With an estimated number of over 43 million Nigerians online, it is definitely worth it to know where they are visiting and why, understanding trends, demographics of the internet savvy Nigerians benchmarking these top sites by impression indexes based on Alexa.com Web Directory.
The most visited websites in Nigeria include those of Facebook (Expected), Twitter (On the increase), Conduit (Surprisingly), Youtube (Tube lovers), BBC online (News) , Goal.com (Football fans) and not forgetting Google (Synonymous to SEARCH…*I hope their robots are indexing this*)
Analyzing these websites, one would notice that the top ranking indigenous site includes nairaland.com (#1) which offers a broad discussion forum for Nigerians. The 2nd, 3rd and 5th position of the top indigenous website respectively belongs to Punch Newspaper, Vanguard Newspapers, Sun News belongs to which is largely due to their readily available contents (news). GTbank is at the 4th because of the bank’s online and offline popularity in the country.
One may derive the conclusion that Nigerians tend to “face their book”, tweet, and send mails via their gmail, yahoo, msn(hotmail) dot com’s addresses and also video lovers tend to visit youtube (The booming music industry) .
Also, this list also reveals that Nigerians prefer a site that gives them the opportunity to participate and interact, which is why the top ranking sites do have those features. What are the learnings? With the increasing use of the internet by Nigerians, brands seeking to get visibility, a lot of effort is required to rank high by creation of content which is readily available online by newspapers and publishing outfits, awareness, engagement and sustenance of online users.
For SME’s and brands, it is imperative for them to harness traffic going to such sites by advertising their products and services to the world.
Without further ado, here are the top 20 most visited sites in Nigeria as at January 2011.
UPDATE: Top 10 Most Visited Websites in Nigeria as at September 2012
20. Conduit.com
I am quite surprise this site is coming up at Number 20, the site’s users are disproportionately African, Majority of visits to this site are bounces and visitors to conduit.com from Nigeria has 0.9% compared with the overall internet population. 
19. Linkedin.com
At Number 19, is a networking tool to find connections to recommended job candidates, industry experts and business partners. Allows registered users to maintain a list of contact details of people they know and trust in business. It is estimated that 0.7% of the site’s visitors are from Nigeria. Linkedin.com has been online for more than eight years. 
18. Sunnewsonline.com
Sun News Online is a Nigerian based newspaper with a penchant for ‘British Tabloid’ styled journalism. The paper and its online version lean strongly towards entertainment, politics and other semi-dramatic local stories. It is estimated that 86% of the site’s visitors are in Nigeria, Sunnewsonline.com has been online for at least seven years. 
17. Amazon.com
Amazon.com is a customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices. The site has been online since 1994. 
16. Gtbank.com
Guaranty Trust Bank plc is a leading African Bank that offers Online/Internet Banking, Retail Banking, Corporate Banking, Investment Banking ad Asset Management services. Almost all visitors to Gtbank.com come from Nigeria, where it has attained a traffic rank of 16. The site has been online since 2002. 
15. Goal.com
Goal.com is a site that provides soccer news and entertainment through its internet and mobile platforms. It is estimated that 9.8% of its visitors is in Nigeria, where it is ranked #15. 
14. Bbc.co.uk
The BBC Homepage – Your gateway to BBC Online. Visitors to Bbc.co.uk spend about seven minutes per visit to the site. About 1.3% of visitors to the site comes from Nigeria, where it has attained a traffic rank of 14. 
13. Msn.com:
Portal for shopping, news and money, e-mail, search, and chat. Msn.com has been online since 1994 and msn.com is ranked #11 in the world according to Alexa traffic rankings, and the fraction of visits to this site referred by search engines is approximately 4%. 
12. vanguardngr.com
Online version of a Nigerian daily newspaper covering general national news, politics, business, sports, entertainment, fashion, lifestyle human interest stories and the Niger Delta region, etc. Vanguard is ranked #12 and the time spent on a typical visit to the site is approximately five minutes. About 85.1% of visitors to the site comes from Nigeria and approximately 15% of visits are referred by search engines. 
11. Punchng.com
Punchng.com is ranked #11 with about 88% of visitors to the site coming from Nigeria and approximately 40% of visits to this site consist of only one pageview (i.e., are bounces). Visitors to the site view an average of 3.1 unique pages per day. Visitors to Punchng.com spend roughly five minutes per visit to the site and two minutes per pageview. 
10. Live.com
The site has been online for more than sixteen years. About 4% of visits to the site are referred by search engines, and the site is located in the US. Visitors to Live.com view an average of 6.0 unique pages per day. 
9. Nairaland.com
A big, broad discussion forum for Nigerians. Covers dozens of topics including romance, technology, careers, business, and entertainment. With over half a million members, the number one Nigerian community online continues to grow. Nairaland.com has been online for more than five years, and about 49% of visits to the site consist of only one pageview (i.e., are bounces). The fraction of visits to Nairaland.com referred by search engines is roughly 27% with about 74.4% of visitors to the site coming from Nigeria. 
8. Wikipedia.org
Wikipedia is a free encyclopedia built collaboratively using wiki software. Wikipedia has been online for at least nine years. Visitors to this site spend approximately five minutes per visit to the site and 59 seconds per pageview. 
7. Twitter.com
Social networking and microblogging service utilising instant messaging, SMS or a web interface. Relative to the overall population of internet users, the site’s audience tends. It is estimated that 0.7% of visitors to the site come from Nigeria, where it has attained a traffic rank of 7. 
6. Youtube.com
YouTube is a way to get your videos to the people who matter to you. Upload, tag and share your videos worldwide! Youtube.com is ranked 6 in the world though its visitors is quite negligible compared to overall population of internet users which is largely due to the fact that Nigeria’s bandwith is not strong efficient for video streaming. Youtube.com has been online since 2005. 
