The official U.S. Major League Soccer Web site, mlsnet.com had over one million unique visitors in July 2007 according to comScore.
Soccer Site Scores Traffic With Beckham
The increase in traffic was up 117 percent over the previous year. The growth in traffic can be attributed to the U.S. arrival of former England captain, David Beckham, who signed with the LA Galaxy at the beginning of the year. The former Manchester United star is reported to have signed a deal worth around $250 million.
At the end of 2006, traffic to mlsnet.com had fallen to 230,000 unique visitors, down from 478,000 in July. When the LA Galaxy announced the signing of Beckham in January, traffic spiked to 808,000 unique visitors, a 252 percent month-on month increase.
When Beckham made his debut as a Galaxy player on July 13 and playing debut on July 21, worldwide traffic to the site jumped to over one million unique visitors.
Bob Ivins, EVP of International Markets at comScore, said, “David Beckham’s impact on the MLS league’s official website has been enormous. The player has single handedly doubled the number of visitors to mlsnet.com versus last year, which let’s not forget, was a World Cup year.”
“When you look at the huge traffic increase that occurred in January just because of the announcement of his signing for the club, the figures speak for themselves. If anyone can raise the profile of soccer in the States, David Beckham is undoubtedly the man to do it. “
