Facebook is UK’s most searched for brand
Facebook is the brand most searched for by UK internet users, according to new research from online intelligence service Hitwise.
During the 12 weeks ending 3 January 2009, 1 in every 42 UK internet searches in the UK included the term ‘facebook’, Hitwise said.
Facebook received 52% more searches than the second most popular brand, YouTube. The third most searched-for brand was the auction site eBay, while British social networking site Bebo ranked fourth. The BBC rounded out the top five, and was also the most searched for ‘offline’ brand during the 12 weeks ending 3 January 2009.
| 10 most searched for brands by UK Internet users (ranked by market share of UK Internet searches, 12 weeks ending 3 January 2009): | ||
| 1 | -2.39% | |
| 2 | YouTube | -1.57% |
| 3 | eBay | -1.25% |
| 4 | Bebo | -0.96% |
| 5 | BBC | -0.86% |
| 6 | Amazon | -0.47% |
| 7 | Argos | -0.44% |
| 8 | Sky | -0.27% |
| 9 | Tesco | 0.26% |
| 10 | Yahoo! | -0.26% |
| Source: Hitwise | ||
Facebook’s UK internet traffic has more than doubled over the last year and it is now the second most visited website in the UK after google.co.uk, according to Hitwise. The social network accounted for 1 in every 24 UK internet visits during the month of February and traffic to the site has already increased by 18.6% during 2009.
Robin Goad, research director for Hitwise in the UK, said: “The fact that Facebook is the most searched-for brand and the second most visited site in the UK not only illustrates its success, but also the popularity of social networking in Britain.
“Social networks now account for 1 in every 10 UK internet visits and 1 in every 5 page views. Only search engines receive more UK Internet visits than social networks. During February 2009, social networks received 13.1% more UK internet visits than online retail websites, and 27.9% more than Adult websites, which they overtook in September 2008.”