Facebook.com grew to 26.6 million unique visitors in the U.S. in May 2007, marking an 89% increase compared with May 2006, according to a comScore study on visits to the social-networking site, which in Sept. 2006 decided to open up registration to the general public rather than confining itself mostly to colleges and other schools.
In the months prior to allowing open registration, Facebook.com’s traffic hovered at approximately 14 million visitors per month. After Sept. 2006, visitation accelerated to reach 26.6 million visitors in May 2007, up 100% from Sept. 2006.
Moreover, the number of pages of content viewed at Facebook.com in May 2007 increased to 15.8 billion, up 143% from May 2006 and 121% from September 2006.
Visitors averaged 186 minutes at the site in May 2007 – a 35% increase from a year earlier. Engagement levels peaked in February at 200 minutes per visitor, then leveled off slightly as the influx of new visitors (who tend to begin as lighter users) tempered the average.
Facebook’s decision to open registration has helped attract new visitors from outside the 18-24-year-old age segment.
The 38% increase from May to May among 18-24 year olds was the lowest rate of growth of the age segments considered in the study.
The most dramatic increase occurred among 25-34-year-olds (up 181%), while visits from 12-17-year-olds increased 149%, and visits from those age 35 and older increased 98%.
