Experian reveals The Student Room is UK’s fastest growing SME online

Experian, the global information services company, today revealed which of the UK’s small and medium sized companies grew most online in the last year.

Press Release

Compared to other SMEs with an online presence, the top 10 fastest growing SMEs – a vibrant mix of student forums, social networks, news and entertainment websites, have on average seen their share of visitor traffic grow by 180 per cent in the past year. Top of the fast movers table is The Student Room, an online students’ forum for sharing academic and social knowledge.

Other notable successes include Binweevils, a 3D virtual ?world? aimed at children, which has tripled its traffic over the past 12 months.

Experian Hitwise insight also shows the extent to which the fastest growing online SMEs are now reliant on traffic from search engines and social networking sites, and highlights the importance of a strong online presence for SMEs. Although these small independent UK companies are online based, the success they have seen in creating and maintaining online growth could serve as a blueprint for other growing businesses.

Student forum tops the fastest moving SME list

The chart of the top ten fastest moving online SMEs is extremely diverse. 16.83% of visits to the top ten fastest moving SMEs in June went to The Student Room, which has continued healthy growth since 2009 when it also found itself at the top of the chart.

Two other sites which held positions in the list both in 2009 and this year are Mumsnet and Netmums. These online parenting forums have developed a loyal and continually expanding following over the past few years ? their presence in the fast movers chart highlights that long term success for SMEs online is not based solely on appealing to a specific audience or operating with a specific market. It is far more about successful and sustained online promotion to keep visitor numbers and repeat visit rates high.

Read the full press release
Follow @Insight_TSR