Ghosts and Goblins Drive Traffic to Greetings, Gift and Toys Sites in October

Comscore MMX Releases October Top 50 U.S. Web Rankings and Analysis

U.S. Traffic to Online Gambling Sites Plummets Following Anti-Gambling Legislation

RESTON, VA, November 13, 2006 – Comscore MMX today released its monthly analysis of U.S. consumer activity at top online properties and categories for October. Americans were drawn in particular to e-card, party, kids, toy, family and women’s Web sites as Halloween approached. Also of note this month was the precipitous drop in traffic to online gambling sites (down 27 percent) following anti-gambling legislation announced in early October. In preparation for the November elections, Americans flocked to political Web sites, with traffic increasing 10 percent to 8.6 million visitors. The advent of basketball season brought on a flood of traffic to the NBA Internet Network (up 46 percent to 3.8 million visitors). Wikipedia Sites and YouTube also showed significant growth in October, up 11 percent to 38.9 million visitors and 13 percent to 23.5 million visitors, respectively.

“In addition to the normal Halloween seasonality that we’ve become accustomed to in October, politics impacted Web traffic this October as the fight for control of Congress was clearly top-of-mind with many Americans,” said Jack Flanagan, executive vice president of Comscore MMX. “Along these lines, the legislation passed by Congress to restrict online gambling made a marked dent in traffic to these sites – after seeing double-digit gains for these sites in September.”

Americans Prepare for Battle of Red vs. Blue

As Americans prepared to cast their votes in November, the most popular political sites included Capitol Advantage with 731,000 visitors (down 1 percent versus the prior month), Townhall.com with 626,000 visitors (up 63 percent) and Worldnetdaily with 536,000 visitors (up 7 percent). The category’s top gainers included Discoverthenetwork.org, the self-proclaimed “Guide to the Political Left,” which was up 104 percent to 134,000 visitors, and NationalJournal.com, a daily news site focused on politics and government, which was up 63 percent to 164,000 visitors.

October Sees Spooky Seasonality

Halloween seasonality was a significant driver of traffic this month, inspiring huge growth in visitation to online greetings and purveyors of costumes. In fact, the E-cards category rose 21 percent during October, with each of the top 10 e-card sites experiencing growth. American Greetings Property led the category with 12.6 million visitors (a 66-percent increase), followed by Evite with 6.6 million visitors (an 11-percent increase) and Hallmark.com with 6.1 million visitors (a 19-percent increase).

Notable retailers that enjoyed a Halloween traffic bump included Celebrate Express, Inc. with 2.6 million visitors (a 13-percent increase); Partycity.com with 2.5 million visitors (a 180-percent increase); and RedEnvelope.com with 2.2 million visitors (a 143-percent increase). Traffic to BuyCostumes.com was the impetus behind the 54-percent leap in traffic to parent company Liberty Media Holdings, which was the 4th biggest overall gainer in October, with 12.5 million visitors. Several sites geared towards kids and families also saw increases in October, including Disney Online with 25.1 million visitors (an 8-percent increase); Nickelodeon Network with 12.6 million visitors (a 9-percent increase); and the Family Network, which was the top-gaining property overall with 6.1 million visitors (a 121-percent increase).

Additionally, the Toys category rose 13 percent overall, led by Mattel Sites, with 9.8 million visitors (a 22-percent increase), and Toys “R” Us Sites with 8 million visitors (a 29-percent increase). Women’s sites that offered Halloween crafts and holiday-related content were up 17 percent overall, led by iVillage.com: The Women’s Network, which increased 24 percent to 17.7 million visitors; Condenet Sites, which increased 9 percent to 8.1 million visitors; and Womensforum Sites, which increased 9 percent to 6.5 million visitors. BHG.com, which on its own grew 50 percent to 5.7 million visitors, was a significant driver of the 32-percent increase realized by the Meredith Corporation Web property, which reached 9 million visitors in October and was the 9th biggest gainer overall.

Top 50 Properties

During October, Yahoo! Sites retained its ranking as the number one property, reaching nearly 130 million unique visitors in the U.S. Wikipedia Sites moved up one position to the number 10 spot, attracting 11 percent more visitors than in September, while Wal-Mart moved up four positions to number 17. YouTube.com jumped three spots to number 26, gaining 13 percent to 23.5 million visitors. iVillage.com: The Women’s Network enjoyed a significant increase in visitors, drawing almost 18 million visitors and jumping eleven spots to number 34 in the ranking. Finally, Facebook.com re-entered the ranking at number 40 with 15.1 million visitors.

