Digital Statistics

Experian Hitwise issues a monthly newsletter with key Internet statistics that cast an interesting light on current traffic trends.

Google vs. the World

When it comes to search engines, Google is still the multi-thousand pound gorilla. 70.24% of all searches for the month of August 2009 were made through Google. Yahoo! Search is a distant second with 16.96%, Microsoft's recently revamped and launched search engine Bing came in third with 9.48%, and Ask.com bringing up the rear with 2.37%.

Well, more precisely, bringing up the rear are the remaining 56 search engines that between them managed an unimpressive 0.95%.

Even if Microsoft and Yahoo! Eventually merge, their combined traffic of 26.44% would still only make up a quarter of all searches, and be about one third of Google's.

I think one of the clearest testaments to Google's supremacy in the field is that here in the U.S. to "google" has now become the verb most commonly used for "search the web."

Television Destinations

Another interesting Internet statistic shows which television related sites rules the visiting roost.

Perhaps surprisingly--or perhaps not--The Weather Channel ranks as the most visited "television" site for the three weeks ending 9/26/09; followed by CNN.com, ESPN, MSNBC, and Fox News in that order.

Sixth in this list is hulu.com, the free television programs video site that recently made news when its owner Comcast (who co-founded hulu.com with News Corp.) gave signs that they might pull the plug on hulu.com in the name of eradicating "free content" which competes with Comcast's paid-for programming.

One step in that direction is Comcast's and Time Warner's recently announced "TV Everywhere" service, which will make cable programming available on the Internet, but only for cable subscribers. Once up and running, this might spell the end for free hulu.

Filling out the top ten most visited television-related sites are Comcast itself, Yahoo! TV, Fox Sports on MSN, and QVC.com.

"Free" Evaporating?

It would stand to reason that the long-term economics of the Internet clearly spell the eventual end of free Internet content. While hulu does make some money by the commercials that run during their "shows," this programming in and of itself does not bring revenue to Comcast or Fox.

Netflix, through their streaming service, does however bring direct revenue to content producers by their monthly fees (many television shows are now available on Netflix), and should Comcast pull the hulu plug, Internet viewers would then have to turn to either TV Everywhere or Netflix.

Do not be surprised if free content continues to evaporate as the corporate machinery finds its way around the Internet and as the news media comes to terms with its need to bring Internet revenue.

It's been a nice free ride while it lasted, but someone's got to pay the bills.