In July Americans went online searching for information about green initiatives related to automotive transportation driven by the launch of the federal “Cash for Clunkers” program, with visitations to green sites growing 15 percent in July to 17.5 million visitors, according to comScore.
Auto manufacturer sites saw growth as well, jumping 14 percent to 27.1 million visitors, representing a high for the category in the past year. General Motors lead the category with 7 million visitors (up 20%). Toyota landed in the second position with 6.9 million (up 46%) and also ranked second among the top gaining properties in July. Ford ranked third with 6.2 million (up12%), followed by Honda with 4 million (up 23%) and Chrysler with 3.1 million (up 20%).
“The ‘Cash for Clunkers’ program contributed largely to the growth of Green sites and Auto Manufacturer sites in July,” said Jack Flanagan, comScore executive vice president.
“The combination of owning a more fuel-efficient car while receiving a cash-back bonus really sparked the interest of many Americans, who were prompted to visit these sites to gather information on the program and ultimately determine whether it was something from which they might benefit.”
Visits to toy sites saw a surge during the month attracting 18.6 million visitors, representing a 14 percent increase over June. Toy R Us led the category with 6.6 million visitors, followed by LEGO with 2.9 million and Disney Shopping with 1.6 million.
Visits to teen related sites also saw a spike in growth, with the category up 10 percent to 29.7 million during the month. Alloy Digital Network was the most popular attracting 11.6 million visitors (up 15%). Zwinky had 6.8 million visitors (up13%), followed by myYearbook with 5 million visitors (up 8%) and Nickelodeon Teens with 3.2 million visitors.
Google sites remained the most visited property in July with nearly 158 million visitors, followed closely by Yahoo sites with 156.5 million visitors and Microsoft sites with 129 million visitors. Facebook moved up again in the rankings to the number 5 spot, making its highest-ever ranking. Answers site climbed 5 spots to #26 with 28.4 million visitors. Gorilla Nation moved up 4 spots to #31, while Twitter moved up the rankings to the #42 position with 20.1 million visitors.
AOL’s Platform-A led the July Ad Focus ranking, reaching 91 percent of all Americans online. Yahoo Network ranked second, reaching 88 percent of the population, while ValueClick Networks ranked third with 83 percent reach.
Yahoo sites and Microsoft Media Network each climbed one spot grabbing the #5 and #9 positions, respectively. Google climbed two spots to the #8 position with a reach of 77 percent.
