Who is the most popular out of this list: Microsoft Network(MSN), Yahoo, Google, eBay, MySpace, YouTube, or Amazon?

According to Nielsen Net Ratings (http://www.nielsen-netratings.com) monthly top 10 parent companies…

1. Google
2. Microsoft
3. Yahoo
4. Time Warner
5. eBay
6. News Corp. Online
7. InterActiveCorp
8. Amazon
9. Wikimedia Foundation
10. New York Times Company

Another great traffic indicator is Alexa.com. Alexa has the following as top 10 in the United States:

1. Google
2. Yahoo!
3. Myspace
4. YouTube
5. Facebook
6. Windows Live
7. Microsoft Network (MSN)
8. EBay
9. Wikipedia
10. AOL

Now that looks more like what I expected to see.

I did a test on popularity of keywords geared towards these companies using Google’s keyword search tool. Based on this experiment I discovered:

The keyword search is on the following keywords: msn, myspace, yahoo, google, ebay, youtube,and amazon; you can see that MySpace is in the lead, followed by Yahoo.

A keyword search is not traffic, but is an indicator of popularity. I made an assumption that I could get a popularity indicator based on the main keywords: google, myspace, etc… I did this because I noticed that people search for sites they already know the URL to.

Ever notice how people navigate to a site. They go to google first and then type in myspace or yahoo or whatever they want, and wait for the first listing on Google’s search results page…then click on the link to get there. I have often asked the question…why don’t you just type the URL in the address bar? myspace.com (then hit enter)…so much easier to me, but when I ask; WOW the looks I get. A reasonable question I think, but it’s not their way, and that’s that. Anyway, I always just type in the URL, but then again, I am a programmer, and can type 70 WPM. As if that really matters.

This is just an observation that I found interesting and based on the keyword search for the main internet sites…it would seem to be the case. Of course, there is one issue with this find…Google. Google does not get included in the numbers here because, well duh, they go to Google first, or have Google as their home page.

To summarize…Google is the number one site by a large margin, followed by Yahoo, MySpace, YouTube, and eBay. Those are the TOP FIVE in my opinion, but of course you knew that.

So what? Well knowing who is in the top, and who is coming up is important knowledge in your marketing and advertising efforts. Don’t you think?

If you use PPC advertising then Google.
If you send ads to groups then Yahoo.
If you use videos to demonstrate things then YouTube.
If you sell books then Amazon.
If you are into music then MySpace.
etc…

You get the idea!

Knowing how people navigate is also important. The internet marketing and advertising world revolves around keywords and content, and the marriage of the two. A person browsing is likely to type in words they know will give them what they want. ‘WHAT THEY WANT,’ not what you want them to have. Every day that passes people are getting better at instantly weeding out what pertains to their search and what does not. So, cheesy manipulation tactics won’t last for long.

Thanks for reading my article! My name is Rick Brown. I have been successful at internet marketing and advertising for more than 5 years now. I’ve tried a lot of programs, and I know what works and what doesn’t. And better, what costs money and what is free. There is money to be made, but it requires effort and initiative on your part. Currently I am involved in a program that pays me $200 per sale. If you are interested and want to learn more, I have a signup form at More Information Signup Form.

Good luck!