World Cup fever takes off online
1 in every 150 UK Internet searches currently World Cup related
Sports, news, video and retail websites to benefit from World Cup fever over the next month
Injured England captain Rio Ferdinand the most searched for footballer in the UK
Cristiano Ronaldo most popular around the World
London, 11 June 2010 -
Experian Hitwise, the leading online competitive intelligence service, today reveals that 1 in every 155 search terms typed into a search engine in the UK are currently World Cup related. For the week ending 05/06/10, 0.66% of all UK Internet searches included a reference to the FIFA World Cup, which kicks off at Soccer City in Johannesburg on Friday.
“The Internet is going to play a massive role in this World Cup,” commented Robin Goad, Research Director at Experian Hitwise. “As soon as England qualified, there was a surge in traffic to Travel websites as searches for flights to South Africa increased by 43%. Since then, the World Cup has already benefited a number of companies online, from crisp manufacturer Walkers to gambling websites to Panini, the purveyor of football stickers. Currently the most popular World Cup searches related to match fixtures, the England squad, wall charts and World Cup fantasy football.”
The official FIFA homepage is currently the biggest recipient of World Cup related searches in the UK. For the week ending 05/06/10
www.fifa.com was the 8
th most visited Sports website in the UK and the 237
th most visited overall. The website is most popular in the North West of England and London, and least popular in Wales and Scotland. The Experian Mosaic groups most likely to visit the website are Careers and Kids (defined as: “Families with young children where both parents are likely to earn solid incomes providing for a comfortable modern home”) and Liberal Opinions (“Young well-educated city dwellers enjoying the vibrancy of city life”).
Robin Goad said: “The official FIFA website has been the biggest recipient of World Cup related searches in the run up to the event, but it will be overtaken by other sites once the tournament gets under way. UK Internet visits to Sports websites increased 11.5% last week to reach their highest level since the Grand National during April. This traffic will increase further over the next month, with news, video and social networking sites also benefiting from football fever. There will also be broader commercial opportunities, with many brands and websites looking to capitalize on the tournament with online promotions. For example, UK Internet Visits to Sport and Fitness retail websites are already up 18% year-on-year.”
Injured England captain Rio Ferdinand the most searched for footballer in the UK; Cristiano Ronaldo most popular around the World
Injured England captain Rio Ferdinand was the most searched for footballer in the UK during the week ending 05/06/10, and he was joined in the top 10 at number 3 by Theo Walcott, another England star who won’t be playing in South Africa. Joe Cole, a potential Premier League transfer target over the summer and for some a surprise addition to the England squad, was the second most searched for player. Former Manchester United winger and Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo was in the fourth place in the UK, but was the most searched for player in all of the other countries studied: France, USA, Brazil, Australia and New Zealand.
“The lists of the most searched players in different countries reveal the global popularity of the biggest stars,” commented Goad. “People all over the world are searching for Cristiano Ronaldo, while Spanish players are also extremely popular – Fernando Torres, Cesc Fabregas and David Villa appear high up on many of the lists. Spanish, Mexican and Portuguese players are the most searched for in the USA, illustrating the popularity of ‘soccer’ amongst the Hispanic population in that country. Of all the countries that we studied, only in England and Brazil were the top 10s dominated by domestic players.”
| Most searched for footballers in the UK, France, USA, Brazil, Australia and New Zealand |
| |
UK |
France |
USA |
Brazil |
Australia |
New Zealand |
| 1 |
Rio Ferdinand |
Cristiano Ronaldo |
Cristiano Ronaldo |
Cristiano Ronaldo |
Cristiano Ronaldo |
Cristiano Ronaldo |
| 2 |
Joe Cole |
David Villa |
Ronaldinho |
Grafite |
Tim Cahill |
Wayne Rooney |
| 3 |
Theo Walcott |
Lionel Messi |
Landon Donovan |
Robinho |
Hary Kewell |
Lionel Messi |
| 4 |
Cristiano Ronaldo |
Deco |
Lionel Messi |
Messi |
Fernando Torres |
Ronaldinho |
| 5 |
Wayne Rooney |
Fernando Torres |
Carlos Vela |
Ronaldinho |
Ronaldinho |
Kaka |
| 6 |
Steven Gerrard |
Yoann Gourcuff |
Giovani dos Santos |
Nilmar |
Joe Cole |
Fernando Torres |
| 7 |
Fernando Torres |
Ronaldinho |
Jonathan dos Santos |
Fernando Torres |
Cesc Fabregas |
Winston Reid |
| 8 |
Frank Lampard |
Thierry Henry |
Cesc Fabregas |
Kaka |
Mark Schwarzer |
Ryan Nelsen |
| 9 |
John Terry |
Cesc Fabregas |
Cuauhtemoc Blanco |
Daniel Alves |
Rio Ferdinand |
Bastian Schweinsteiger |
| 10 |
Emile Heskey |
Djibril Cissé |
Wayne Rooney |
Deco |
Kaka |
David Villa |
| |
| Source: Experian Hitwise |
Contact:
Jannie Cahill
Experian Hitwise
+44 20 3042 4773
press.uk@hitwise.com
About Experian Hitwise Experian Hitwise is the leading online competitive intelligence service. Experian Hitwise gives marketers a competitive advantage by providing daily insights on how 25 million Internet users around the world interact with more than 1 million Web sites. This external view helps companies grow and protect their businesses by identifying threats and opportunities as they develop. Experian Hitwise has more than 1,500 clients across numerous sectors, including financial services, media, travel and retail.
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For up-to-date analysis of online trends, please visit the Experian Hitwise research blog at www.ilovedata.com and the Experian Hitwise Data Centre at
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