MSN passes Google for #2 Spot

Google and MSN have been going back and forth for the #2 spot in the Alexa Rankings for the last 8 months or so. Google had been on track to displace MSN as the second most popular site on the Web (behind Yahoo) and has in fact done so briefly and repeatedly only to be beaten back by MSN. But now it is beginning to look like Google is fading.

When you dig in and take a closer look at the Reach and Pageviews, you’ll see that Google’s Reach (number of users) consistently exceeds MSN’s but MSN’s Pageviews outstrip Google’s by a fair margin. Because Alexa’s rank is based on a combination of Reach and Pageviews, these two have been neck and neck in the rankings.

Interestingly, over the last six months the Reach and Pageview numbers for both of these giants has been declining, along with Yahoo, in the Alexa stats. That isn’t to say that their overall users or page views are declining, rather that their percentage of the overall traffic on the Web is shrinking. Now, that’s a headline. Maybe I should change the headline…

Traffic on the Web is Diffusing

On second thought, that headline lacks punch. Oh well, forget the headline. For years the news has been about the consolidation of Web traffic in so few hands. Now the news appears to be that the big players are losing their grip and the little guys are taking a bigger piece of the pie.

Congratulations to all you little guys out there. Get your slice of the pie.

From Alexa.com