Which domains send the most traffic to other websites on the internet? Do smaller sites receive more or less traffic from the largest referrers?
To find out, SparkToro conducted an analysis of Datos data from an anonymized panel of several hundred thousand Internet users in the United States. Specifically, they looked at the share of US Web traffic being driven by the top 170 referrers in January 2024.
The researchers found that Google is far and away the biggest referrer, accounting for an incredible 63% of all US traffic driven by the top 170 domains.
The vast majority of traffic is driven by just a few domains, and none outside the Top 9 account for more than 1% of referrals.
The researchers found that Google actually drives a higher share (72%) of traffic to longtail websites (those outside of the 170 most visited), compared with the share (63%) it drives overall.
About the research: The report was based on an analysis of Datos data from an anonymized panel of several hundred thousand Internet users in the United States. Specifically, the researchers looked at the share of US Web traffic being driven by the top 170 referrers in January 2024.
