Comscore Announces New “Visits” Metric For Measuring User Engagement

Comscore MMX Releases February Top 50 Web Rankings and Analysis

Valentine’s Day-Driven Increases Seen at Flowers, Gifts and Greetings Sites; Entertainment News Sites Benefit from Oscars Interest

RESTON, VA, March 14, 2007 – Comscore MMX today released its monthly analysis of U.S. consumer activity at top online properties and categories for February 2007 and introduced a new suite of metrics based on site “visits.” The “visits” metric, defined as the number of times a unique person accesses content within a Web entity with breaks between access of at least 30 minutes, is a way of measuring the frequency with which a person views content, thereby illustrating a key component of user engagement. Included among the new suite of metrics are: total visits, average minutes per visit, average visits per visitor, and average visits per usage day.

“As technologies like AJAX change the Internet landscape, certain measures of engagement, such as page views, are diminishing in significance for many Web properties,” said Jack Flanagan, executive vice president of Comscore MMX. “The introduction of these new metrics based on ‘visits’ provides an alternative for measuring user engagement that tells us how frequently visitors are actually returning to the site to view more content.”

‘Visits’ an Effective Gauge of Frequency

While each of the “visits” metrics offers a different measure of frequency, the “average visits per visitor” is the most illustrative of return visits per unique individual during the course of a month. Used in concert with the “unique visitors” metric, this measure can help give a more comprehensive view of a site’s performance.

In February, Yahoo! Sites ranked as the top Web property by both unique visitors (128.6 million) and average visits per visitor (28.6). Despite the congruence between Yahoo! Sites’ rankings, the remaining portions of the top ten rankings show some marked differences between the two metrics:

  • Facebook.com, the 36th most-visited site with 16.7 million unique visitors in February, proved to be one of the most engaging sites, ranking second with 23.6 average visits per visitor during the month.
  • Microsoft Sites, which ranked behind Time Warner Network and Google Sites in terms of visitors, eclipsed both competitors by ranking third with 21.8 average visits per visitor.
  • Weatherbug, the 48th most-visited property, was the fifth-most engaging property (as measured by average visits per visitor); Comcast Corporation, the 33rd most-visited property, was the eighth most-engaging property; EA Online, the 60th most-visited property, was the ninth most-engaging property; and Earthlink, the 66th most visited property, was the tenth most-engaging property.

TABLES 1 & 2

Top 10 Properties by Unique Visitors (000)
February 2007
Total U.S.-- Home, Work and University Locations
Source: Comscore MMX

Top 10 Properties by Average Visits per Visitor
February 2007
Total U.S.-- Home, Work and University Locations
Source: Comscore MMX

Rank

Property

Unique Visitors

(000)

Rank

Property

Average Visits/Visitor

Total Internet Users

175,653

Total Internet Visits

64.2

1

Yahoo! Sites

128,559

1

Yahoo! Sites

28.6

2

Time Warner Network

117,942

2

Facebook.com

23.6

3

Google Sites

114,694

3

Microsoft Sites

21.8

4

Microsoft Sites

114,155

4

Time Warner Network

19.4

5

eBay

79,559

5

Weatherbug Property

17.7

6

Fox Interactive Media

77,969

6

Google Sites

17.7

7

Amazon Sites

48,905

7

Fox Interactive Media

16.9

8

Ask Network

48,722

8

Comcast Corporation

16.9

9

Wikipedia Sites

43,656

9

EA Online

13.6

10

New York Times Digital

39,769

10

Earthlink

12.1

Will You Be My Valentine?

Interest in the Valentine’s Day holiday made Flowers/Gifts/Greetings the top gaining category in terms of visitors in February (up 28 percent overall). The AmericanGreetings Property led the category with 11.2 million visitors (up 37 percent), followed by Hallmark with 8.6 million visitors (up 54 percent) and FTD.com (the biggest overall gainer) with 3.7 million visitors (up 217 percent). In addition, 1-800-Flowers, the second-biggest gainer overall for the month, jumped 106 percent to 3.5 million visitors; and 123Greetings.com, the fifth-biggest gainer overall, increased 77 percent to 6.2 million visitors.

The Jewelry/Luxury Goods/Accessories category also benefited from the “Season of Love,” growing 10 percent versus January. Leading the category was RedEnvelope.com with 2.1 million visitors (up 12 percent), Coach.com with 2 million visitors, and Tiffany & Co. with 1.4 million visitors (up 50 percent).

