Americans Flock to Tax Websites

Posted on January 23, 2004

Web surfers flocked to tax sites as employers returned W-2 forms, according to Nielsen//NetRatings, a provider of Internet audience measurement and analysis. During the week ending January 18, the five fastest growing tax sites combined drew more than 2.8 million unique visitors.

Hrblock.com surged 221 percent week-over-week from 113,000 visitors to 363,000 unique visitors from home. Traffic to taxACT.com jumped 45 percent in traffic to 237,000 visitors, as compared to 164,000 during the previous week. Turbotax.com drew 577,000 surfers, increasing 44 percent. Quicken.com garnered 968,000 visitors, growing 37 percent. Rounding out the top five fastest growing tax sites was IRS.gov, which attracted 1.3 million unique visitors from home during the week ending January 18.

Greg Bloom, senior analyst, Nielsen//NetRatings, said in a statement, "Offering step-by-step instructions, automated calculations and often quicker returns, filing online is an attractive option for the often daunting task of filing taxes."

Table 1: Nielsen//NetRatings Fastest Growing Tax Sites
Week Ending January 18 (U.S., Home)

BRAND	1/11 Unique Audience (000)	1/18 Unique Audience (000)	% Growth
1. hrblock.com	113*	363	221%
2. taxACT.com	164*	237	45%
3. turbotax.com	401	577	44%
4. quicken.com	709	968	37%
5. U.S. Internal Revenue Service	944	1,275	35%

Source: Nielsen//NetRatings, January 2004

* Site did not meet Nielsen//NetRatings - minimum sample size requirements. Projected and average measures for these sites may exhibit large changes as a result.

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