The appointment of Marissa Mayer as CEO in mid-2012 seems to be paying off. The strategies she has implemented and the direction she is taking the company has allowed them to catch up with, and even surpass Google in traffic in recent months.
Yahoo outshined Google as the largest Web platform by monthly unique visitors in July. The data put out by comScore is limited to both the United States and only to desktop activity.
Yahoo sites succeeded in attracting approximately 197 million unique visitors via desktop during July. The data set which extends more than two years, shows that this marked an all-time audience high for Yahoo branded sites.
Google, which held the top spot since June 2011, saw 192 million unique visitors on its branded sites last month.
The surge in Yahoo’s desktop audience began in January 2013, when monthly unique visitors increased 9% from the previous month. Then from December 2012 to July 2013, Yahoo’s desktop audience grew 15%.
Some of this audience growth can be attributed to the company’s more sure-footed direction under CEO Marissa Mayer, and the new strategies she has implemented including the re-launch of its flagship properties including the homepage in February, email in December 2012, and its weather services.
By James Maston