14 DAY TRIAL // Google and Microsoft are lost in statistics when it comes down to which company manages to attract the largest volume of eyeballs. And as audience is the main measure of monetizing Internet based business models, be it Software as Service (Google) or Software plus Service (Microsoft), the Mountain View and Redmond giants are in a constant face-off. Internet metrics companies ComScore and Niensen//NetRatings released statistics for the months of May and June 2007, for the top 10 online properties worldwide and in the U.S., respectively. In this context, perspectives differ on who is top dog.
"There were 772 million people online worldwide in May (defined as those individuals age 15 or older who accessed the Internet from a home or work location in the last 30 days), an increase from 766 million in April, representing a 16 percent penetration of the worldwide population of individuals age 15 or older. Google continues to lead as the most popular property, reaching almost 70 percent of Internet users. Both Google and the second-leading property, Microsoft, increased their number of unique visitors by two percent from April to May. The top three properties each boasted more than 20 average visits per visitor in May: Google with 27, Microsoft with 23, and Yahoo! With 22," comScore revealed.
According to comScore, Google sites attracted in excess of 536 million unique visitors, Microsoft 528 million and Yahoo 469 million. But while comScore painted a worldwide picture of the audience of Google and Microsoft, Nielsen//NetRatings focused exclusively on the U.S. statistics, placing Microsoft firmly in the first position, with an unique audience of 116 million. Google is runner up with 113 million and Yahoo comes in third with 108 million. But Nielsen//NetRatings also keeps track of the average time spent online by each person and in this context Yahoo is the clear winner with three hours, followed by Microsoft with two hours and Google with just one hour and 30 minutes.