Skip to main content

TikTok dethrones Google as most-visited website

 

Dive Brief:

  • TikTok was the most popular web address in the world in 2021, overtaking Google for the first time, according to cloud services company Cloudflare.
  • The social video app ranked seventh in Cloudflare's 2020 ranking behind Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Apple, Netflix, and Amazon, but jumped to the top this year amid a COVID-spurred surge in popularity.
  • Owned by China-based ByteDance, TikTok has become a key digital platform and culture driver during the pandemic. The social video app hit the 1 billion user mark in September and is forecast to reach 1.5 billion monthly active users toward the end of 2022, per App Annie.

Dive Insight:

TikTok has skyrocketed in popularity over the past two years, rapidly becoming a ubiquitous part of daily life for many people around the world.

As of December 2019, the app nabbed 508 million monthly active users (MAU). Now at more than 1 billion MAU, TikTok regularly dominates headlines as consumers embrace the buzzy app and marketers and creators alike work to embed the platform into their strategies. In 2021, big name brands across a number of categories jumped on the trend as they became more comfortable with the platform and its short-form videos designed to go viral. TikTok cozied up to brands this year by doubling down on privacy, ad measurement and commerce. 

"It was on February 17, 2021, that TikTok got the top spot for a day," Cloudflare wrote in its year-in-review blog post. "Back in March, TikTok got a few more days and also in May, but it was after August 10, 2021, that TikTok took the lead on most days."

TikTok and its social media rivals have attracted the attention of brand marketers seeking ways to reach younger consumers hungry for creator-produced video content. In addition to being named the most popular web domain by Cloudflare, TikTok also surpassed Facebook as the most popular social media site — a category that's remained high in Cloudflare's ranking of top websites throughout the pandemic.

"The nine main social media applications were all in our top 100 list of most popular global domains," per Cloudflare's blog post.

The news of TikTok surpassing longtime leader Google as the most-visited website comes at a time of vulnerability for the search giant with its impending demise of third-party cookies. Despite digital ad spend soaring after budgets were cut in the pandemic's first year, marketers are grappling with challenges to performance and measurement as cookies near their end. Many marketers have sought alternative strategies by focusing on contextual advertising and ramping up social media content.

TikTok's meteoric growth hasn't been without road bumps. Parent company ByteDance faced regulatory scrutiny in 2020 when the U.S. government attempted to ban TikTok due to data security concerns. President Biden's administration withdrew a series of Trump-era executive orders banning TikTok and WeChat in June 2021 and is currently reviewing TikTok and other foreign-based apps controlled by foreign adversaries.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bitcoin will emerge stronger after stocks dip ‘10%–20%’ — Bloomberg analyst

Image
  Bitcoin will emerge stronger after stocks dip ‘10%–20%’ — Bloomberg analyst Federal Reserve policy should mean markets see a long-awaited comedown of up to one-fifth, says Bloomberg Intelligence’s Mike McGlone. Bitcoin ( BTC ) will soon no longer be a risk asset, and investors should brace for a fresh price correction, says one of Bloomberg’s best-known analysts. In an appearance on the  Wolf Of All Streets  podcast on Jan. 18, Mike McGlone, senior commodity strategist at Bloomberg Intelligence,  sounded the alarm  on global markets’ “up only” narrative. McGlone: Bitcoin “least risky” crypto bet As Bitcoin struggles in 2022, those hoping for a dramatic return to form will be disappointed by McGlone’s mid-term forecast. The United States Federal Reserve, he said, will all but guarantee an end to the limitless gains for stocks — and crypto, naturally correlated, will suffer too. “The number one theme I’ve been using for months now is ‘Do not fight the Fed,’” he ...
Read more

Cryptocurrency ATMs Close Down in Singapore Following Central Bank's Announcement

Image
  Cryptocurrency ATMs Close Down in Singapore Following Central Bank's Announcement Cryptocurrency ATMs have closed down in Singapore following the guidelines issued by the central bank, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). “To comply with the sudden announcement, we have ceased to offer buy or sell services via our five ATMs while seeking further clarification from the MAS,” said one crypto ATM operator. Crypto ATMs Shut Down in Singapore to Comply With the Central Bank’s Guidelines Cryptocurrency ATMs are closing down in Singapore to comply with new regulations published Monday by the central bank, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Singapore’s biggest cryptocurrency ATM operator, Daenerys & Co., told Bloomberg Tuesday that it has ceased services to comply with the MAS request, adding: MAS’s new guidelines regarding ATMs were an unexpected surprise. The company operated five crypto ATMs, mostly located in malls around Singapore. The machines allow customers to b...
Read more