Facebook and MySpace were the number one and number two search terms for 2009 as reported by Hitwise. Compared to 2008 MySpace dropped from one to two and Facebook jumped from number 10 to number one overtaking MySpace. This is a testament to the explosive growth of Facebook. The fact that 50% of the top ten are related to social media shows the growth of social media as a whole.
I will say though, every time I look at stats like this I have to shake my head. Every search term is essentially a domain name. Why not just punch the domain “facebook.com” into your browser. Even worse number 10 for 2009 is a full domain name. I guess it just shows how search has become a common part of our internet routine. Plus, with all the toolbars people are accustomed to typing directly in the search box. It’s become a habit.
The top two sites visited by U.S. visitors didn’t change from 2008 to 2009 with Google number one and mail.yahoo.com. Yahoo’s search site lost ground, dropping to #8 from 7. The biggest mover was again Facebook, climbing from #9 to #3 and surpassing MySpace which dropped two slots to number 5.
