We have updated this article to reflect the ever evolving state of play online. The website traffic rankings are largely predictable, dominated by the world’s search, ecommerce platforms and social media giants. However, there are a few notable (and even taboo) exceptions, new data suggests. The original article can be found further down the page.
February 2024
The former US Fox News Channel TV anchor Tucker Carlson attracted plenty of criticism for the video interview he streamed with Russian President Vladamir Putin, but it also attracted a ton of traffic to tuckercarlson.com.
Unique visitors to Carlson’s website increased by more than 1,000% from January to February to 9.9 million individuals, according to Similarweb estimates. Traffic increased by about 800% to 26 million visits.
That is one of the highlights from our new monthly report on the fastest-growing websites, produced in cooperation with the digital intelligence company Similarweb.
The rankings are based on an analysis of growth in unique visitors to the top 2,000 websites worldwide, sorted by month-over-month growth. The analysis is limited to English-language websites and excludes those promoting pornographic content or obvious scams.
The site with the second biggest gain was yeezy.com, the apparel sales ecommerce site by American rapper Kanye West, which in recent weeks has been running a sale with all items priced at $20. Yeezy was previously the name of a collaboration between West and Adidas. However, the partnership was canceled in October 2023 due to the controversy over anti-semitic comments by West.
Unique visitors to yeezy.com increased by 643% in February to 7.7 million people.
In third place, neal.fun grew unique visits by 321% to 9.7 million people. The site is a collection of meme-worthy projects by the web coder Neal Agarwal, including Internet Artifacts and The Password Game.
Websites that got a boost from interest in sports were also in the top 10, including car racing (nascar.com +167% and formula1.com +130%) and the Super Bowl championship (kmbc.com, the hometown TV station of the champion Kansas City Chiefs, up 92%, and cbs.com, the US TV network that carried the game, up 58%). The start of tax season in the US propelled tax preparation sites to the top of the list: freetaxusa.com +83% and taxslayer.com +79%.
Bluesky, the alternative to Elon Musk’s X backed by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, saw audience growth to its website (bsky.app) by 81% in February after removing the requirement that users present an invite code before enrolling.
Bluesky can be accessed by either the website or a mobile app, although the app is probably more important for ongoing engagement. Similarweb estimates that in the US monthly active users for the iOS and Android apps combined rose 30% month-over-month in February. However, the Bluesky app has less than 1 million US monthly active users for iOS and Android, compared with 7.2 million for Threads and 75 million for X.
Most popular websites according to Similarweb
| Domain | MoM Growth Rate | YoY Growth Rate | Unique Visitors |
|---|---|---|---|
| tuckercarlson.com | 1028.2% | 39143.7% | 9.9M |
| yeezy.com | 643.4% | 43424.2% | 7.7M |
| neal.fun | 321.4% | 472.3% | 9.7M |
| nascar.com | 167.3% | 19.1% | 2.6M |
| formula1.com | 129.7% | 30.9% | 7.6M |
| kmbc.com | 92.0% | 143.6% | 3.0M |
| freetaxusa.com | 83.2% | 30.7% | 5.8M |
| bsky.app | 81.0% | 18055.8% | 4.4M |
| taxslayer.com | 79.4% | 16.7% | 2.8M |
| cbs.com | 58.1% | 31.9% | 3.6M |
October 2023
The growing popularity of platforms like Ozbargain.com.au, reflecting data from sources like Similarweb, underlines a significant trend – consumers are actively seeking value-driven shopping experiences. Deals, discounts, and cost-effective solutions are now at the forefront of consumers' priorities, as both SEMrush and Similarweb data suggest, reflecting a discerning and budget-conscious approach to spending.
Moreover, we witness a noticeable surge in traffic to news and finance websites, a clear indication of consumers' insatiable thirst for information. In today's ever-changing world, where uncertainty often looms, the need for reliable news and financial updates has become more pronounced than ever before. Both SEMrush and Similarweb data point to consumers actively seeking to stay informed, driving the growth of these websites.
