Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) took the top spot ahead of Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) to become the most visited site in the United States, for the first time in two years, according to a monthly report from ComScore. Yahoo sites were on top with 196.6 million visitors compared to 192.3 million for Google sites.
Google could still overtake in rankings
Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) outperformed Google for the first time since May 2011. Unique visitors at Yahoo surged by approximately 20 percent compared to the previous year period of July when it was in third position after Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT).
Andrew Lipsman, Vice President at ComScore, said that there has been a neck to neck fight between Yahoo and Google for the past several months, noting that in June Google was ahead of Yahoo by less than four million. However, according to Lipsman, the possibility of Google regaining the top spot in upcoming ComScore multi-platform rankings cannot be rejected.
Mayer introduced several changes at Yahoo
Marissa Mayer, chief executive officer of Yahoo, has clinched a significant win by making Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) sites the most searched. Ever since her term started, Mayer has incorporated a series of changes in the company. Tumblr along with many startups was taken over by Yahoo after Mayer became CEO of the company.
According to Andrew Lipsman, Tumblr was not a direct contributor to Yahoo visitors’ number though the property was the 28th most popular U.S. site in July.
Mayer stated previously during an earnings call that viewers at Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) were increasing, after tumbling down for more than a year, as changes and upgrades to Yahoo mail, weather; sports, news and Tumblr for desktop, and mobile were made available.
The internet firm said that there was a surge of 120 percent in Yahoo mail users after the app for tablets was launched. Mayer maintained that she was looking forward to gaining an in depth understanding of consumers’ “daily habits” to come up with products that will become part of users’ routines.
Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) spokeswoman Anne Espiritu said that the company does not comment on third party data. Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) did not respond on the development yet.
Yahoo’s stock was down slightly Wednesday but is up more than 80 percent from a year ago.
