 2,245 | 1.99 |
| Southwest Airlines | 1,656 | 1.47 |
| AOL Travel | 1,417 | 1.26
|
| Hotels.com | 1,271 | 1.13 |
| Hotwire.com | 1,096 | 0.97 |
| Yahoo! Travel | 1,042 | 0.92 |
| tripadvisor | 1,038 | 0.92 |
| Top 10 Automotive Destinations Week ending Feb.15, 2004 |
| Unique Audience (000) | Active Reach (%) |
| eBay Motors | 3,581 | 3.18 |
| Kelley Blue Book | 908 | 0.81
|
| MSN Autos | 707 | 0.63 |
| AutoTrader.com | 701 | 0.62 |
| Cars.com | 450 | 0.4 |
| Autoweb.com | 410 | 0.36 |
| Ford | 408 | 0.36 |
| AAA | 405 | 0.36 |
| carsdirect.com | 384 | 0.34 |
| Honda | 364 | 0.32 |
Source: Nielsen//NetRatings US, Home