Top Search Engines

[SEO_newbie]

Hello where can I find independent information (ie Neilsons NetRating) that will tell me what the top 10 SEs are in the following countries:

UK
France
Spain
Switzerland
Netherlands
Greece

Thanx

[henki]

Nielsen Netratings [nielsen-netratings.com...]
Jupiter MMXI [uk.jupitermmxi.com...]

[rencke]

Ahem.... Nielsen/NetRatings and Jupiter/MMXI usually present their figures on a per property basis, rather than on a per site basis. This makes them difficult to interpret if you are looking for a straight answer regarding search engines.

The frequent visitors to this forum will know that analyzed in-depth info can be obtained right here. The SEO strategy primer discussion [webmasterworld.com] - which I was updating while you posted - is the best way to get a quick overview and contains links to the country discussion for more detail.

[henki]

All true, but both Nielsen and MMXI do publish top lists for the countries mentioned on their sites for free. To subscribe to the reports costs a fortune.

Without saying anything about the methology used, the top ten sites are pretty accurate and they allways include the largest search engines.

[rencke]

Nielsen only provides figures on a per property basis, i.e. all sites belonging to one group as a lump sum. It is not possible to figure out the search engine part of that if the owner has other sites, e.g. Terra Lycos.

MMXI does provide top 10 figures on a per site basis but I am not sure that SEO-newbie will be able to figure out what is search engine traffic and what is not from this example (MMXI-Sweden's current top 10 list):

Unika besökare i 000-tal
1 MICROSOFT.COM 1 886
2 HOTMAIL.COM 1 559
3 PASSAGEN.SE 1 552
4 MSN.SE 1 513
5 AFTONBLADET.SE 1 406
6 TELIA.COM 1 294
7 SPRAY.SE 1 144
8 FORENINGSSPARBANKEN.SE 1 045
9 YAHOO.COM 1 009
10 SWIPNET.SE 999

You and I can figure this out henki, but it takes a lot of local knowledge. That's why I recommend members reading the country threads here at WmW, rather than trying to figure this out on their own.

[SEO_newbie]

How do you convince a client that the top 10 SEs in France and Spain will bring in 80% of the traffic in these countries? Rencke in your European primer you outline what the 1st, 2nd, 3rd most popular SEs are in France but does this mean that by using these top 10 SEs will bring in 80% of the traffic in France?

[Eric_Jarvis]

it seems to vary by nation

both Denmark and Holland seem to have a single dominant directory/SE (jubii and ilse respectively)...for most other nations I seem to be getting quite a wide spread of referrers according to our site stats

[rencke]

>this mean that by using these top 10 SEs will bring in 80% of the traffic in France

If you are looking for at least 80%, then you have to look into the country specific discussions. If statistics exist, that's where they are published. As to France, I am fairly sure that you can reach 80% with the ones listed in the primer. But if your client insists on 80%, then there is no other way but to buy the full statistics from either Nielsen/NetRatings or Jupiter/MMXI.

So it is a trade off. If your client can accept a figure somewhere between 50 and 90 percent, then you can make the list at no expense. But if it has to be more precise than that, then you'll have to buy the reports and charge him for it. I have been told that we are talking of $3000 per country, but perhaps it will be cheaper if you want only search engines rather than the full site statistics for a country. You would have to ask these companies for a quotation to find out the exact price.

[heini]

SEO_newbie
>that the top 10 SEs in France and Spain will bring in 80% of the traffic in these countries

The Top10 SEs dead sure will bring in 80% of SE driven traffic in any country, what´s the question here?
For Spain there are just 6 SEs listed in the overview [webmasterworld.com].
In France [webmasterworld.com] we have 10.
Perhaps you should visit those forums and ask people over there for sources of detailed info.