Facebook becomes most-visited website in US

 

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Posted on 17 Mar 2010 at 12:02

Facebook overtook Google last week to become the most popular online destination for US internet users, according to data released by web analytics firm HitWise.

For the week ending 13th March, Facebook was responsible for 7.07 per cent of all US internet visits, while Google had a 7.03 per cent share.

This isn't the first time that Facebook has been the most-visited website, but it's the first time the social network has held this title based on a whole week's worth of traffic. Facebook was the most visited destination online on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Eve last year.

More recently, Facebook was the most-visited website the weekend before last, but it was behind Google when a week's worth of traffic data was compiled.

Compared to the same week last year, Facebook's visits grew by 185 per cent, while Google remained comparatively flat with just a nine per cent increase in traffic.

Google realises that it's facing a tough battle against social sites such as Facebook and Twitter and has tried to lure users into interacting more with Google services with Google Buzz, a service designed to share content with friends via your Google Mail account.

The search giant has suffered from teething problems with Buzz though and has come under heavy criticism for the service's poorly managed privacy settings. Facebook, meanwhile, continues to grow at an alarming rate, now boasting over 400 million members worldwide.

One question still remains though: Facebook still hasn't worked out a way to effectively monetise its traffic, whereas Google holds the lion's share of the internet advertising market - can Facebook realistically move advertising budgets away from the highly effective contextual search advertising offered by Google? Only time will tell.

Author: Tim Smalley