The Top 50 Domains

The Washington Post has a chart showing the top 50 Domains over the last two years.

Yahoois still king of the hill with most visitors but with only a 5% increase over last year vs. 21% for Google.

MySpace easily jumps into the top 5 next year at their torid pace, a staggering 318% increase over last year.

AOL and MSN might be in the Top 5 but both saw basically no growth last year.

Microsoft has four of the top 10 spots yet Microsoft.com traffic is down 10% and Passport is down 18%. Only Hotmail grew and at only 3%. Yet Apple.com is up 48%. Even though I run Windows at home and work I visit Apple probably 10x as much as I visit Microsoft.com. Make cool products and the people will follow. Take away the default homepage in IE and I wonder what that does to the numbers?

Target.com is an excellent example of a large company that gets it. Their site is easy to navigate and visually pleasing. Just like the actual stores themselves, Target feels modern, roomy and inviting. Walmart.com feels crowded, cramped and older.

Go.com checks in at #12 on the list? Huh? It’s been a good six years since I’ve even heard of that site. I think people mean to type google.com and hit ENTER too soon.

The thought of seeing Real down 18% over last year just makes me smile. They make the most arrogant software I’ve ever used. I’m thrilled to see others telling them where to stick their products. Nice to see you tank it, Real!

Where is ESPN.com? Foxsports makes the list at #33 but no ESPN?

Online travel sites are down: Expedia down 21%, Orbitz down 17% and Cheaptickets down 12%. Maybe high gas prices are urging people want to find the shortest driving distance because Mapquest traffic is up 7%.

Updated May 27 – A friend reminded me that ESPN is part of the Go.com network. That explain their showing at #12.