Google+ referral traffic dropped by 82% in the past 5 months

Posted in Google Plus & on December 2, 2011.

Google+ has declined for 5 consecutive months as a referral source

Google+ continues to decline as a referral source. In November 2011, Google+ generated 0.00064% of all of the web’s referral traffic. In comparison, it generated 0.00354% of web referrals in July 2011, right after the social network was launched. There is a clear downward trend for Google’s new social network. Google+ has been declining for five consecutive months as a referral source. Overall, Google+ share of referral traffic dropped by 82% since July 2011.

Facebook generates 1000 times more referral traffic than Google+

Facebook is the dominant source of social media referrals. In November 2011, Facebook accounted for 0.66186% of all web referrals, which represents 1000 times more referrals than Google+. The other major social media platforms lag far behind Facebook. StumbleUpon comes second, with a 0.20354% market share, followed by Youtube (0.11883%) and Linkedin (0.01749%). In Novermber, Mashable generated twice more referrals (0.00137%) as Google+ (0.00064%).

Information on the study

Statistics from:

Geographic Area:

Study Period:

July – November 2011

Study URL:

Access study

Information on the study
  • Statistics from: NetMarketShare
  • Geographic Area: World
  • Study Period: July – November 2011

Join my newsletter

Stay ahead of social media, mobile and technology trends. Subscribe to my newsletter to receive my upcoming articles and get exclusive content.

Daily Stats | Weekly Recap | Studies

4 Comments

You can track this conversation through its atom feed.

  1. New Google Plus Referral URL | Semetrical Blog says:

    [...] Something else we’ve noticed is that traffic referred from Google Plus appears to have increased in the last week for the first time ever after a continuous decline. [...]

    Posted on December 8, 2011 at 12:13 am. (Reply)

  2. Goliath Google vs. Facebook Mark: Google Loses the Battle « Website Opinions « Website Opinions says:

    [...] launched it’s own social network, Google+, in July 2011 hoping to compete with wide-eyed 27-year old Mark Zuckerberg’s dominant Facebook. [...]

    Posted on December 21, 2011 at 1:01 pm. (Reply)

  3. Goliath Google vs. Facebook Mark: Google Loses the Battle « Improve Your Reputation « Improve Your Reputation says:

    [...] launched it’s own social network, Google+, in July 2011 hoping to compete with wide-eyed 27-year old Mark Zuckerberg’s dominant Facebook. [...]

    Posted on December 21, 2011 at 1:20 pm. (Reply)

  4. Google(+) losing against Facebook, What's ahead for Social Media says:

    [...] network done? It’s proven that sometimes the old legend of David and Goliath still holds true. Google+ has declined for 5 consecutive months in referral traffic despite it’s 260MM Gmail users, and has [...]

    Posted on December 30, 2011 at 4:31 pm. (Reply)


Leave a comment