July gains at environmentally friendly “green” websites and automaker sites were the result of consumer interest in the “Cash for Clunkers” program, while students seeking to fill summer-vacation hours spurred increases in traffic to toy and teen sites, according to a monthly analysis of US web activity? from comScore Media Metrix service.
Americans Go Green
Americans sought information about green initiatives related to automotive transportation with the launch of the federal CARS program, with visitation to “green”-related websites growing 15% in July, to 17.5 million visitors.
NaturalPath Media led the category with 2.1 million visitors, followed by Yahoo Green with 1.9 million and ECOMII with 1 million, comScore said.
Auto Manufacturer sites saw similar growth , jumping 14% to 27.1 million visitors. This represented a high point for the category in the past year. General Motors led the category with 7 million visitors (up 20%), while Toyota grabbed the #2 position with 6.9 million (up 46%) and also ranked second among the top-gaining properties in July.
Ford Motor Company ranked third with 6.2 million (up 12%), followed by Honda with 4 million (up 23%) and Chrysler with 3.1 million (up 20%).
“The combination of owning a more fuel-efficient car while receiving a cash-back bonus really sparked the interest of many Americans, who were prompted to visit these sites to gather information on the program and ultimately determine whether it was something from which they might benefit,” said Jack Flanagan, comScore EVP.
A recent study by J.D. Power and Associates found that the CARS (aka “Cash for Clunkers”) program did indeed fuel summer auto sales. The US government also revealed that Ford, Honda and Toyota are among the most-purchased brands purchased under the CARS program.
Toy, Teen Sites Keep Vacationing Students Busy
The increase in toy and teen sites is a direct result of summer vacation in the US, which means more leisure time for children, comScore said. The firm suggested that this free time prompted parents parents to scour toy sites for fun activities to keep their kids occupied. The category attracted 18.6 million visitors in July, representing a 14% increase vs. the prior month. Toysrus sites led the category with 6.6 million visitors, followed by the LEGO Group with 2.9 million, and Disney Shopping with 1.6 million.
Ty Trade LLC ranked fourth in the category with 1.4 million visitors, up 148% becausee of a Teenie Beanie Babies promotion for McDonald’s Happy Meals.
Teens seeking summer activities also looked to the web for amusement in July and the Teens category grew 10% to 29.7 million visitors during the month. Alloy Digital Network ranked #1 in the category with nearly 11.6 million visitors (up 15%). Zwinky racked up 6.8 million visitors (up 13%), followed by MYYEARBOOK.COM with 5 million visitors (up 8%) and Nickelodeon Teens with 3.2 million visitors.
Top 50 Properties
As it has been in the past, Google Sites was the most visited property in July, clocking nearly 158 million visitors, up from 157 million in June. Google is followed by Yahoo Sites with 156.5 million visitors, and Microsoft Sites with 129 million visitors.
As was the case in June, Facebook.com again moved up again in the rankings. The increasingly popular social networking site hit #5, marking its highest-ever ranking. Answers.com Sites ascended 5 spots to #26 with 28.4 million visitors. Gorilla Nation jumped 4 positions to #31, while Twitter also moved up in the rankings to the #42 position with 20.1 million visitors, comScore said.
Top 50 Ad Focus Ranking
AOL Advertising (renamed from Platform-A) led the July Ad Focus ranking, reaching 91% of all Americans online. Yahoo Network ranked second, reaching 88% of the population, while ValueClick Networks ranked third with an 83% reach. Yahoo Sites and Microsoft Media Network each climbed one spot grabbing the #5 and #9 positions, respectively. Google climbed two spots to the #8 position with a reach of 77%.
