Yahoo!, MSN and Google Lead in Online Search, According to Nielsen//NetRatings
Nielsen//NetRatings Reveals Top Brand and Channel Rankings for Various Categories
New York, April 4 — Nielsen//NetRatings, the global standard in Internet audience measurement and analysis, today reveals that Yahoo!, MSN and Google led the online search category for February 2002. Today's study also reported on the top ranking brands and channels for various categories, including: Apparel and Beauty, Automotive, Computer Hardware Manufacturers, Finance, Insurance and Investment, Multi-category Commerce and Multi-category Travel.
Yahoo! Search took the No. 1 spot as the top ranking search engine, attracting more than 35 million visitors in February. MSN Search claimed 32 million surfers while Google drew more than 27 million. Rounding out the top 5 list, more than 24 million surfers logged on to AOL Search while 11 million surfers searched the Internet using Ask Jeeves (see Table 1).
"Search engines continue to be the 'go-to' destination on the Web, with new features and services being added on a regular basis," said Lisa Strand, director and chief ecommerce analyst. "As fee-based services are gradually incorporated and competition between the various search engines intensifies, it's becoming increasingly important to compare search-speific traffic at various online destinations."
Table 1.
Nielsen//NetRatings Top Search Engines (U.S., Combined Home & Work)
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Brand or Channel Unique Audience (000) Active Reach (%) Time Per Person
(hh:mm:ss)
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1. Yahoo! Search 35,166 29.60 0:09:14
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2. MSN Search 32,338 27.22 0:08:27
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3. Google 27,444 23.10 0:26:29
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4. AOL Search 24,294 20.45 0:10:27
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5. Ask Jeeves 11,203 9.43 0:11:18
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Source: Nielsen//NetRatings, February 2002
The study is based on Nielsen//NetRatings' new MarketView reporting system, which is built on content-based brand aggregation, consisting of Parents, Brands and Channels. MarketView segments online destinations, such as MSN and Yahoo! portals, based on content to accurately reflect and provide an in-depth view of their business operations and Web site taxonomy.
MarketView Top Brands and Channels
Following is a list of various Nielsen//NetRatings' MarketView categories featuring Top 5 Brands and Channels for the month of February 2002, U.S., combined at home and at work Internet usage. Categories include: Apparel and Beauty, Automotive, Computer Hardware Manufacturers, Finance, Insurance and Investment, Multi-category Commerce and Multi-category Travel.
Apparel/Beauty Automotive
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Unique Time Unique Time
Brand Audience Per Person Brand Audience Per Person
or Channel (000) (hh:mm:ss) or Channel (000) (hh:mm:ss)
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1. victoriassecret.com 1. Kelley Blue
2,060 0:10:00 Book 3,901 0:10:41
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2. fredericks.com 1,701 0:09:18 2. eBay Motors 2,790 0:17:37
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3. Old Navy 1,686 0:10:30 3. AutoTrader.com 2,589 0:21:13
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4. The Gap 1,667 0:08:11 4. MSN Carpoint 2,488 0:09:38
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5. Eddie Bauer 1,429 0:14:14 5. Edmunds.com 2,380 0:11:13
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Source: Source:
Nielsen//NetRatings, February 2002 Nielsen//NetRatings, February 2002
Hardware Manufacturers Finance, Insurance & Investment
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Unique Time Unique Time
Brand Audience Per Person Brand Audience Per Person
or Channel (000) (hh:mm:ss) or Channel (000) (hh:mm:ss)
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1. Hewlett-Packard 7,430 0:19:54 1. Yahoo! Finance 8,301 0:39:43
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2. Dell Computer 5,740 0:22:24 2. quicken.com 7,882 0:32:15
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3. Apple 4,846 0:04:49 3. MSN Money 6,954 0:20:55
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4. Compaq 3,082 0:12:30 4. intuit.com 6,164 1:16:28
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5. Gateway 2,403 0:12:11 5. Paypal 5,778 0:28:03
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Source: Source:
Nielsen//NetRatings, February 2002 Nielsen//NetRatings, February 2002
Multi-Category Commerce Multi-Category Travel
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Unique Time Unique Time
Brand Audience Per Person Brand Audience Per Person
or Channel (000) (hh:mm:ss) or Channel (000) (hh:mm:ss)
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1. Amazon 30,337 0:15:03 1. Expedia 9,858 0:16:53
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2. Yahoo! Shopping 25,701 0:08:59 2. Travelocity 8,270 0:16:41
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3. eBay 23,736 2:05:46 3. Orbitz.com 5,755 0:15:05
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4. MSN Eshop 9,341 0:03:48 4. AOL Travel 3,339 0:05:04
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5. DealTime 5,686 0:02:57 5. PriceLine 3,306 0:16:20
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Source: Source:
Nielsen//NetRatings, February 2002 Nielsen//NetRatings, February 2002