Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) is back in the lead. A recent monthly top 50 list from data analytics firm comScore shows Google trumped Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) as the most-trafficked website in the United States.
A closer look at the results
The Sunnyvale. California-based tech giant was in the lead for the last seven months. Results for February showed that Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) took the lead and bumped Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) to the second spot. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) took third and fourth place respectively.
ComScore’s list includes a mix of search engines, social media platforms, and new websites. The total number for the desktop internet experience in the United States was over 222 users. However, this number did not include mobile traffic. Although Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) remained in the lead for US desktop traffic for awhile, Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) still trumped in overall traffic which included desktop and mobile combined.
The reason behind Google’s rise to the top
Yahoo took the lead in comScore’s list of July 2013, but Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) has been in the lead longer since May 2011. Not surprisingly, Yahoo’s decline can easily be attributed to Google’s rise. OppTrends explained, “Google’s rise to the top spot has more to do with Yahoo’s traffic decline of around 5% month-over-month than any achievements on the part of the internet giant. Actually, the traffic for Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) was down compared to last month’s 189.2 million, but Yahoo experienced a steeper fall from 192.1 million last month. The decline in traffic could be attributed to 3 less days in February. Other top sites also witnessed a drop in traffic. For Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), the traffic was down from 175.6 million to 162.8 million while Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) witnessed a decline from 141.7 million to 133.6 million.”
Judging by the data, it is not hard to see Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) really had no problem keeping its audience compared to rivals. In fact, comScore’s vice president for marketing and insight, Andrew Lipsman added that Google had a higher daily usage rate compared to all other websites.