For Your Consideration – the World Wide Web

Visitation to Entertainment-News sites spiked in February due to heavy interest in the annual Academy Awards and the untimely death of model and celebrity Anna Nicole Smith. Leading the category was TMZ with 8.4 million visitors (up 35 percent), People with 5.5 million visitors (up 42 percent) and TVGuide Online with 4.2 million visitors (up 3 percent). Other notable gainers included AccessHollywood.com with 1.3 million visitors (up 133 percent), ET Online with 1 million visitors (up 100 percent), Alloy with 5.2 million visitors (up 77 percent) and BBC News-Entertainment with 1.1 million visitors (up 51 percent).

Taxes and Travel Categories Continue to Grow

Visitation to tax sites continued to increase in February, growing 22 percent overall versus January. Leading the category was IRS.gov with 17.3 million visitors (up 30 percent), TaxACT with 6.4 million visitors (up 56 percent) and H&R Block: Taxes with 4 million visitors (up 1 percent). In addition, traffic to Intuit.com, developer of finance software packages such as TurboTax, Quicken and QuickBooks, increased 16 percent to 12.3 million visitors.

Travel sites also proved popular in February as consumers planned their spring vacations. Traffic to the Ground/Cruise travel category increased 11 percent to 11.3 million visitors overall, driven in part by the 43-percent increase to Carnival Cruise Lines (2.4 million visitors), the 74-percent increase to Princess.com (1.1 million visitors), the 123-percent increase to HollandAmerica (737,000 visitors), and the 230-percent increase to BestPriceCruises.com (388,000 visitors).

Top 50 Properties

In February, Yahoo! Sites remained at the number one position, attracting more than 128 million unique visitors, while Google Sites moved up one spot to number three with nearly 115 million unique visitors. Gorilla Nation enjoyed a nine spot jump to number 15, increasing 23 percent from January. With the onset of tax season, IRS.gov entered the Top 50 Properties ranking in February at number 32, drawing more than 17 million unique visitors.

Top 50 Ad Focus

February saw Advertising.com retain the number one position, again reaching 85 percent of the U.S. online population. Within the top ten, Casale Media Network gained another spot in the ranking, moving up to number 4, and reaching more than 113 million Americans online. Precision Click, Undertone Networks, and CNN each gained three spots, claiming positions 16, 34, and 37, respectively. Finally, Specific Media enjoyed a strong debut in the Ad-Focus ranking at number 12, reaching nearly 91 million Americans online.

TABLE 3

Top 10 Gaining Properties by Percentage Change in Unique Visitors*
February 2007 vs. January 2007
Total U.S. Home, Work and University Internet Users
Source: Comscore MMX

Property

Jan-07 (000)

Feb-07 (000)

Percentage Change

Rank by Unique Visitors

Total Internet Population

175,559

175,653

0%

N/A

FTD.COM

1,163

3,681

217%

239

1-800-Flowers

1,679

3,460

106%

249

NASCAR.COM

2,418

4,679

93%

194

Alloy

2,920

5,169

77%

170

123GREETINGS.COM

3,500

6,189

77%

146

TaxACT

4,057

6,348

56%

141

Hallmark

5,601

8,608

54%

99

WEBKINZ.COM

2,858

4,380

53%

203

PureVideo Network

3,252

4,725

45%

193

BUY.COM

2,730

3,965

45%

222

*Ranking based on the top 250 properties in February 2007.

TABLE 4

Top 10 Gaining Categories by Unique Visitors
February 2007 vs. January 2007
Total U.S. Home, Work and University Internet Users
Source: Comscore MMX

Jan-07 (000)

Feb-07 (000)

Percentage Change

Total Internet : Total Audience

175,559

175,653

0%

Flowers/Gifts/Greetings

29,353

37,431

28%

Taxes

22,420

27,257

22%

Ground/Cruise

10,203

11,336

11%

Jewelry/Luxury Goods/Accessories

15,908

17,494

10%

Discussion/Chat

46,758

51,314

10%

Computer Software

30,216

32,506

8%

Entertainment - News

35,484

38,081

7%

Automotive-Manufacturer

23,165

24,610

6%

Genealogy

8,077

8,529

6%

Weather

61,465

64,765

5%

TABLE 5

Top 50 Properties
February 2007
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

