Apple.com ranks No. 14 among US users

Apple.com ranked No. 14 among all Web properties during the month of August with more than 31.5 million unqiue visitors, according to a new report, while Yahoo! Sites maintained the number one ranking, attracting more than 131.3 million visitors. Apple's PC Rival Dell jumped 12 spots to number 35, drawing 18.1 million unique visitors, a 23- percent increase from the previous month--in part due to the recall of Dell laptops. comScore Media Metrix also noted that Youtube.com continued its rise, increasing 19 percent to reach 19.1 million unique visitors, making it the 32nd most-visited Web property in the U.S., an eight-spot increase from July when it debuted in the comScore Media Metrix Top 50 for the first time. comScore said that the total number of US internet users was just over 173 million from work, home, and university locations. The Time Warner Network (121 million, Microsoft (119 million), Google (108 million), and eBay (80 million) rounded out the top 5, respectively.

"As user-generated content increases in popularity, sites like YouTube.com will continue to become a destination of choice for people wanting to share their video, ideas, photos, and the like with friends and family," said Jack Flanagan, executive vice president of comScore Media Metrix.

The report also noted the growing trend of companies launch online promotions to attract users to their websites and build a strong brand. Coca-cola saw a 30 percent increase in traffic to just over 3.2 million unique users, comScore said.

"We're seeing consumer products companies like Coca-Cola, which was one of the top-ten gaining properties in August, follow suit by inviting consumers to post their videos online. This type of marketing creates a forum for consumers to interact with the product and solidify a relationship with the brand."

In another example of brand-relationship building, the popularity of Xerox's "Let's Say Thanks" campaign, which enables consumers to send free postcards to overseas military personnel, was largely responsible for making the Xerox Corporation the top-gaining Web property during August with 5.6 million visitors, a 628-percent increase versus July. Conversely, the much publicized recall of Dell laptops caused 18.1 million Americans to visit the Dell property, a 23-percent increase versus July.

Filed under: Apple