Sean on Family History

This post includes a survey of web site traffic for some of the most popular family history and genealogy related web sites.  The data included shows # page visits for each web site for the month of August, 2008.  This data was taken from the compete.com web site.

The # page visits metric, as defined by compete.com, means–the total number of visits to a site during the month, which may include multiple visits by a particular user.  If the user visits multiple pages on the site, it is still counted as a single visit, unless that user has been inactive for at least 30 minutes.  After 30 minutes, any further page loads are counted as a new visit.

All web traffic is shown for a particular domain, e.g. ancestry.com.  Data is not broken down by multiple pages/areas within that domain, e.g. search.ancestry.com vs. ancestrypress.ancestry.com.

I’ve grouped the web sites into several top-level categories, based on the primary purpose or use of the site.  Some sites appear in multiple categories, if they have significant functionality in multiple categories.

I haven’t included sites that deal with specific surnames, specific geographical regions, or specific products (e.g. ordering coats of arms).

In each category, I’ll present a graph showing the # visits for each site, followed by the actual data for the sites in that category.  Both the graph and the data will be sorted, with the sites having the most number of visits listed first.

When actual site data is listed, I include both “# visits” and “# unique visits” data.  The number of unique visits shows the number of individual computers/users that visited the site during the month, as opposed to the total number of visits.

All Sites

To start with, here are metrics for the top sites, across all categories.  To keep the graph manageable, only the top sites are graphed–i.e. those having at least 100,000 visits per month.

Here is the full list of sites, with the most frequently visited listed first.

