Social networks 'more popular than search engines' for the first time

Date: 9th June 2010

Small business owners in the UK could be encouraged to market their enterprise on social media networks following the publication of a recent report.

According to data published by Experian Hitwise Intelligence, social media networks are now more popular on the internet than search engines.

This is the first time the regular report has provided such a result.

Figures from the study show that social networks accounted for 11.88 per cent of all UK internet visits last month.

By way of comparison, search engines commanded an 11.33 per cent share of visitor numbers.

However, Google, the number one search engine, still garnered more visits than Facebook, the leading social network.

Robin Goad, research director at Hitwise UK, commented: "Google UK was the most visited website in the UK during May, accounting for 9.29 per cent of all visits. Facebook, in second place, accounted for 7.04 per cent of all UK internet visits during the same month."

Posted by Emily Smith