Research Shows UK Surfers Warming To Olympic Websites
Websites dedicated to this year’s Olympic Games in Athens have seen a massive 400% increase in the number of visits from UK internet users over the last week, according to the latest data from web-statistics firm Hitwise.
The research group has revealed that visits to Olympics websites have increased four-fold since the start of the games, despite the fact that the UK is not a major player in most events and currently ranks a dismal 23rd in the medal table.
The most popular Olympic-related domain has been the official website of the games, www.athens2004.com, which currently accounts for more than 54% of all traffic to websites in Hitwise’s Olympics category.
The site is also performing strongly in the overall rankings and yesterday came in at number 230, an increase of 1,000 positions since last Monday. US-based www.garythelifeguard.com, which follows the misadventures of the accident-prone Gary as he disrupts a range of Olympic events, has become the second most popular Olympics website, accounting for more than one in 10 visits to the category.
The BBC’s much vaunted online Olympics coverage failed to make an entry into the chart, in what will no doubt come as a surprise to the Corporation. However, the Sky Sports put in a stronger performance with its Olympics website taking a respectable 7th place after attracting 3.79% of all UK visits to the sector.
| Top 10 Olympics Websites By Market Share Of Visits | |||
| 1 | Athens 2004 | www.athens2004.com | 53.71% |
| 2 | Gary The Lifeguard.com | www.garythelifeguard.com | 10.64% |
| 3 | Sina.com.cn – Olympic 2004 | 2004.sina.com.cn | 6.91% |
| 4 | IOC Official Website | www.olympic.org | 4.74% |
| 5 | NBC Olympics | www.nbcolympics.com | 3.88% |
| 6 | British Olympic Association | www.olympics.org.uk | 3.79% |
| 7 | SkySports Olympics | olympics.skysports.com | 3.30% |
| 8 | Athens 2004 Olympic Games Ticketing | www.tickets.athens2004.com | 2.32% |
| 9 | Athens 2004 Sailing | www.gbrsailing.org.uk | 1.93% |
| 10 | US Olympic Team | www.usolympicteam.com | 0.89% |
| Source: Hitwise | |||
The news comes as several research companies report a lack of interest in the event across Britain and Europe. Earlier this month Dynamic Logic reported that sponsorship of this year’s games in Athens has a far greater impact on American consumers than it does on those in Europe (see Olympic Sponsorship Has Less Impact On Europeans).
Hitwise: 020 7378 3600 www.hitwise.com
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