All sites – visits/mo | uniques/mo | avg-visits/mo
ancestry.com – 15.3 million | 4.9 million | 3.1
myfamily.com – 6.66 million | 987,000 | 6.7
familysearch.org – 3.02 million | 990,000 | 3.1
myheritage.com – 2.47 million | 923,000 | 2.7
genealogy.com – 2.19 million | 1.16 million | 1.9
findagrave.com – 1.72 million | 643,000 | 2.7
rootsweb.com – 1.43 million | 687,000 | 2.1
geni.com – 1.34 million | 397,000 | 3.4
footnote.com – 1.03 million | 790,000 | 1.3
newspaperarchive.com – 976,000 | 805,000 | 1.2
archives.gov – 822,000 | 677,000 | 1.2
worldvitalrecords.com – 625,000 | 412,000 | 1.5
familylink.com – 546,000 | 308,000 | 1.8  (now familyhistorylink.com)
ancestorhunt.com – 529,000 | 437,000 | 1.2
heritagequestonline.com – 438,000 | 111,000 | 3.9
onegreatfamily.com – 421,000 | 325,000 | 1.3
interment.net – 406,000 | 288,000 | 1.4
genealogytoday.com – 333,000 | 295,000 | 1.1
usgenweb.org – 325,000 | 133,000 | 2.4
usgennet.org – 313,000 | 213,000 | 1.5
accessgenealogy.com – 295,000 | 222,000 | 1.3
cyndislist.com – 269,000 | 183,000 | 1.5
familytreedna.com – 241,000 | 106,000 | 2.3
vitalrec.com – 237,000 | 203,000 | 1.2
ellisisland.org – 229,000 | 149,000 | 1.5
familytreemaker.com – 206,000 | 126,000 | 1.6
deathindexes.com – 190,000 | 136,000 | 1.4
tribalpages.com – 188,000 | 83,900 | 2.2
distantcousin.com – 176,000 | 136,000 | 1.3
searchforancestors.com – 166,000 | 147,000 | 1.1
linkpendium.com – 163,000 | 134,000 | 1.2
cousinconnect.com – 155,000 | 131,000 | 1.2
ancestry.co.uk – 152,000 | 104,000 | 1.5
census-online.com – 149,000 | 94,000 | 1.6
politicalgraveyard.com – 138,000 | 121,000 | 1.1
daddezio.com – 134,000 | 107,000 | 1.3
familybuilder.com – 134,000 | 55,600 | 2.4
genealogybank.com – 134,000 | 134,000 | 1
genwed.com – 134,000 | 104,000 | 1.3
us-census.org – 129,000 | 91,500 | 1.4
familyhistory101.com – 126,000 | 104,000 | 1.2
kindredkonnections.com – 126,000 | 102,000 | 1.2
obitcentral.com – 120,000 | 106,000 | 1.1
gencircles.com – 117,000 | 79,600 | 1.5
ourstory.com – 113,000 | 23,100 | 4.9
censusfinder.com – 107,000 | 87,500 | 1.2
surnameweb.org – 105,000 | 96,100 | 1.1
jewishgen.org – 103,000 | 71,400 | 1.4
genebase.com – 98,300 | 85,800 | 1.1
eogn.com – 97,200 | 46,400 | 2.1
deadfred.com – 97,000 | 76,000 | 1.3
kindredtrails.com – 96,100 | 71,400 | 1.3
familyhistory.com – 87,200 | 72,100 | 1.2
geneanet.org – 80,200 | 41,400 | 1.9
idreamof.com – 78,200 | 60,500 | 1.3
genealogybuff.com – 77,400 | 61,800 | 1.3
stevemorse.org – 73,500 | 53,200 | 1.4
genhomepage.com – 69,800 | 20,500 | 3.4
ancientfaces.com – 68,300 | 55,900 | 1.2
genealogylinks.net – 67,300 | 52,700 | 1.3
searchyourgenealogy.com – 65,500 | 61,000 | 1.1
familytreemagazine.com – 63,400 | 42,900 | 1.5
genealogy.org – 63,400 | 49,400 | 1.4
ancestry.ca – 53,900 | 26,900 | 2
familytreelegends.com – 50,500 | 37,400 | 1.4
immigrantships.net – 46,400 | 38,300 | 1.2
familytree.com – 44,900 | 41,500 | 1.1
ancestralfindings.com – 44,800 | 28,700 | 1.6
olivetreegenealogy.com – 43,900 | 36,700 | 1.2
ellisislandrecords.org – 42,800 | 39,500 | 1.1
storyofmylife.com – 42,800 | 5,770 | 7.4
dnaancestryproject.com – 41,100 | 38,900 | 1,1
obitsarchive.com – 37,500 | 23,200 | 1.6
ancestry.com.au – 35,200 | 29,500 | 1.2
