Tax Sites See Boost in Traffic
As tax season nears, Internet users in the U.S. are flocking to tax-related sites, according to comScore. Travel sites also saw big increases in traffic in January.
Business/Finance – Taxes was the top gaining site category by percentage change in unique visitors in the U.S. in January, according to comScore. The category welcomed 28.8 million visitors during the first month of the year, a 351 percent increase from the 6.4 million visitors it received in the prior month.
“While these diligent folks are already preparing to file their returns, others are looking for an escape from winter and work by booking travel plans for the coming months,” said Jack Flanagan, executive vice president of comScore Media Metrix.
Travel – Ground/Cruise was a distant second in terms of growth, with an audience of 14.0 million, reflecting a 30 percent boost from December’s 10.7 million visitors. VacationsToGo.com Sites topped this category with 2.5 million visitors in January, up 62 percent from December. Meanwhile, Amtrak.com received 2.3 million visitors, up 13 percent, followed by Carnival Cruise Lines with 2.2 million visitors, up 79 percent. Royal Caribbean Cruise Ltd. attracted 1.5 million visitors in January, up 54 percent from December.
Retail – Computer Software was next with an audience of 44.6 million visitors, 26 percent more than the 35.2 million visitors it had in December.
Travel – Transactions followed with 4.1 million visitors in January, up 23 percent, while Travel – Hotels/Resorts attracted 34.1 million visitors, up 23 percent as well.
Health – Pharmacy saw a 23 percent increase in its audience in January, followed by Business to Business with a 23 percent increase, Career Services and Development – Career Resources with a 20 percent increase, Travel – Online Travel Agents with a 19 percent increase and Career Services and Development – Job Search with a 17 percent increase.
Monster Worldwide led the Career Resources category with 19.3 million visitors, up 17 percent, followed by Yahoo! HotJobs with 19.0 million visitors, up 72 percent. Career Builder LLC finished January with 18.3 million visitors, up 10 percent from December.
FamilyLink.com was the top gaining property in January, as its audience grew 57 percent to 9.9 million visitors in January, making it 142nd overall in terms of unique visitors.
Ed.gov was second, as its audience grew 55 percent to 7.9 million visitors, while BuddyTV saw its audience grow 51 percent to 8.7 million in January.
Travelocity, Taleo.net and WebMD Health were other sites that saw significant growth in January.
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