175,653

1

Yahoo! Sites

128,559

26

Bank of America

21,695

2

Time Warner Network

117,942

27

Verizon Communications Corporation

21,265

3

Google Sites

114,694

28

CareerBuilder LLC

20,834

4

Microsoft Sites

114,155

29

Travelport

19,160

5

eBay

79,559

30

Gannett Sites

18,619

6

Fox Interactive Media

77,969

31

Real.com Network

18,032

7

Amazon Sites

48,905

32

IRS.GOV

17,319

8

Ask Network

48,722

33

Comcast Corporation

16,986

9

Wikipedia Sites

43,656

34

Photobucket.com LLC

16,751

10

New York Times Digital

39,769

35

Shopzilla.com Sites

16,744

11

Viacom Digital

39,128

36

FACEBOOK.COM

16,737

12

Weather Channel, The

37,374

37

WebMD Health

16,466

13

Apple Computer, Inc.

36,767

38

E.W. Scripps

16,346

14

CNET Networks

29,881

39

Yellowpages.com Network

16,274

15

Gorilla Nation

29,098

40

CRAIGSLIST.ORG

15,991

16

AT&T, Inc.

27,391

41

Cox Enterprises Inc.

15,709

17

Adobe Sites

26,035

42

Ticketmaster

15,666

18

Wal-Mart

25,125

43

WhitePages

15,314

19

Expedia Inc

25,060

44

Idearc Media

15,236

20

United Online, Inc

24,773

45

ESPN

15,207

21

CBS Corporation

23,045

46

NBC Universal

15,189

22

Target Corporation

23,038

47

iVillage.com: The Womens Network

15,149

23

Monster Worldwide

22,794

48

Weatherbug Property

15,025

24

Lycos, Inc.

22,341

49

JPMorgan Chase Property

14,901

25

Disney Online

21,959

50

Best Buy Sites

14,085

TABLE 6

Ad Focus Ranking
February 2007
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

175,653

100%

1

Advertising.com**

149,094

85%

26

ContextWeb**

44,903

26%

2

ValueClick**

128,754

73%

27

AdDynamix.com**

44,685

25%

3

Yahoo!

126,484

72%

28

EBAY.COM Home Page

44,583

25%

4

Casale Media Network**

113,193

64%

29

CPX Interactive**

43,443

25%

5

Tribal Fusion**

111,285

63%

30

Vibrant Media**

41,413

24%

6

AOL Media Network

108,939

62%

31

YOUTUBE.COM

34,413

20%

7

Google

107,977

61%

32

ABOUT.COM

34,273

20%

8

Vendare NetBlue - TrafficMarketplace**

103,909

59%

33

Interclick**

32,355

18%

9

MSN-Windows Live

96,658

55%

34

Undertone Networks**

28,224

16%

10

Blue Lithium**

92,011

52%

35

WEATHER.COM

27,829

16%

11

DRIVEpm**

91,925

52%

36

Business.com Network

24,665

14%

12

Specific Media**

90,851

52%

37

CNN

22,915

13%

13

24/7 Real Media**

89,750

51%

38

Lycos Network

22,192

13%

14

AOL

88,867

51%

39

Disney Online

21,959

13%

15

YAHOO.COM Home Page

85,892

49%

40

CareerBuilder Network

21,577

12%

16

PrecisionClick**

75,983

43%

41

The WebMD Health Network

19,012

11%

17

Tremor Media

74,944

43%

42

IMDB.COM

18,980

11%

18

EuroClick**

73,620

42%

43

EXPEDIA.COM*

17,745

10%

19

EBAY.COM

71,027

40%

44

Local Media Network

16,866

10%

20

Burst Media**

70,262

40%

45

FACEBOOK.COM

16,737

10%

21

AdBrite**

65,646

37%

46

WEATHER.COM Home Page

16,728

10%

22

MYSPACE.COM

64,443

37%

47

PHOTOBUCKET.COM

15,883

9%

23

Gorilla Nation Media

61,091

35%

48

WhitePages Network

15,289

9%

24

MSN.COM Home Page

51,222

29%

49

SuperPages.com Network

15,225

9%

25

Ask Network

48,722

28%

50

ESPN

15,207

9%

Reach % denotes the percentage of the total Internet population that viewed a particular entity at least once in February. For instance, Yahoo! was seen by 72 percent of the more than 175 million Internet users in February.
* 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 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 used by financial analysts, advertising agencies, publishers and marketers – while drawing upon Comscore's advanced technologies to address important new industry requirements. 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

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