Yahoo takes #1 spot, knocks Google down to #2 in US Internet traffic

You read that right – Yahoo received more U.S. Internet traffic than Google in July, according to the latest monthly report of the top 50 U.S. Web properties from comScore. Google has held the number one traffic spot for the past two years. The last time Yahoo found itself in the top position was May 2011.

By comScore’s count, Yahoo received 196,564,000 visitors during the month of July. Google came in a close second, with 192,251,000 visitors. Microsoft Web properties, Facebook, and AOL sites all rounded out the top five.

Yahoo’s boost in traffic numbers follows the company’s $1.1 billion purchase of Tumblr in May. ComScore lists Tumblr.com sites, which reportedly have a combined total of 300 million users and 120,000 new sign-ups each day, as its own entry, coming in at number 28 on the list with 38,367,000 U.S. visitors in July. According to a footnote on the comScore report, “some portion” of Tumblr’s traffic was assigned to “other syndicated entities” – presumably Yahoo. It is not entirely clear, however, what “some portion” means. But considering Tumblr is now part of the Yahoo network, we would guess that portion is around 100 percent.

The Tumblr acquisition is part of Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer’s efforts to revive Yahoo’s brand, and return the company to its place as a top player in the Internet ecosystem. In a statement released in May, Mayer predicted that “Tumblr+Yahoo could grow Yahoo’s audience by 50 percent to more than a billion monthly visitors, and could grow traffic by approximately 20 percent.” In fact, Yahoo’s traffic for July 2013 is exactly 20 percent higher than its July 2012 traffic. 

Needless to say, Marissa Mayer and the Yahoo team are probably having a very good day.