Social networking brands dominate UK search

A new report out today from Hitwise UK shows that social networking brands continue to play a leading role in UK search volumes. In the 4-week period ending 9-June-2007, Bebo, YouTube, MySpace and FaceBook all placed highly in the top 10.

Most popular search terms, UK, 9-May to 9-June 2007. Source: Hitwise UK.

In fact, Bebo topped the list as the highest volume search term, unseating eBay from its long-held Nº1 position. Hitwise reports that "bebo" searches have increased three-fold in the past year, and two-fold in the past six months alone.

The figures highlight the growing importance of the youth market and social networking sites in search.