Interest in Online Gaming Increases Traffic to Sites in June
Both the online gaming information and online gaming categories gained in June, bolstered by significant growth among the under 18 demographic. The gaming information category, composed of sites that offer players the latest gaming tips and news, grew 9 percent to 42.8 million visitors, buoyed by strong growth at IGN entertainment (up 17 percent to 10.4 million visitors), Nintendo Co. (up 26 percent to 4.3 million visitors) and EA.com (up 41 percent to 1.8 million visitors). The online gaming category also grew in June, gaining 8 percent to nearly 64 million visitors. Sites catering to younger individuals saw significant gains within the category, including Disney Games (up 38 percent to 6.3 million visitors) and Neopets (up 29 percent to 4.8 million visitors).
World Series of Poker Sparks Growth to Gambling Sites
As excitement mounted for the approaching 2007 World Series of Poker, the online gambling category increased 13 percent to 12.5 million visitors. With several online poker sites hosting WSOP satellite tournaments in advance of the main event, many sites experienced gains including PokerStars (up 17 percent increase to 1.6 million visitors), FullTiltPoker (up 10 percent to 1.1 million visitors) and UltimateBet.com Online Poker (up 16 percent to 466,000 visitors).
Online Radio Ranks as Top-Gaining Category in June
Radio sites surged 34 percent to 48.9 million visitors in June, making it the top gaining category for the month. Yahoo! Music led the category with more than 25 million visitors (up 11 percent), while AOL Radio (up 11 percent to 3.2 million visitors) and Disney Music (up 16 percent to nearly 1.5 million visitors) both saw significant gains for the month.
Entertainment News Sees Jump with Paris Hilton Media Frenzy
Americans' fascination with celebrities spurred growth in the entertainment news category, which saw a 7-percent increase to 42.1 million visitors in June. Largely fueled by national interest in the Paris Hilton scandal, traffic to entertainment news site TMZ surged 37 percent to 9.4 million visitors for the month, while People experienced a 6-percent increase to 6.1 million visitors. The tragic news of the deaths of professional wrestler Chris Benoit and his family drove a flood of traffic to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), which jumped 117 percent to 8.4 million visitors.
Pride Month Boosts Traffic to Gay and Lesbian Sites
Traffic to gay/lesbian sites jumped 23 percent in June to nearly 3 million visitors as people across the nation celebrated Gay and Lesbian Pride Month. The category was led by PlanetOut with 742,000 visitors (up 19 percent), followed by Queer Sighted with 563,000 visitors (up 116 percent), and LOGOonline with 454,000 visitors (up 17 percent).
Summer Vacations Continue to Bring Traffic to Travel Sites in June
Continuing the trend from last month, visitation to travel sites once again increased. Traffic to the hotels/resorts category saw an 8-percent increase to 34.6 million visitors for the month. The category was led by Hotels.com with 6.6 million visitors (up 10 percent), followed by Marriott with 5.3 million visitors (up 2 percent) and Disney Travel with 4.8 million visitors (up 11 percent). Although falling just outside of the top 10 gaining categories, the travel information category increased 7 percent versus May to 45.1 million visitors.
Top 50 Properties
Yahoo! Sites remained in the top position for the month of June, drawing more than 133 million visitors. Moving up one spot to the number two position, Google Sites attracted nearly 124 million visitors, while Apple Inc. claimed the number 10 spot with 44 million visitors as the iPhone launch bolstered traffic. Shopzilla.com Sites and Comcast Corporation each gained four spots to attain the number 32 and 35 positions, respectively. Finally, Citysearch and The Mozilla Organization both entered the Top 50 Ranking in June, each attracting more than 15 million visitors.
Top 50 Ad Focus Ranking
In June, Advertising.com reached 88 percent of the U.S. online population to retain its number one position for the 38th consecutive month. ValueClick gained one spot to claim the number two position, while Specific Media enjoyed a three-spot jump to number seven, reaching 66 percent of Americans online. Interclick gained four positions to land at number 29 in the ranking, and Disney Online jumped five spots to number 41. Expedia.com also re-entered the ranking at number 48 in June, reaching 11 percent of Americans online.