familydeathrecords.com – 34,800 | 33,000 | 1.1
familybirthrecords.com – 34,500 | 31,200 | 1.1
legacyfamilytree.com – 32,700 | 20,900 | 1.6
newspaperabstracts.com – 30,300 | 26,100 | 1.2
theshipslist.com – 29,500 | 18,300 | 1.6
familymarriagerecords.com – 28,600 | 25,000 | 1.1
family-reunion.com – 28,400 | 25,800 | 1.1
geneasearch.com – 26,900 | 22,300 | 1.2
genetree.com – 25,000 | 7,070 | 3.5
rootsmagic.com – 24,600 | 14,400 | 1.7
genealogysearch.org – 24,200 | 20,000 | 1.2
familytreeguide.com – 24,100 | 23,600 | 1
findmypast.com – 23,900 | 17,100 | 1.4
raogk.org – 22,100 | 13,000 | 1.7
gendir.com – 20,600 | 19,300 | 1.1
smgf.org – 20,000 | 12,900 | 1.6
worldroots.com – 18,900 | 17,800 | 1.1
webtree.com – 17,400 | 11,900 | 1.5
noktree.com – 13,900 | 11,500 | 1.2
ancestorguide.com – 13,800 | 10,400 | 1.3
kincafe.com – 13,500 | 10,500 | 1.3
uftree.com – 13,100 | 12,700 | 1
familysearchlabs.org – 12,800 | 5,700 | 2.2
ancquest.com – 12,000 | 3,650 | 3.3
familytreesearcher.com – 11,500 | 11,300 | 1
itsourtree.com – 11,500 | 7,140 | 1.6
23andme.com – 10,400 | 8,590 | 1.2
everton.com – 10,100 | 7,650 | 1.3
allvitalrecords.com – 8,940 | 7,020 | 1.3
lineages.com – 8,870 | 8,410 | 1.1
dearmyrtle.com – 8,780 | 7,160 | 1.2
dnaheritage.com – 8,430 | 4,660 | 1.8
makemyfamilytree.com – 8,080 | 8,080 | 1
werelate.org – 7,210 | 6,330 | 1.1
progenygenealogy.com – 6,210 | 6,210 | 1
famiva.com – 6,060 | 3,360 | 1.8
genesreunited.com – 6,060 | 4,080 | 1.5
phpgedview.net – 5,870 | 5,600 | 1
kindo.com – 5,530 | 4,940 | 1.1
rootssearch.net – 5,010 | 3,300 | 1.5
yourfamily.com – 5,010 | 4,590 | 1.1
whollygenes.com – 4,780 | 4,530 | 1.1
gjenvick.com – 4,690 | 4,450 | 1.1
familychronicle.com – 4,540 | 4,540 | 1
familymilitaryrecords.com – 3,810 | 3,420 | 1.1
raynorshyn.com – 3,630 | 3,630 | 1
accessible.com – 3,470 | 1,940 | 1.8
genealogy-search-advice.com – 3,380 | 3,050 | 1.1
gensource.com – 3,320 | 3,040 | 1.1
familycensusrecords.com – 3,290 | 3,290 | 1
genealogue.com – 3,160 | 3,160 | 1
deathrecordsobituarysearch.com – 3,090 | 2,800 | 1.1
wikitree.org – 3,010 | 3,010 | 1
amiglia.com – 3,000 | 2,480 | 1.2
genserv.com – 3,000 | 1,630 | 1.8
ged4web.com – 2,520 | 2,010 | 1.3
onefamilytree.com – 2,270 | 1,360 | 1.7
clooz.com – 2,140 | 1,660 | 1.3
mortalityschedules.com – 2,080 | 1,720 | 1.2
sharedtree.com – 2,040 | 2,040 | 1
lifeonrecord.com – 2,000 | 2,000 | 1
ancestryconnections.com – 1,690 | 1,600 | 1.1
ancestrymagazine.com – 1,640 | 1,640 | 1
leisterpro.com – 1,600 | 1,600 | 1
genbox.com – 1,180 | 932 | 1.3
starkeffect.com – 897 | 897 | 1
yourpastconnections.com – 890 | 453 | 2
mudcreeksoftware.com – 701 | 701 | 1
ancestralauthor.com – 663 | 663 | 1
famtreesoftware.com – 545 | 545 | 1
gedhtree.com – 447 | 447 | 1
macgenealogy.org – 354 | 354 | 1
genealogyguys.com – 315 | 315 | 1
geditcom.com – 217 | 217 | 1
dorotree.com – 182 | 182 | 1
family-historian.co.uk – 182 | 182 | 1
pedigreesoft.com – 182 | 182 | 1
thoughtfulcreations.com – 120 | 120 | 1
famillion.com – 106 | 106 | 1
bkwin.com – 0 | 0 | 0
famware.com – 0 | 0 | 0
gendesigner.com – 0 | 0 | 0
myheredis.com – 0 | 0 | 0
pastplaces.com – 0 | 0 | 0
winfamily.com – 0 | 0 | 0
zooof.com – 0 | 0 | 0
genealogy-software-review.com – no data
genuki.org – no data
livinggenealogy.com – no data

