Top Web Sites for July

JibJab.com, the online video released in mid-July satirizing John Kerry and George Bush, received 10.4m visitors in July, three times as many as both of the candidates' sites combined, according to
comScore Media Metrix' monthly analysis of consumer Internet behavior. Travel and back-to-school sectors also did well.

JibJab.com was the month's top gaining property, rising to no.56 in the list, and the associated video, which was also available through AtomFilms.com, was the key driver behind a 62% increase in visitation to digital entertainment provider AtomShockwave sites, making it the fourth-largest gaining property in July.

Peter Daboll, president and CEO of comScore Media Metrix, describes this as 'an example of just how quickly compelling content can spread in a wired world, and a hidden lesson for marketers looking to stand out among competitors with much bigger ad budgets'.

John Kerry, however, did see a significant 'bump' online. During his nomination acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention in late July, Mr. Kerry urged Americans to visit his Web site to learn more about his policy positions. Nearly 2.2 million people did just that in July, an increase of 206% versus 705,000 in June. Nearly 360,000 people, or 17% of those who visited the site in July, visited the contributions section of the site. The Politics category added 42% in July - the 2nd largest gainer just behind Gaming Information (45%), which benefited from summer releases.

Back-to-school shopping and promotional activity boosted sites including Staples, Dell and Ikea, while all of the top ten Hotel/Resorts properties saw traffic increases. A number of airline sites, including Southwest.com, American Airlines and JetBlue Airways, also posted double-digit increases.

Merger activity in the banking industry accounted for large increases at two major properties. JPMorgan Chase's acquisition of Bank One (number 93 and 92 properties, respectively, in June) catapulted the combined property to the number 39 position in July. The merger of Fleet.com and Bank of America translated to a seven-spot increase to number 32 in July.

Compared to June, 8 of the top 10 online properties drew larger audiences in July, although the overall composition of the top 10 list remained static, as did the composition and rank order of the top 5 entries in the separate Ad Focus ranking. MSN Homepages, a new entity detailing MSN's domestic and international homepages, debuted in the Ad Focus ranking in the number 10 position (see table 4). Additionally, heavy e-mail promotions powered a 428-percent increase in visitation to the RealArcade portion of Real.com Media Sites, propelling it 5 spots to number 38 in July's Ad Focus ranking.

More information including tables of top gaining properties and sectors can be found via www.comscore.com

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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