1 in 15 Internet entries by Israeli users is on a Google Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG) site: its search engines, YouTube, Gmail, Google Maps, and others. Half of this traffic is via Google's Hebrew-language (google.co.il) or English-language (google.com or google.co.uk) sites, according to an analysis for "Globes" by SimilarWeb Ltd., an Israeli start-up that monitors Internet traffic.
SimilarWeb's data rely on a database of tens of millions of users who have downloaded the company's browser additions and information about users' habits obtained under agreements with Internet service providers around the world.
Google's domination of the Israeli market is highlighted by its complicated relations with Israeli sites. The CEO of Internet portal Walla Communications Ltd., Ilan Yehoshua, recently complained that Google affected Walla's primary revenue - advertising. This is old news, and Israeli sites have emphasized life under Google's tentacles for a long time. For example, several years ago, when Google launched Google News, which aggregates news items from content providers, including Israeli providers, leading Israeli portals, including Walla and ynet tried to block their content appearing on the service, claiming copyright infringement and other grounds.
Although Google might be hurting the advertising revenue of leading Israeli sites, it is also their most important source of traffic. According to SimilarWeb, Google is the most important source of traffic for forums, topped by the forums of Tapuz People Ltd., where 56.4% of their traffic comes via Google. Half of Tapuz forum users found the site by a Google search. The forums of youth-oriented site fxp owes 45.9% of its traffic to Google searches.
Google searches are also responsible for heavy traffic rates at Zap Group sites, including Golden Pages (81.3%) and price comparison site Zap (48.8%).
14% of user traffic at Walla comes from Google searches, compared with 8.75% at ynet, 20% at Channel 2 portal Mako, and more than one third at Channel 10 news portal Nana10 and classified ads site Yad2. Sports sites have the lowest rate among leading sites, averaging 6.5%.
Google Plus beats Google Maps
Few people will argue that Google has almost completely taken over digital life in the 15 years since it was founded. This begins with searches, continues with video sharing, email, and other uses. SimilarWeb's analysis sheds light on Google most popular services in Israel, and some of the findings are surprising.
Google's Hebrew-language searches are in first place, accounting for 41.64% of all traffic on Google sites. YouTube, which is basically the second most popular search engine in the world, is in second place, with 27.11%. Gmail is in third place, with 17.9%, followed, with a large lag, Google's English-language searches, with 8.39%. These four services account for 96% of traffic on Google sites in Israel.
The tiny residual balance is shared by Google's social network Google Plus, in fifth place with 1.32% of Google traffic in Israel; Google Drive, with 1.17%; Google Play Android apps, with 0.73%; Google Maps, with 0.6%; and Blogger, with 0.13%.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 1, 2013
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