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to financial sites
Could it be the stock market? Numbers say so.
By Marty Beard
Money has been very much on web surfers’ minds of late, thanks to dismal economic news and a haywire stock market.
Both banks’ and brokerages’ web sites netted big gains in traffic during the week ended July 28, according to the latest data from Nielsen//NetRatings and comScore Media Metrix.
As much as 8 percent of the body of active internet users, about 6 million people, logged onto a financial news site during the week. That marks a 22 percent increase over the week ended July 21, according to Nielsen//NetRatings.
“Consumers are turning to the web to keep a close watch on the stock market as recent volatility sent the market to lower levels,” says NetRatings internet analyst Patrick Thomas.
Business Week’s web site netted a 68 percent increase in traffic compared to the week ended July 21, bringing in 253,000 unique visitors in all then. Forbes.com traffic shot up 45 percent, to 269,000 visitors, and Bloomberg.com traffic increased to 231,000 unique visitors, an increase of 32 percent.
Thanks to the pervasive feeling of financial insecurity, people logged on the web site of the Social Security Administration. Traffic to the site increased 54 percent, to 249,000 unique visitors in all. Eighteen percent of the site visitors looked at the page where the application for the Social Security card can be found, and nearly 70 percent of traffic at the Social Security site was adults ages 35 to 64.
The web site of the Treasury Department also racked up more visitors than usual, with traffic accelerating 66 percent, with 305,000 unique visitors logging on to check out information about savings bonds. Bankrate.com drew loads of traffic as well, with 150 percent more visitors than the week before, or 653,000 web surfers. They came in search of the latest dirt on mortgage rates.
ComScore Media Metrix posts similar findings for similar web sites during the week.
Bank and investment company Wachovia saw its site traffic increase 35 percent, compared to the average of the previous three weeks, reaching 125,000 average daily unique visitors, according to comScore Media Metrix.
Along those lines, Suntrust.com traffic surged by more than 30 percent over the average of the prior three-week period, reaching 62,000 unique visitors, and USBank.com traffic was up 29 percent, hitting 215,000 unique visitors.
Thanks to an eventful week, with kidnappings, a Papal visit and trapped Pennsylvania miners in the news, news site traffic posted sizable gains, by comScore Media Metrix’s reckoning, with the Associated Press’s web site traffic up 86 percent compared to the average of the prior three weeks, to 162,000 unique average daily visitors.
USAToday.com traffic was up 68 percent, reaching 332,000 unique visitors, and NPR.org traffic increased to 69,000 unique average daily visitors.
| Top
10 Properties
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Property |
Average Daily Unique Visitors, week ended July 21 |
Average Daily Unique Visitors, week ended July 28 |
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1. AOL |
29,715 |
30,425 |
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2. MSN-Microsoft |
23,981 |
24,762 |
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3. Yahoo |
21,733 |
21,644 |
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4. Google |
5,787 |
6,016 |
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5. Gator Network |
6,085 |
6,001 |
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6. AWS Technology |
5,500 |
5,608 |
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7. eBay |
5,312 |
5,433 |
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8. Excite Network |
4,304 |
4,526 |
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9. Terra Lycos |
3,864 |
3,840 |
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10. United Online |
3,126 |
3,391 |
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Source: comScore Media Metrix |
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Top 25 Advertisers |
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Company |
Impressions (000) |
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1. Amazon.com, Inc. |
759,639 |
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2. Classmates.com |
691,663 |
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3. Bank One Corporation |
554,275 |
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4. AOL Time Warner Inc. |
482,070 |
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5. eDiets.com, Inc. |
473,979 |
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6. USA Interactive |
470,498 |
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7. Verizon Communications, Inc. |
380,473 |
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8. Ameritrade Holding Corporation |
351,811 |
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9. Dell Computer Corporation |
344,613 |
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10. Bonzi Software |
337,879 |
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11. Cassava Enterprises |
315,239 |
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12. X10 Wireless Technology, Inc. |
304,435 |
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13. Columbia House Company |
303,006 |
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14. Barnes & Noble, Inc. |
293,732 |
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15. Scottrade, Inc. |
290,411 |
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16. SBC Communications, Inc. |
289,359 |
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17. Sabre Inc. |
285,114 |
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18. TD Bank Financial Group |
284,956 |
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19. Providian Financial Corporation |
275,375 |
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20. Datek Online Holdings Corp |
265,391 |
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21. Bertelsmann AG |
240,268 |
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22. eBay, Inc. |
218,837 |
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23. AT&T Corp. |
217,598 |
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24. State Farm Insurance Company |
203,131 |
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25. Netstock Corporation |
197,710 |
| Source:
Nielsen//NetRatings AdRelevance
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| Top
25 Advertising Sites
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Site |
Impressions (000) |
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1. Yahoo |
4,552,523 |
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2. MSN |
2,987,029 |
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3. AOL.com |
847,048 |
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4. Netscape |
744,569 |
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5. eBay |
667,854 |
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6. iWon |
653,008 |
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7. Prodigy |
358,140 |
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8. ESPN.com |
355,461 |
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9. CBS MarketWatch |
294,495 |
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10. The Weather Channel |
288,996 |
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11. MSNBC |
268,347 |
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12. Classmates |
254,612 |
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13. CompuServe |
252,763 |
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14. Majorleaguebaseball.com |
196,728 |
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15. The New York Times |
189,309 |
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16. CNN |
179,449 |
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17. Gay |
160,324 |
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18. Excite |
158,452 |
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19. AT&T Worldnet |
144,230 |
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20. Pogo |
126,164 |
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21. Monster.com |
125,714 |
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22. iVillage |
115,857 |
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23. Quicken.com |
113,505 |
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24. Expedia |
113,301 |
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25. AutoTrader.com |
104,896 |
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Source: Nielsen//NetRatings AdRelevance |
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August 5, 2002© 2002 Media Life
-Marty Beard is a staff writer for Media Life.
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