This is a list of Top Ten UK websites calculated primarily based on the number of page views and unique visits per month. The list has been calculated based on the current data for this month. Although the main criteria for selection are pages views and total visits, additional data such as Average time spent by users on the website, Alexa Traffic Rank and Google PageRank are also listed for reference.

There are many sources that publish a list of the top websites worldwide. This list has been compiled from the monthly statistics published by Ad Planner, a free Google product used by Internet marketers to identify potential websites for advertising.

The list only includes top level domains and excludes adult sites, ad networks, domains that don’t have publicly visible content, and certain Google sites. The statistics given below are for monthly UK search volumes only, not global.

1) Facebook.com

Facebook is the leading social network worldwide and it is not surprising that it enjoys the number one position in UK as well. It is great for personal and business use. ‘Facebook pages’ is a Facebook product designed specially for businesses. It enables you to syndicate content from your blog and other sources minimising the need for  businesses to update it manually every day.

• Unique visitors (users)        38M
• Page views   64B
• Total visits     1.5B
• Avg time on site       25:00
• Alexa Traffic Rank: 2

2) Youtube.com

In spite recent success of other Video portals such as Vimeo, You Tube continues to command the largest share of video traffic in the world. In addition to personal videos, more and more businesses are using You Tube to promote products and services. You Tube also offers exceptional value from an Internet marketing and SEO perspective. Websites can benefit from high quality back links and direct exposure for their brand.

• Unique visitors (users)        31M
• Page views   4.4B
• Total visits     360M
• Avg time on site       25:00
• Alexa Traffic Rank: 2 (Global), 4 (UK)
• Google PageRank – 9/10

3) BBC.co.uk

UK’s leading news channel BBC.co.uk is accessed by users all over the world, not just from UK.

• Unique visitors (estimated cookies)         28M
• Page views   1.9B
• Total visits     360M
• Avg time on site       9:30
• Alexa Traffic Rank: 43 (Global), 5 (UK)
• Google PageRank – 9/10

4) Live.com

Live.Com popularly referred to as Windows live is Microsoft’s portal combining Hotmail, Online document store and Messenger. New products such as Windows Live Photo Gallery and Messenger for mobile have also been introduced from time to time.

• Unique visitors (users)        28M
• Page views   3.6B
• Total visits     470M
• Avg time on site       9:50
• Alexa Traffic Rank: 8 (Global), 8 (UK)
• Google PageRank – 9/10

5) Yahoo.com

• Unique visitors (users) – 26M
• Page views   3.3B
• Total visits     500M
• Avg time on site       10:40
• Alexa Traffic Rank: 4 (Global), 6 (UK)
• Google PageRank – 9/10

6) Ebay.co.uk

As the nation’s favourite online marketplace, buyers are compelled to trade on eBay due to the large number of items available. Similarly, sellers are attracted to the abundance of buyers. At any one time there are more than 10 million items for sale live on the site and more than 1 Million new items every day from which users may choose. In the first three months of 2002, 5.6 million items were listed for sale on eBay UK alone.

• Unique visitors (users)        23M
• Page views   5.8B
• Total visits     290M
• Avg time on site       18:20
• Alexa Traffic Rank: 89 (Global), 7 (UK)
• Google PageRank – 6/10

7) Wikipedia.org

Wikipedia has established itself as one of the most credible sources of information on the Internet. It is a free encyclopaedia, written collaboratively by Internet users. New content is constantly being added and updated by users. Anyone can edit almost every page on Wikipedia as long as editorial guidelines are followed. A strict editorial guideline has ensured its quality and reputation as credible source of information.

• Unique visitors (users)        20M
• Page views   370M
• Total visits     100M
• Avg time on site       8:00
• Alexa Traffic Rank: 7 (Global), 9 (UK)
• Google PageRank – 6/10

8) Amazon.co.uk

Amazon has continued to grow in its popularity and reach. In addition to buying products as a consumer, it can also be used by businesses to sell their products or by other websites and blogs to earn profits through its associate and affiliate programmes.

• Unique visitors (users)        18M
• Page views   1.1B
• Total visits     90M
• Avg time on site       10:50
• Alexa Traffic Rank: 132 (Global), 11 (UK)
• Google PageRank – 8/10

9) msn.com

MSN is the main Microsoft web portal integrated with Bing search. It is an information portal that displays information in a blog style magazine layout showcasing the latest news and information from across the Internet. Categories include Fashion, News, Jobs, Shopping, Sport and more.

• Unique visitors (users)        950M
• Page views   950M
• Total visits     21M
• Avg time on site       21:40
• Alexa Traffic Rank: 11 (Global), 15 (UK)
• Google PageRank – 8/10

10) Bing.com

Bing is a search engine and information portal owned by Microsoft. The site acts as a search engine for general web searches, videos, shopping, news, map and more. New services are introduced from time to time such as Bing Visual Search for exploring travel destinations and Bing Social that explores the hottest social topics and trends.

• Unique visitors (users)        11M
• Page views   370M
• Total visits     69M
• Avg time on site       6:30
• Alexa Traffic Rank: 24 (Global), (27)
• Google PageRank – 8/10

The author K.Singh is a London based Web Design & Internet Marketing Consultant with over 10 years of experience in E-Commerce, Web development, Joomla and Search engine Optimisation.