Blogs / Podcasts / News

This category includes top-level domains that contain family history related blogs, podcasts, or primarily contain news.  My lists of blogs is not very complete and does not contain blogs that do not have their own domain name.  (Because traffic data for blogs hosted on other sites is not available).

Here is the data for the Blogs / Podcasts / News category:

Blogs / Podcasts / News – visits/mo | uniques/mo | avg-visits/mo
eogn.com – 97,200 | 46,400 | 2.1
olivetreegenealogy.com – 43,900 | 36,700 | 1.2
dearmyrtle.com – 8,780 | 7,160 | 1.2
genealogue.com – 3,160 | 3,160 | 1
genealogyguys.com – 315 | 315 | 1

Community

Sites in this category primarily offer a community for family historians or genealogists, rather than being a search-based or social networking site.

Here is the data for the Community category:

Community – visits/mo | uniques/mo | avg-visits/mo
genealogy.com – 2.19 million | 1.16 million | 1.9
rootsweb.com – 1.43 million | 687,000 | 2.1
usgennet.org – 313,000 | 213,000 | 1.5
cousinconnect.com – 155,000 | 131,000 | 1.2
daddezio.com – 134,000 | 107,000 | 1.3
us-census.org – 129,000 | 91,500 | 1.4
jewishgen.org – 103,000 | 71,400 | 1.4
geneanet.com – 80,200 | 41,400 | 1.9
genhomepage.com – 69,800 | 20,500 | 3.4
familytree.com – 44,900 | 41,500 | 1.1
family-reunion.com – 28,400 | 25,800 | 1.1
raogk.org – 22,100 | 13,000 | 1.7
gendir.com – 20,600 | 19,300 | 1.1
lineages.com – 8,870 | 8,410 | 1.1
makemyfamilytree.com – 8,080 | 8,080 | 1
werelate.org – 7,210 | 6,330 | 1.1
yourfamily.com – 5,010 | 4,590 | 1.1
genealogy-search-advice.com – 3,380 | 3,050 | 1.1
genuki.org – no data

Directories

Sites in this category are primarily lists of links to other sites.

Here is the raw data for the Directories category:

Directories – visits/mo | uniques/mo | avg-visits/mo
usgenweb.org – 325,000 | 133,000 | 2.4
accessgenealogy.com – 295,000 | 222,000 | 1.3
cyndislist.com – 269,000 | 183,000 | 1.5
linkpendium.com – 163,000 | 134,000 | 1.2
census-online.com – 149,000 | 94,000 | 1.6
familyhistory101.com – 126,000 | 104,000 | 1.2
kindredtrails.com – 96,100 | 71,400 | 1.3
genhomepage.com – 69,800 | 20,500 | 3.4
genealogylinks.net – 67,300 | 52,700 | 1.3
geneasearch.com – 26,900 | 22,300 | 1.2
genealogysearch.org – 24,200 | 20,000 | 1.2
gendir.com – 20,600 | 19,300 | 1.1
gensource.com – 3,320 | 3,040 | 1.1

DNA

This category includes sites that focus primarily on DNA-based research.

Here is the raw data for the DNA category:

DNA – visits/mo | uniques/mo | avg-visits/mo
familytreedna.com – 241,000 | 106,000 | 2.3
genebase.com – 98,300 | 85,800 | 1.1
dnaancestryproject.com – 41,100 | 38,900 | 1,1
smgf.org – 20,000 | 12,900 | 1.6
23andme.com – 10,400 | 8,590 | 1.2
dnaheritage.com – 8,430 | 4,660 | 1.8

Magazines

These are sites that are associated with a printed magazine focused on family history.

Here is the actua traffic data for the Magazines category:

Magazines – visits/mo | uniques/mo | avg-visits/mo
familytreemagazine.com – 63,400 | 42,900 | 1.5
everton.com – 10,100 | 7,650 | 1.3
familychronicle.com – 4,540 | 4,540 | 1
ancestrymagazine.com – 1,640 | 1,640 | 1

Online Family Trees

In this category, I include sites whose primary focus is in allowing users to either create or upload their family tree to the site and then share with others.  There is a fair bit of overlap between this category and the Social/Family Networking category, but sites in this category put more emphasis on publishing a tree than on sharing other types of information.

Here is the actual data for the Online Family Trees category:

Online Family Trees – visits/mo | uniques/mo | avg-visits/mo
ancestry.com – 15.3 million | 4.9 million | 3.1
myheritage.com – 2.47 million | 923,000 | 2.7
genealogy.com – 2.19 million | 1.16 million | 1.9
rootsweb.com – 1.43 million | 687,000 | 2.1
geni.com – 1.34 million | 397,000 | 3.4
familylink.com – 546,000 | 308,000 | 1.8  (now familyhistorylink.com)
ancestry.co.uk – 152,000 | 104,000 | 1.5
onegreatfamily.com – 421,000 | 325,000 | 1.3
tribalpages.com – 188,000 | 83,900 | 2.2
kindredkonnections.com – 126,000 | 102,000 | 1.2
gencircles.com – 117,000 | 79,600 | 1.5
geneanet.org – 80,200 | 41,400 | 1.9
ancestry.ca – 53,900 | 26,900 | 2
ancestry.com.au – 35,200 | 29,500 | 1.2
genetree.com – 25,000 | 7,070 | 3.5
familytreeguide.com – 24,100 | 23,600 | 1
findmypast.com – 23,900 | 17,100 | 1.4
worldroots.com – 18,900 | 17,800 | 1.1
webtree.com – 17,400 | 11,900 | 1.5
noktree.com – 13,900 | 11,500 | 1.2
kincafe.com – 13,500 | 10,500 | 1.3
genesreunited.com – 6,060 | 4,080 | 1.5
kindo.com – 5,530 | 4,940 | 1.1
wikitree.org – 3,010 | 3,010 | 1
amiglia.com – 3,000 | 2,480 | 1.2
onefamilytree.com – 2,270 | 1,360 | 1.7
pedigreesoft.com – 182 | 182 | 1
famillion.com – 106 | 106 | 1
zooof.com – 0 | 0 | 0