5. Blogspot.com
Blogger is a free, automated weblog publishing tool. Blogspot.com is the seventh most popular site in the world and has been online since 2000. The site appeals more to users who browse from home and school; Approximately 20% of visits to Blogger.com are referred by search engines while 0.6% per cent of traffic is from Nigeria. 
4. Google.com
Google enables users to search the web for map and images. Features include email, pagerank, caching and translation of results, and an option to find similar pages. About 0.6% of visitors to this site comes from Nigeria. The time spent in a typical visit to the site is about thirteen minutes, with 34 seconds spent on each pageview. 
3. Google.com.ng
Almost all visitors to the site come from Nigeria, where it has attained a traffic rank of 3. Roughly 35% of visits to the site consist of only one pageview. Visitors to Google spend roughly eight minutes per visit to the site. 
2. Yahoo.com
Features of this site includes personalized content and search options, chatrooms, free e-mail, clubs, and pager. Yahoo.com is ranked #4 in the world according to the three-month Alexa traffic rankings. It is estimated that 1.3% of visitors to the site comes from Nigeria. 
1. Facebook
A social utility that connects people, to keep up with friends, upload photos, share links and videos. This site has been online since 2004, and the time spent in a typical visit to Facebook is roughly 32 minutes, with 35 seconds spent on each pageview. Relative to the overall population of internet users, It is estimated that 0.8% of visitors to the site comes from Nigeria. 
Data sourced from Alexa.com
So which of these sites do you visit most?
I am looking forward to the day my news-blog http://www.wetinhappen.com will be listed among high ranking websites not just in Nigeria but in the world.
Have you seen it lately?
@aniekan: nice looking site you’ve got there. Aim higher, work harder and you would achieve your site’s objective of ranking high in the world.
Thank you!
I agree your website is worth checking out!!
Thanks Niyi..
a great website for entrepreneur go for it.
Thanks guy! My ‘ginger’ is definitely ‘swaggered’
@Niyi thanks for the compliments and visiting my site
@seyi guess you are entrepreneurial minded. That’s cool and thanks for visiting my site
@aniekan you are highly welcome.
Guys remember to sign up for the newsletter by entering your email at the left sidebar.
Also a tip visit http://www.gravatar.com to have a display picture when u visit any website or commenting. I really would like to see your pix display when you comment on my site.
Cheers guy u rock!!!!
Nice one Asoto!
Abiodun. Thanks, i’m glad the post was quite informative, you cud do well to read up on this also http://asotoadeola.com/2011/05/top-5-indigenious-most-visited-sites-in-nigeria/.
Abiodun. Thanks, i’m glad the post was quite informative, you cud do well to read up on this also http://asotoadeola.com/2011/05/top-5-indigenious-most-visited-sites-in-nigeria/.
This is cool @ Asoko, Check out this Site http://www.naijaloaded.com, its hotter and even more informative than Nigerianbestforum.
@jtek4all: thanks for visiting my site and for the compliments, checked on the naijaloaded site, quite a lot you’ve got going on there… keep pushing high mate.
Does this mean that 234 NExt is not as big as Sun, Punch etc?
@gbenro: Yes, as as of time of writing this article, but presently Vanguardngr.com tops as the most visited site in Nigeria followed by Nairaland.com according to http://www.alexa.com
You could check the best Nigerian websites from Nig123
http://nig123.com/
Job well done with your website.
Job well done with your website.
Nice one Deola. This page was recommended to me by a friend this afternoon,cos he knew i realllly needed it. My friend and me just started an online newspaper with a few other people,and i must confess the first few days were impressive cos quite a lot of people visited.But i’d like your candid opinion on all that concerns the site, since you are experienced on subjects like this. Its multi-functional (local and international news,entertainment,blog etc). Please checkout http://www.verdantchronicles.com.Hoping to hear from you soon.
twitter addy: @vchronicles1
Thanks. You’ve got a lot going on with your site which i like with your aim being to strike a content mix and expand readers knowledge base. Getting traffic requires effort from your part with respect to SEO ranking. Fresh content regularly should get you up there. Cheers
has facebook really been online since 1997? please check again
@recruitmentngr, thanks for bringing that to my notice. I appreciate the comment:)
this is good I have searching for this information. I really want my website http://www.NaijaBizCom.com to join the list of the most visited websites in Nigeria.
Nice one here. keep it up. why not check my site out http://www.jokesandcheats.blogspot.com
Thanks rest. keep up the work on your site. cheers
The Careerbook is an education and career website helping student and professionals make the right career decisions.
Visit #thecareerbook website – http://www.thecareerbook.in
would you like to organize a semminar on this area of Internet marketing?
@kayodefx. It would be a good idea to follow up on that. I appreciate. Thanks
Thanks so much for this information and what of my site http://www.the-ultimate-supertip.com
Check out http://www.futaa.com its a site that will soon replace goal.com.
I really like futaa.com because they are writing about 30+ new articles a day and they really focus on the Nigerian element of football. Their stories are short and sharp and to the point rather like the site itself.
It’s nice to be informed about the site. Thanks for the reply. Edu
Thanks for the reply.
http://www.youthng.com ! now that is one to watch out for.
Wonder when http://www.nigeriajobspace.com will get into this list… Just a thought.
Nice one, we also recently did an article on most visited websites right here: http://techtalkafrica.com/most-visited-websites-in-the-world-right-now.html/
For your up-to-date traffic reports and updates all around lagos visit http://www.tsaboin.com ….share and recieve free traffic updates.
nice sites. it shows that Nigerians are growing everyday in the cyber world. for women matters you can visit http://www.idealwomanmagazine.com.ng.
I agree with you
Great research !
You know what Deola am going to sue you for not putting my website on number one
http://www.unaija.com