Recent research out shows that in May, for the first month ever, social networks received more visits than search engines in the UK.

Published: 22 Jun 2010

Recent research out shows that in May, for the first month ever, social networks received more visits than search engines in the UK.

According to Experian Hitwise, social networks now receive more UK Internet visits than search engines. During May, social networks accounted for 11.88 percent of UK Internet visits and search engines accounted for 11.33 percent. May was the first ever month that social networks have been more popular than search engines in the UK.

Robin Goad, research director for Experian Hitwise, said, “Although social networks and search engines perform different functions, they both act as gateways to the wider Internet. This data perfectly illustrates the key role that social media now plays in so much online behaviour.”

“The majority of online marketing spend is currently diverted towards search, and this is likely to remain the case in the short to medium term,” said Goad. “Search remains the primary source of traffic for most websites, particularly in sectors that account for the majority of online transactions, such as retail, finance and travel. Many marketers and brand owners have yet to grasp the full potential of social media marketing, but spending on the channel will increase as more proven success stories emerge. There will be particular opportunities for sectors that have traditionally struggled with online and remained tied to traditional media.”

Facebook vs Google

The firm shared that Facebook accounts for 55 percent of all social networking traffic in the UK, Google UK remains the most popular website overall.

Facebook (www.facebook.co.uk) accounts for 55 percent of all UK social networking visits, almost three times as many as the next most popular social network, YouTube (www.youtube.com). Twitter, one of the fastest growing and most talked about websites of the last two years, is now the third most popular social network in the UK, putting it ahead of former favourites such as Bebo and MySpace.

However, despite its popularity Facebook doesn't yet dominate the UK social networking market to the extent that Google dominates the search market. Together www.google.co.uk and www.google.com accounted for nine in every ten web searches carried out in the UK during May. Consequently Google UK was the most visited website in the UK during May, accounting for 9.29 percent of all visits. Facebook, in second place, accounted for 7.04 percent of all UK Internet visits during the same month.

Facebook and Google: Comparing visitor numbers flawed

In its analysis, Greenlight, an independent specialist SEO and PPC consulting and technology firm, points out that comparing social networking traffic and search engine traffic is flawed.

“It is like comparing the number of people that use search engines to the number of people walking down the high street on their way to work. They are qualitatively different. Search engine usage is the proactive and decisive pursuit of information and content that will often lead to a consumer transaction. A search engine visit is quite likely to result in a monetary transaction, a Facebook visit may just be someone looking at a post on their wall and a million miles away from a conversion. A search engine visit has a distinct commercial or informational purpose, which isn’t necessarily true of the average Facebook visit (yet).”

“What is true however is that Google and Facebook are indeed competitors. Both want to deliver on the search and social modal requirements of online users. But comparing visits doesn’t conclude anything at all about how this is actually playing out. The only conclusion to draw is that search and social are both incredibly important for people and marketers. Engaging with them both is critical, but that engagement needs to be different as it needs to reflect their relative value in driving acquisitions, brand loyalty, brand awareness, and word of mouth – they are not the same.”

“As such, to compare content to the means of acquiring it isn’t a big story. However, more insight into the influence of social media and search engines on buying decisions and brand awareness would celebrate the meritorious differences of each and not assume they are the same. The comparison of Facebook to Search Engine usage, and then saying social network traffic has exceeded that of search engines, suggests this is some kind of seminal moment. This is no big story.”