Top 50 Ad Focus

October saw Advertising.com again reach 84 percent of the U.S. online population to retain the top ranking. Burst Media cracked the top ten this month, reaching almost 94 million unique visitors. YouTube.com and Real.com each gained in the ranking, reaching 14 percent and 9 percent of the population, respectively. iVillage.com: The Women’s Network, Facebook.com and WhitePages Network each re-entered the ranking in October achieving the 42nd, 47th, and 50th spots, respectively.

TABLE 1

Top 10 Gaining Properties by Percentage Change in Unique Visitors*
October 2006 vs. September 2006
Total U.S. Home, Work and University Internet Users
Source: Comscore MMX

Property

Sept-06 (000)

Oct-06 (000)

Percentage Change

Rank by Unique Visitors

Total Internet Population

173,428

173,258

0%

N/A

Family Network

2,771

6,129

121

150

AmericanGreetings Property

7,617

12,617

66

61

Art.com Sites

3,507

5,440

55

167

Liberty Media Holding Corporation

8,099

12,453

54

64

Mezi Media Sites

4,955

7,375

49

124

NBA Internet Network

2,574

3,757

46

235

VistaPrint Sites

2,678

3,598

34

241

JOB.COM

3,105

4,111

32

209

Meredith Corporation

6,836

9,018

32

96

IncrediMail Ltd

3,616

4,752

31

184

*Ranking based on the top 250 properties in October 2006.

TABLE 2

Top 10 Gaining Categories by Unique Visitors
October 2006 vs. September 2006
Total U.S. Home, Work and University Internet Users
Source: Comscore MMX

Sept-06 (000)

Oct-06 (000)

Percentage Change

Total Internet : Total Audience

173,428

173,258

0%

Flowers/Gifts/Greetings

29,375

36,550

24

e-cards

31,766

38,348

21

Women

45,548

53,417

17

Gay/Lesbian

1,911

2,220

16

Toys

22,210

25,088

13

Family

52,039

57,760

11

Humor

25,437

28,092

10

Jewelry/Luxury Goods/Accessories

13,632

15,035

10

Politics

7,849

8,629

10

Kids

51,746

56,785

10

TABLE 3

Top 50 Properties
October 2006
Total U.S. – Home, Work and University Locations
Unique Visitors (000)
Source: Comscore MMX

Rank

Property

Unique Visitors (000)

Rank

Property

Unique Visitors (000)

Total Internet Users

173,258

1

Yahoo! Sites

129,603

26

YOUTUBE.COM

23,480

2

Time Warner Network

120,291

27

CareerBuilder LLC

22,642

3

Microsoft Sites

118,028

28

Expedia Inc

22,510

4

Google Sites

109,721

29

Shopzilla.com Sites

22,087

5

eBay

80,820

30

Bank of America

21,849

6

Fox Interactive Media

71,346

31

ESPN

20,349

7

Ask Network

55,548

32

Gannett Sites

20,133

8

Amazon Sites

51,299

33

Real.com Network

20,013

9

New York Times Digital

43,049

34

iVillage.com: The Womens Network

17,686

10

Wikipedia Sites

38,897

35

Comcast Corporation

17,172

11

Viacom Digital

36,602

36

Vendare NetBlue

17,023

12

Weather Channel, The

34,065

37

E.W. Scripps

15,504

13

Verizon Communications Corp.

34,038

38

NFL Internet Group

15,281

14

Apple Computer, Inc.

32,309

39

Weatherbug Property

15,156

15

CNET Networks

28,980

40

FACEBOOK.COM

15,108

16

United Online, Inc

27,385

41

Photobucket.com LLC

15,065

17

Wal-Mart

27,125

42

WebMD Health

15,049

18

Lycos, Inc.

26,540

43

Cox Enterprises Inc.

15,013

19

Adobe Sites

25,349

44

ARTISTdirect Network

14,865

20

Gorilla Nation Media

25,223

45

WhitePages

14,863

21

Disney Online

25,140

46

Ticketmaster

14,333

22

Monster Worldwide

24,527

47

CRAIGSLIST.ORG

14,327

23

Target Corporation

24,257

48

JPMorgan Chase Property

14,040

24

AT&T, Inc.

