Facebook saw web traffic soar over Xmas
Tuesday, 30, Dec 2008 10:22
Social networking sites proved particularly popular over the Christmas period, according to new figures.
Hitwise revealed that Facebook accounted for one in every 22 website visits on Christmas Day alone, with total traffic up by 69 per cent compared with the same time last year.
Meanwhile, YouTube overtook Hotmail in terms of overall web traffic for the first time during the week ending December 27th, making it the third most popular UK site behind Google and Facebook.
"The successes of Facebook and YouTube, along with similar sites, meant that social networks accounted for one in every ten UK internet visits during Christmas week," Hitwise research director Robin Goad noted in a blog post.
Hitwise revealed recently that web searches for retail sales rose by 3.2 per cent during Christmas week compared with last year.
Traffic to fashion, electronics and grocery sites also soared over this period, the research company said.