For those serving the education markets, Nielsen//NetRatings reports that traffic to education and university Web sites jumped 34 percent to nearly 3.3 million Web surfers at-home during the week ending July 14, as students gear up for fall semester.
"University Web sites have really evolved from simple informational sites," said T.S. Kelly, director and principal analyst, NetRatings. "Students and administrators alike benefit from the convenience and efficiency of streamlined, Web-based offerings such as registering for classes or renewing library books."
On a related note, traffic to Web sites offering information on financial aid for students also grew. The U.S. Department of Education Web site (www.ed.gov), which offers a downloadable version of the Free Application for Financial Student Aid, drew 533,000 Web surfers, recording a 28 percent increase in traffic. Upromise.com, an online college savings network, skyrocketed 89 percent in traffic, drawing 506,000 visitors.
Fastest Growing University Web Sites, Week Ending July 14 (U.S., Home)
Wk End 7/7 Audience (000) | Wk End 7/14 Audience (000) | % Growth | ||
1. | MIT.edu | 128 | 230 | 80% |
2. | Columbia University | 124 | 191 | 54% |
3. | Ohio State University | 154 | 213 | 38% |
4. | University of Texas | 163 | 218 | 34% |
5. | Virginia.edu | 149 | 192 | 29% |
6. | University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign | 180 | 220 | 22% |
7. | University of Phoenix | 155 | 188 | 21% |
8. | University of California at Davis | 133 | 157 | 18% |
9. | Michigan State University | 183 | 208 | 14% |
10. | UFL.edu | 151 | 170 | 13% |
Additional data highlights for the week ending July 14, 2002:
- Traffic to MTV Networks spiked 42 percent to more than 1.1 million unique visitors at home during the week ending July 14. Fans flocked to the site for a recap of the "Real World Chicago" episodes.
- Shipping sites such as UPS, FedEx and USPS drew office workers during the week ending July 14. UPS and USPS each drew nearly 1.6 million Web surfers while FedEx attracted more than one million office workers. Seventy-seven percent of UPS visitors and 54 percent of FedEx online customers utilized the online shipment tracking features. Nearly 10 percent of the USPS audience visited pages featuring online package tracking services.
- The National Geographic Web site skyrocketed 332 percent in traffic at-home during the week ending July 14, leading the way as the fastest growing brand at home. The site drew 801,000 unique visitors with a predominantly male audience, capturing 53 percent of the site's traffic.
Source: Nielsen//NetRatings.