DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
The total Internet audience rose by 0.9% last month as education
and autumn-related sites reported higher traffic and Americans
turned to humor sites for entertainment, according to comScore Inc.
(SCOR).
The total Internet audience for August rose to 197.3 million
unique visitors from 195.5 million in July.
"August is back-to-school season for students, and many turned
to the Web to prepare for the upcoming school year," said Jack
Flanagan, executive vice president of comScore Media Metrix.
Education sites including Pearson Education and HotChalk posted
double-digit growth, helping boost the overall category by 10% to
97.5 million visitors.
Meanwhile, humor sites were up 21% at 33.7 million visitors.
Home sites were also a driver of traffic in August, as Americans
researched home improvement as the season changes, as well as
harvest tips for their backyard gardens. Lifestyle sites were
overall up 18% at 30.8 million visitors.
Google Inc.'s (GOOG) sites continued to lead as the most-visited
property in August, with 161 million unique visitors, followed by
Yahoo Inc.'s (YHOO) sites with 158 million and Microsoft Corp.'s
(MSFT) with 130 million.
-By John Kell, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2480;
john.kell@dowjones.com