24,206

49

NBC Universal

14,037

25

CBS Corporation

24,002

50

OVERSTOCK.COM

13,866

TABLE 4

Ad Focus Ranking October 2006
Total U.S. – Home, Work and University Locations
Unique Visitors (000)
Source: Comscore MMX

Rank

Property

Unique Visitors (000)

Reach %

Rank

Property

Unique Visitors (000)

Reach %

Total Internet Users

173,258

100%

1

Advertising.com**

145,032

84%

26

CPX Interactive**

41,459

24%

2

ValueClick**

132,592

77%

27

Vibrant Media**

40,986

24%

3

Yahoo!

128,264

74%

28

Undertone Networks**

37,827

22%

4

Tribal Fusion**

117,957

68%

29

ABOUT.COM

37,476

22%

5

AOL Media Network

111,384

64%

30

ContextWeb**

33,912

20%

6

Casale Media Network**

108,866

63%

31

Business.com Network

27,477

16%

7

Google

105,866

61%

32

Lycos Network

26,349

15%

8

Vendare NetBlue - TrafficMarketplace**

101,185

58%

33

Disney Online

25,140

15%

9

MSN-Windows Live

100,081

58%

34

YOUTUBE.COM

23,480

14%

10

Burst Media**

93,816

54%

35

CareerBuilder Network

23,332

13%

11

24/7 Real Media**

90,391

52%

36

WEATHER.COM

22,846

13%

12

AOL

89,598

52%

37

CNN

22,411

13%

13

YAHOO.COM Home Page

87,663

51%

38

ESPN

20,349

12%

14

Blue Lithium**

86,416

50%

39

IMDB.COM

19,748

11%

15

EBAY.COM

73,163

42%

40

GameDaily Custom Network

19,344

11%

16

PrecisionClick**

67,529

39%

41

The WebMD Health Network

17,919

10%

17

Tremor Network

66,330

38%

42

iVillage.com: The Womens Network

17,686

10%

18

AdBrite**

62,691

36%

43

Vendare NetBlue

17,023

10%

19

Gorilla Nation Media Network

60,396

35%

44

SuperPages

16,458

9%

20

DRIVEpm**

60,349

35%

45

REAL.COM*

15,755

9%

21

MYSPACE.COM

56,053

32%

46

EXPEDIA.COM*

15,235

9%

22

Ask Network

55,548

32%

47

FACEBOOK.COM

15,108

9%

23

AdDynamix.com**

54,409

31%

48

WeatherBug

15,009

9%

24

MSN.COM Home Page

54,278

31%

49

ARTISTdirect Network

14,865

9%

25

EBAY.COM Home Page

43,260

25%

50

WhitePages Network

14,740

9%

Reach % denotes the percentage of the total Internet population that viewed a particular entity at least once in October. For instance, Yahoo! was seen by 74 percent of the more than 173 million Internet users in October.
* Entity has assigned some portion of traffic to other syndicated entities.
** Denotes an advertising network.

About Comscore MMX

Comscore MMX, a division of Comscore Networks, provides industry-leading Internet audience measurement services that report – with unmatched accuracy – details of online media usage, visitor demographics and online buying power for the home, work and university audiences across local U.S. markets and across the globe. Comscore MMX continues the tradition of quality and innovation established by its MMX syndicated Internet ratings – long recognized as the currency in online media measurement among financial analysts, advertising agencies, publishers and marketers – while drawing upon Comscore's advanced technologies to address important new industry requirements. All Comscore MMX syndicated ratings are based on industry-sanctioned sampling methodologies.

About Comscore Networks

Comscore Networks is a global leader in measuring the digital age. This capability is based on a massive, global cross-section of more than 2 million consumers who have given Comscore permission to confidentially capture their browsing and transaction behavior, including online and offline purchasing. Comscore panelists also participate in survey research that captures and integrates their attitudes and intentions. Through its proprietary technology, Comscore measures what matters across a broad spectrum of behavior and attitudes. Comscore consultants apply this deep knowledge of customers and competitors to help clients design powerful marketing strategies and tactics that deliver superior ROI. Comscore services are used by global leaders such as AOL, Microsoft, Yahoo!, Verizon, Best Buy, The Newspaper Association of America, Tribune Interactive, ESPN, Fox Sports, Nestlé, MBNA, Universal McCann, the United States Postal Service, Merck and Expedia. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com.

Press
Bill Daddi
Daddi Brand Communications
646-370-1341
press@comscore.com