Search Records

This category includes sites focused mainly on searching of historical documents or records.

And here is the actual data for the Search category:

Search – visits/mo | uniques/mo | avg-visits/mo
ancestry.com – 15.3 million | 4.9 million | 3.1
familysearch.org – 3.02 million | 990,000 | 3.1
genealogy.com – 2.19 million | 1.16 million | 1.9
findagrave.com – 1.72 million | 643,000 | 2.7
rootsweb.com – 1.43 million | 687,000 | 2.1
footnote.com – 1.03 million | 790,000 | 1.3
newspaperarchive.com – 976,000 | 805,000 | 1.2
archives.gov – 822,000 | 677,000 | 1.2
worldvitalrecords.com – 625,000 | 412,000 | 1.5
ancestorhunt.com – 529,000 | 437,000 | 1.2
heritagequestonline.com – 438,000 | 111,000 | 3.9
onegreatfamily.com – 421,000 | 325,000 | 1.3
interment.net – 406,000 | 288,000 | 1.4
genealogytoday.com – 333,000 | 295,000 | 1.1
vitalrec.com – 237,000 | 203,000 | 1.2
ellisisland.org – 229,000 | 149,000 | 1.5
deathindexes.com – 190,000 | 136,000 | 1.4
distantcousin.com – 176,000 | 136,000 | 1.3
searchforancestors.com – 166,000 | 147,000 | 1.1
ancestry.co.uk – 152,000 | 104,000 | 1.5
politicalgraveyard.com – 138,000 | 121,000 | 1.1
genealogybank.com – 134,000 | 134,000 | 1
genwed.com – 134,000 | 104,000 | 1.3
us-census.org – 129,000 | 91,500 | 1.4
kindredkonnections.com – 126,000 | 102,000 | 1.2
obitcentral.com – 120,000 | 106,000 | 1.1
censusfinder.com – 107,000 | 87,500 | 1.2
surnameweb.org – 105,000 | 96,100 | 1.1
deadfred.com – 97,000 | 76,000 | 1.3
familyhistory.com – 87,200 | 72,100 | 1.2
geneanet.org – 80,200 | 41,400 | 1.9
idreamof.com – 78,200 | 60,500 | 1.3
genealogybuff.com – 77,400 | 61,800 | 1.3
stevemorse.org – 73,500 | 53,200 | 1.4
searchyourgenealogy.com – 65,500 | 61,000 | 1.1
genealogy.org – 63,400 | 49,400 | 1.4
ancestry.ca – 53,900 | 26,900 | 2
immigrantships.net – 46,400 | 38,300 | 1.2
ancestralfindings.com – 44,800 | 28,700 | 1.6
olivetreegenealogy.com – 43,900 | 36,700 | 1.2
ellisislandrecords.org – 42,800 | 39,500 | 1.1
obitsarchive.com – 37,500 | 23,200 | 1.6
ancestry.com.au – 35,200 | 29,500 | 1.2
familydeathrecords.com – 34,800 | 33,000 | 1.1
familybirthrecords.com – 34,500 | 31,200 | 1.1
newspaperabstracts.com – 30,300 | 26,100 | 1.2
theshipslist.com – 29,500 | 18,300 | 1.6
familymarriagerecords.com – 28,600 | 25,000 | 1.1
genealogysearch.org – 24,200 | 20,000 | 1.2
findmypast.com – 23,900 | 17,100 | 1.4
ancestorguide.com – 13,800 | 10,400 | 1.3
familytreesearcher.com – 11,500 | 11,300 | 1
allvitalrecords.com – 8,940 | 7,020 | 1.3
rootssearch.net – 5,010 | 3,300 | 1.5
gjenvick.com – 4,690 | 4,450 | 1.1
familymilitaryrecords.com – 3,810 | 3,420 | 1.1
accessible.com – 3,470 | 1,940 | 1.8
familycensusrecords.com – 3,290 | 3,290 | 1
deathrecordsobituarysearch.com – 3,090 | 2,800 | 1.1
genserv.com – 3,000 | 1,630 | 1.8
mortalityschedules.com – 2,080 | 1,720 | 1.2
ancestryconnections.com – 1,690 | 1,600 | 1.1
yourpastconnections.com – 890 | 453 | 2
pastplaces.com – 0 | 0 | 0

