The Internet is part of our day to day. We use it for absolutely everything: listen to music, buy online, watch TV, work, study, book a trip, write a review, search for information, etc. On the Internet we have at our fingertips almost any answer to the questions that may arise. A fairly high percentage of the population would not conceive of a world without being connected to the network. The rate at which the Internet has evolved seems to increase with each passing day. In the last 20 years, the main digital media companies have been changing, evolving and adapting to new trends. What might surprise you is that not many of them have maintained the lead over the last two decades.
Among the largest digital media properties in the world are Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and Amazon among others. Since 1998 only two companies have remained in the ranking of the 20 online multi-platforms over time: Microsoft and Amazon.
The giants of the Internet
Many of the top websites in 1998 were news aggregators or search portals . Currently, a brand’s touchpoints are often spread across multiple devices such as mobile apps versus desktops and a look at services and sub-brands, such as the various apps belonging to Facebook. As a result, the largest websites in the world are complex and interconnected web properties.
The chart below primarily uses data from ComScore’s US Multi-Platform Property Rankings. Analyze which of the Internet giants have evolved to stay on top and which have faded over the years with the evolution of the Internet.
In the late 1990s, AOL’s iconic compact disc was the key that unlocked the door to the World Wide Web. At its peak, an estimated 35 million people accessed the Internet through AOL. On the other hand, in 1998 New York Times already qualified amazon.com as the most successful merchant on the Internet . The demand increased when Amazon began to expand its offer beyond books.
The most popular site on the Internet
Without a doubt, the most popular site on the Internet is google.com , where the vast majority of users find the answer to almost any question that may come to mind. If there is, surely the answer is Google. The website has been and continues to be #1 , combined with the growing popularity of YouTube it’s hard to beat the amount of eyes that are drawn to Google’s products on a daily basis.
Surprisingly, yahoo.com ranks third behind Microsoft and is still used by many users as their primary news source, although it also owns other popular website properties. On the other hand, Amazon has been climbing in recent decades to reach fifth place. Amazon has branched out into other tasks by offering, for example, Prime Video. Finally, lesser-known companies like Mediavine and Café Media, ad providers that serve ads on a large number of independent websites, are also among the top 20 most relevant multi-platform companies on the Internet.
