UK Hitwise on Gasta.com

United Kingdom Newsletter - February, 2010

Gasta.eu and Gasta.com top Europe climbers in January 2010

Top websites in France
After the recent launch of the Hitwise France service, which provides clients with data on website, industry and category rankings, clickstream traffic activity, search behaviour and keyword research, the following is a first glance into French Internet usage.

Google.fr is the most visited website in France, accounting for 1 in every 10 Internet visits

During the week ending 30/01/10, Google France was the most visited website in France, picking up 10.38% of all French Internet visits - equivalent to 1 in every 10. Two other Google-owned properties also appeared in the list of the 10 most visited websites in France during the same week: YouTube at number 4 and Google.com at number 7.

Top 10 websites in France, ranked by market share of French Internet visits, week ending 30/01/10
1. Google France (10.38%)
2. Facebook (6.83%)
3. Windows Live Mail (3.20%)
4. YouTube (2.37%)
5. Orange France Webmail (1.96%)
6. Orange France (1.88%)
7. Google (1.73%)
8. Sykrock (1.43%)
9. Leboncoin.fr (1.26%)
10. MSN France (1.01%)

Facebook is the second most visited website in France, accounting for 6.83% of all French Internet visits during the week ending 30/01/10. The site accounted for just under half of all French visits to social networks over the same period, picking up over twice as many visits as second placed YouTube. Skyrock is the third most popular social network in France, and the eighth most popular website overall.

Windows Live Mail, (also known as Windows Live Hotmail) is the third most visited website in France and the most popular webmail service. Orange France Webmail is the next most popular webmail service and fifth most visited website overall, while Orange France ranks sixth. The list of the top 10 websites in France is completed by Leboncoin.fr, the most popular Shopping and Classifieds website, at number nine, and MSN France in tenth position.

Social networking is a more popular activity in France than in the UK, but online shopping less so

Search Engines are the most visited category of website in France, accounting for 14.27% of all French Internet visits during the week ending 30/01/10. Social networks and Forums rank second, picking up 12.85% of French Internet visits - more than the 10.61% the industry accounts for in the UK. Shopping and Classifieds websites, on the other hand, account for a higher percentage of Internet visits in the UK (8.74%) than in France (8.44%).

France and the UK have very similar sized Internet populations, so it is interesting to compare the different ways in which the web is used in the two countries. In France, more online time is spent on communication and entertainment than in the UK, with Entertainment websites and Webmail services also picking up a higher proportion of visits. On the other hand, people in the UK are more likely to use the Internet to make transactions and look for information. News and Media, Sports, Travel, and Education websites all account for a higher proportion of Internet visits in the UK than in France.
Fast Movers
Chatroulette - www.chatroulette.com
Position for the w/e 09/01/2010: #22,164
Position for the w/e 06/02/2010: #2,318
Positions Jumped: 19,846

For the week ending 13/02/10 Chatroulette, a new webcam site connecting users for live video chats at random, doubled its online traffic becoming the 1,189th most visited website in the UK and second most visited webcam site in the UK after www.Justin.tv.

Aside from the random nature of the meetings it arranges, the other interesting thing about Chartroulette is its visitor profile. Compared with other Webcam sites, it attracts a much wealthier and more 'sophisticated' audience than the webcam category in general. The most over-indexed Experian Mosaic groups visiting the website during the w/e 13/02/10 were: Alpha Territory (described as 'People with substantial wealth who live in the most sought after neighbourhoods'), Professional Rewards ('Experienced professionals in successful careers enjoying comfortable lifestyles in suburban or semi-rural homes') and Liberal Opinions ('Young, well educated city dwellers enjoying the vibrancy and diversity of urban life').

Whether the site is attracting these people because of its novelty value remains to be seen, but with average session times at a relatively respectable seven and a half minutes, many are staying out of more than just curiosity. As might be expected from a site that has become a viral success, a third of Chartroulette's traffic currently comes from social networks, with Facebook alone accounting for 23% of visits for the same period.


News In Brief
Apple Tablet the fourth most searched for laptop in the UK
Following the recent buzz and rumoured announcement of Apple's highly anticipated Tablet PC, the laptop became the fourth most searched for laptop model in the UK for the week ending 23/01/10. A look at the latest Hitwise Hot Consumer Electronics List shows that a portfolio of searches including terms such as 'apple tablet', 'apple islate', 'itablet', and 'ipad' accounted for 1.9% of all laptop related searches over the same period, up from 1.1% the week before (w/e 16/01/10). Only the Sony Viao, Samsung NC10 netbook and Apple's own Macbook (although not the Macbook Pro) received more searches.

Despite the increase in searches and all the hype, the Tablet was far from being Apple's most searched for product towards the end of January. In fact, it account for just 0.8% of Apple related searches - 35 times less than the iPhone.


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Financial Services Quarterly Review
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