YouTube attracted 606m visitors in the UK in December, one in four visits to social networks and gaining ground on market leader facebook in the process, according to new research.
The study, from Experian Hitwise, indicate that YouTube was the fastest-growing website in the social category. However, Facebook remains the largest social website by some distance, generating more than 1bn visits per month and a market share of over 50%.
Visits to YouTube rose 45% year on year to hit 606m per month according to the report, which also claimed that social media was the third-largest source of traffic to online retailers over the Christmas season, accounting for 8% of all visits to retailer websites during the period.
The figures do not include Google+, which Experian Hitwise does not yet measure.
James Murray, market research analyst at Experian Hitwise, said, “YouTube experienced the most phenomenal growth in 2011, cementing its place as the third most visited website in the UK after Google and Facebook and the second biggest social network in the UK.”
“Facebook is still growing marginally but its share of the social market declined slightly. However, it’s important to put the figures in context as there’s more competition it’s difficult to maintain its dominant position,” Murray added.
