The internet has become an incredibly crowded place. Companies spend millions of dollars to drive traffic to their websites, and to keep people interested in their products or services. Thousands of man hours are spent figuring out ways to increase website interactivity and to increase conversion rates. It is a whole science unto itself, and everyone is still trying to figure out the magic formula that makes one site more successful than another.
In order to understand what makes one website a smash success – and another a total dud – it is best to start at the top. Below are ten websites that are crushing the competition in terms of traffic. If you want to know how to take your site to the next level, spend a little time studying the design and philosophy of the sites below. They are listed in order of visitors per minute.
10. Bing.com
4,000 visitors per minute
Bing is Microsoft's search engine. It's not the most successful of the search engines, but it's no slouch either.
9. Twitter.com
4700 visitors per minute
Twitter has grown astronomically since it launched in 2006, and now has 200 million active users.
8. EBay.com
4900 visitors per minute
For many years, EBay was THE online auction and shopping site to beat. It was launched in 1995, and had a huge impact on internet commerce.
7. Amazon.com
5800 visitors per minute
Launched in 1994, Amazon failed a couple of times before hitting its stride. It is now the most successful online retailer, and you can find just about anything on the site.
6. MSN.com
7600 visitors per minute
Launched by Microsoft in 1995, MSN is an online portal that just keeps trucking along.
5. Wikipedia.org
8200 visitors per minute
This free online encyclopedia, which is available in 286 languages, has become the research go-to site for high school and university students everywhere.
4. Youtube.com
10,500 visitors per minute
Youtube launched in 2005 as a video sharing site, and has since grown into its industry. The site has made stars of heretofore unknown performers, and is now the home of a multiple popular web series.
3. Yahoo.com
11,600 visitors per minute.
It's hard to believe that Yahoo was struggling to stay afloat just a few years ago. The online portal, launched in 1995, is now one of the busiest.
2. Facebook.com
16300 visitors per minute
Launched in 2004 by a group of Harvard University students, Facebook is now the largest social network in the world, with over 1 billion users.
1. Google.com
21,000 visitors per minute
Google.com was launched in 1997 by a pair of Stanford University PhD candidates. The popular search engine has now diversified to include maps, an email program, a finance section, and a calendar service. Google also purchased Youtube, our #4 entry, in 2006.