Most popular websites according to SEMrush
| Domain | Growth Rate |
|---|---|
| amazon.it | 30.1% |
| airtel.in | 22.3% |
| hurriyet.com.tr | 21.5% |
| wayfair.com | 17.9% |
| telegram.me | 17.0% |
| indiatimes.com | 16.9% |
| icicibank.com | 16.3% |
| samsung.com | 15.6% |
| amazon.in | 15.2% |
| thesun.co.uk | 14.4% |
| flipkart.com | 13.1% |
SEMrush data for October unveils a diverse array of websites experiencing rapid growth. Notably, e-commerce giants like Amazon.it and Amazon.in showcase growth rates of 30.1% and 15.2%, respectively, reflecting the surging demand for online shopping. The telecommunications sector is also on the rise, with Airtel.in witnessing a 22.3% growth rate, driven by increased digital connectivity needs. Additionally, the news industry shines through websites like Hurriyet.com.tr and TheSun.co.uk, indicating a heightened demand for credible information sources. This digital migration across various sectors underscores the shift in consumer behaviour, emphasizing convenience, connectivity, and access to reliable content as key drivers in today's digital landscape.
The surge in these websites' growth is a testament to the evolving online preferences of users, who now prioritize efficient e-commerce, secure communication, and immediate access to news and information.
Most popular websites according to Similarweb
| Domain | Visitors MoM |
|---|---|
| recruit.co.jp | 5220.3% |
| realestate.com.au | 2394.7% |
| sharechat.com | 2185.6% |
| ozbargain.com.au | 763.6% |
| foxbusiness.com | 606.3% |
| priceline.com | 541.6% |
| playstation.com | 519.2% |
| flightradar24.com | 503.6% |
| finance.yahoo.co.jp | 391.3% |
| dcinside.com | 295.7% |
| doramy.club | 271.8% |
Similarweb's data unveils a different set of thriving websites, with recruit.co.jp leading the way with a staggering traffic MoM increase of 5220.3%. This Japanese job portal's remarkable growth can be attributed to the dynamic job market and increasing online job-seeking trends.
Other websites like realestate.com.au, sharechat.com, ozbargain.com.au, and more are experiencing substantial growth according to Similarweb. These websites cater to real estate, social networking, and deal-hunting, respectively. Their growth is closely tied to the increasing demand for their services in the digital age.
The original article continues below
According to Similarweb analysis, adult websites Xvideos and Pornhub are among the most trafficked in the United States, receiving an average of 693.5 million and 639.6 million monthly visitors respectively.
The two pornography giants outrank a number of major services, including Netflix (541 million), Zoom (629.5 million) and Twitch (255.3 million).
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What’s more, these sites are expanding at a faster rate than almost all other high-traffic domains. While the Xvideos user base has grown by 2.63% month-on-month, sites like Wikipedia saw page views drop by a similar proportion and only Amazon achieved a greater rate of traffic growth, at 7.49%.
Of the top 20 websites, four are classified as pornographic: Xvideos (#11), Pornhub (#13), Xnxx (#16) and Jerkmate (#20).
Most popular websites
Google is by far the busiest website in the world, attracting 19.5 billion US visitors per month, which is more than three times the number of any other site. YouTube (also owned by Google) takes second spot on the list with 6.5 billion monthly visitors, followed by Facebook with 4.0 billion.
Predictably, Amazon is the largest online retailer in the US, attracting 2.0 billion monthly visitors, tailed by eBay and Walmart. Similarweb data suggests ecommerce websites like these have enjoyed some of the fastest rates of growth in recent months.
The publisher to receive the most US traffic is Yahoo, in 5th position overall with 1.8 billion monthly visitors, ahead of CNN, ESPN, MSN and, a little further down the list, the New York Times.
Although Google dominates the global search market, privacy-focused service DuckDuckGo has risen to an impressive 18th place. The comparatively niche search engine even outranks Microsoft Bing, attracting roughly 50 million more visitors per month, suggesting US web users are taking their data security increasingly seriously.
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