Commentary
Just an Online Minute... Money and the Mob
- by Masha Geller , September 22, 2002
Nielsen//NetRatings reports that traffic to Forbes.com skyrocketed 180%, leading the way as the fastest growing brand at home for the week ending September 15th. The site attracted 520,000 unique visitors with 22% of traffic logging on to view Forbes' 20th annual ranking of the 400 richest Americans.
As expected, HBO.com surged 115% in traffic at home for the week ending September 15th, as the highly anticipated fourth season of The Sopranos premiered. Fans logged on for information about the cast and crew, games and downloads, and details about past episodes. The site drew 548,000 unique visitors with males comprising 60% of the total audience.
What is surprising, however, is that government sites managed to sneak into the fast lane as well. Traffic to U.S. government sites jumped during the week ending September 15, as surfers logging on from work fueled a 17% increase to more than 9.5 million unique visitors.
Among the U.S. government's various agencies, the Treasury Department drew 672,000 office workers and claimed the fastest growing brand within the government, soaring 37% week-over-week. Traffic to the U.S. Department of Commerce increased 35% to nearly 1.5 million visitors, while NASA posted a 30% growth to 553,000 unique visitors. Rounding out the list, the Department of Defense attracted more than 1.3 million visitors, while the U.S. Postal service grew 17% to 1.4 million surfers.
"Within the past year, we've seen government sites increase its audience size at a healthy clip, as various government agencies delivered new offerings and updated content for the public," said Carolyn Clark, Internet analyst, Nielsen//NetRatings. "Surfers have come to rely on the government sites to get the latest information on U.S. policies, as well as serving as a resource for state and federal activities."
