Taxes, Careers, Travel and Weight Spike the Web comScore Media Metrix, in releasing its monthly analysis of top online consumer activity, concludes that the desire to kick off the New
Year on the right foot drove traffic to sites in the Taxes, Career, Travel and Health categories.
Peter Daboll, president and CEO of comScore Media Metrix. "Rather than procrastinate
until April, many Americans went online in January to file their taxes. Some decided it was time to shed those excess holiday pounds with assistance from online health resources, while others
sought assistance with job changes or used the Internet to snag late-winter vacation deals."
The Taxes category yielded the highest gains in this month's ranking of the top gaining
properties, drawing nearly 23 million visitors - an increase of 215 percent compared to December.
Top Ten Gaining Properties (x000)
Total U.S. Home, Work and University Internet Users January 2006 vs. December 2005 |
| Dec-05 | Jan-06 | %Change | Rank by Unique Visitors |
Total Internet Population | 170,285 | 170,797 | 0% | N/A |
HRBlock.com | 530 |
4,327 | 717% | 197 |
Subway | 592 | 4,742 | 701% | 178 |
XS.to |
1,110 | 4,739 | 327% | 179 |
DoNotCall.gov | 1,093 | 4,114 | 276% | 203 |
Intuit | 3,179 | 9,476 | 198% | 79 |
IRS.gov | 4,020 | 11,511 | 186% |
63 |
FrontierNet.net | 2,071 | 4,405 | 113% | 195 |
eDiets | 2,709 | 5,629 | 108%
| 144 |
Weight Watchers
International | 2,484 | 4,720 | 90% | 182 |
ED.gov | 3,498 | 6,425 | 84% |
131 |
Source: comScore Media Metrix |
The top gaining property in January was HRBlock.com with an increase of 171 percent compared to December. Traffic to the Career Services and Development category jumped 26 percent for people unhappy
with their current job situation.
The Career-Job Search subcategory rose 42 percent, Career Resources increased 35 percent and traffic to the Career - Training and Education
subcategory was up 18 percent, while CareerBuilder climbed 74 percent over the prior month to 21.2 million visitors yielding the largest gains in total visitors for the month. All subcategories
benefited from significant television advertising
The New Year's resolution to get in shape caused seasonal traffic spikes to sites in the Health category. eDiets, the top online
dieting resource, more than doubled its traffic from the previous month, drawing 5.6 million visitors. Weight Watchers International also showed strong gains, attracting 4.7 million visitors, an
increase of 90 percent compared to December. Increased visitation to the Health - Information subcategory (up 17 percent) secured a spot on the list of top gaining categories in January.
And, the report opines, consumers looked for deals to "beat the winter blahs." Two of January's top ten gaining categories were Travel subcategories. Travel - Ground/Cruise ranked as the fourth
fastest-growing category with nearly 10 million unique visitors, up 26 percent over December due to the numerous last-minute winter vacation deals offered. Heavy promotions of discounted cruises
helped VacationsToGo.com draw 2.3 million visitors to the site, a 51 percent increase, and Carnival Cruises attracted 2 million visitors with similar promotions, marking a 40 percent increase compared
to December.
Top Ten Gaining Categories by Unique Visitors
(x000)January 2006 vs. December 2005 Total U.S. Home, Work and University Internet Users |
| Dec-05(000) | Jan-06(000) | % Change |
Total Internet Population | 170,285 | 170,797 | 0% |
Taxes |
7,385 | 23,244 | 215% |
Career - Job Search | 10,830 | 15,340 | 42% |
Career Resources | 27,253 | 36,814 | 35% |
Travel - Ground/Cruise | 7,889 | 9,967
| 26% |
Career Services and Development
| 39,626 | 49,824 | 26% |
Lotto/Sweepstakes | 22,048 | 27,114 |
23% |
Career - Training and Education |
7,804 | 9,172 | 18% |
Real Estate | 29,695 | 34,785 | 17% |
Health - Information | 43,458 | 50,839 | 17% |
Online Travel Agents | 45,786 | 53,501
| 17% |
Source: comScore
Media Metrix |
For
more data, please visit comScore her