Social / Family Networking

This category includes sites that could be called “social networking” sites and whose primary purpose is to post/share information with other family members.  These sites are also typically newer sites with more dynamic user interfaces, referred to as “Web 2.0” sites.

Here is the actual data for this category:

Social/Family Networking – visits/mo | uniques/mo | avg-visits/mo
ancestry.com – 15.3 million | 4.9 million | 3.1
myfamily.com – 6.66 million | 987,000 | 6.7
myheritage.com – 2.47 million | 923,000 | 2.7
geni.com – 1.34 million | 397,000 | 3.4
tribalpages.com – 188,000 | 83,900 | 2.2
familybuilder.com – 134,000 | 55,600 | 2.4
ourstory.com – 113,000 | 23,100 | 4.9
ancientfaces.com – 68,300 | 55,900 | 1.2
storyofmylife.com – 42,800 | 5,770 | 7.4
genetree.com – 25,000 | 7,070 | 3.5
kincafe.com – 13,500 | 10,500 | 1.3
itsourtree.com – 11,500 | 7,140 | 1.6
famiva.com – 6,060 | 3,360 | 1.8
kindo.com – 5,530 | 4,940 | 1.1
amiglia.com – 3,000 | 2,480 | 1.2
lifeonrecord.com – 2,000 | 2,000 | 1
livinggenealogy.com – no data

Software / Tools

The final category includes sites focused primarily on genealogy software or tools.  Note that comparing web traffic for these sites doesn’t necessarily tell you anything about the market share or prevalence of the associated software products.

Finally, here is the raw traffic data for the Software/Tools category:

Software/Tools – visits/mo | uniques/mo | avg-visits/mo
familysearch.org – PAF – 3.02 million | 990,000 | 3.1
myheritage.com – 2.47 million | 923,000 | 2.7
genealogy.com – Family Tree Maker – 2.19 million | 1.16 million | 1.9
familytreemaker.com – 206,000 | 126,000 | 1.6
familytreelegends.com – 50,500 | 37,400 | 1.4
legacyfamilytree.com – 32,700 | 20,900 | 1.6
rootsmagic.com – 24,600 | 14,400 | 1.7
uftree.com – 13,100 | 12,700 | 1
familysearchlabs.org – 12,800 | 5,700 | 2.2
ancquest.com – Ancestral Quest, PAFWiz – 12,000 | 3,650 | 3.3
progenygenealogy.com – 6,210 | 6,210 | 1
phpgedview.net – 5,870 | 5,600 | 1
whollygenes.com – 4,780 | 4,530 | 1.1
raynorshyn.com – 3,630 | 3,630 | 1
ged4web.com – 2,520 | 2,010 | 1.3
clooz.com – 2,140 | 1,660 | 1.3
leisterpro.com – 1,600 | 1,600 | 1
genbox.com – 1,180 | 932 | 1.3
starkeffect.com – 897 | 897 | 1
mudcreeksoftware.com – 701 | 701 | 1
ancestralauthor.com – 663 | 663 | 1
famtreesoftware.com – 545 | 545 | 1
gedhtree.com – 447 | 447 | 1
macgenealogy.org – 354 | 354 | 1
geditcom.com – 217 | 217 | 1
dorotree.com – 182 | 182 | 1
family-historian.co.uk – 182 | 182 | 1
thoughtfulcreations.com – 120 | 120 | 1
bkwin.com – 0 | 0 | 0
famware.com – 0 | 0 | 0
gendesigner.com – 0 | 0 | 0
myheredis.com – 0 | 0 | 0
winfamily.com – 0 | 0 | 0
genealogy-software-review.com – no data