MySpace is on a roll. In addition to social media market share, the News Corp. owned site also dominates in all search-engine queries, according to new research released Wednesday by Hitwise. “MySpace related search terms accounted for half of the top 10 search terms to all sites in 2006,” said Bill Tancer, general manager of global research at Hitwise. The top 10 searched terms–led by “MySpace”–also included “MySpace.com,” “www.MySpace.com,” “My Space,” and “MySpace layouts.”
MySpace’s Brand Equity
MySpace’s spot at the top of the most-searched list bodes well for the brand, Tancer said. “Search term data is the closest proxy for what is on the minds of Internet users and is a great measure of brand equity,” he explained. “MySpace saw tremendous growth in traffic in 2006, which is a reflection of the increased brand equity for MySpace.”
Future Value
In addition, MySpace now accounts for a full third of all U.S. social networkers, according to comScore Media Metrix. And while the property’s potential worth is subject to debate, RBC Capital analyst Jordan Rohan caused a stir last September by predicting that MySpace would be worth $15 billion in three years – not a bad mark, considering that it has risen from the $580 million News Corp. paid for the site in 2005.
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