Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) has reclaimed the title, for the first time since last June, leaving behind rival Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) to claim the top spot most-trafficked Web site list for US desktops. A monthly list of top 50 released by data analytic firm ComScore, revealed that Google displaced Yahoo, which has been the winner for last seven months.
Google in ahead in desktop and mobile combined
For February, Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) witnessed over 189 million unique visitors while Yahoo had more than 183 million visitors. Software giant Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) came at third place with over 162 million unique visitors.
As per the data, search engines, news sites, and social media attracted the most number of traffic. In U.S., for February, the total desktop internet audience was more than 222 million unique users. The list from ComScore excludes mobile traffic. For last few months, though Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) has been ahead of Google in US desktop traffic, Google has been the winner in both desktop and mobile combined along with the search engine traffic.
Comscore said on its site, “February also brought about Valentine’s Day, which meant online visitors shopped for flowers, gifts, greetings cards and holiday foods, causing a boost in traffic to related retail subcategories. It should be noted that February typically sees softer gains overall due to it being three days shorter than January.”
Yahoo credited for Google’s gain
Google’s rise to the top spot has more to do with Yahoo’s traffic decline of around 5% month-over-month than any achievements on the part of the internet giant. Actually, the traffic for Google was down compared to last month’s 189.2 million, but Yahoo experienced a steeper fall from 192.1 million last month. The decline in traffic could be attributed to 3 less days in February. Other top sites also witnessed a drop in traffic. For Microsoft, the traffic was down from 175.6 million to 162.8 million while Facebook witnessed a decline from 141.7 million to 133.6 million.
So, going by the data, it could be seen that Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) was able to hold much of its audience compared to rivals. Andrew Lipsman, VP, marketing and insights at comScore, noted that Google has higher daily usage rate compared to any other sites, which is the main reason why the internet giant experienced a lower decline.
