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• 2009
• U.S. Searches on H1N1 and Swine Flu Increased 100 Percent

U.S. Searches on H1N1 and Swine Flu Increased 100 Percent

H1N1 searches focus on vaccine while Swine Flu searches focus on symptoms;
CDC.gov and Wikipedia top Websites receiving traffic

New York, N.Y., Nov. 19, 2009 - Experian^® Hitwise^® announced today that U.S. searches on a portfolio of terms related to H1N1 and Swine Flu have increased 100 percent for the four weeks ending Oct. 31, 2009, compared with the previous four weeks. Online searches on the term "h1n1" increased 115 percent while searches on "swine flu" increased 18 percent for the same time period. Searches continued to climb heading into November as Americans search for vaccine availability and learn more about the symptoms of the virus.

Top search terms containing "h1n1" and "swine flu"
The top search term containing "h1n1" was "h1n1 symptoms," receiving 15 percent of the search traffic. Among the top 100 search variations on "h1n1," 30 included the term "vaccine" in them and 23 included the term "symptoms." The top paid search terms were "h1n1 symptoms," "h1n1 vaccine" and "h1n1" for the four weeks ending Oct. 31, 2009. Paid search traffic on the term "h1n1 vaccine" increased 31 percent for the four weeks ending Oct. 31, compared with the previous four weeks. Paid search traffic on the term "h1n1" increased 4 percent for the same time period.

The top search term containing "swine flu" was "swine flu symptoms," receiving 20 percent of the search traffic on the term "swine flu". Among the top 100 search variations on "swine flu," 29 included the term "symptoms" in them and 9 included the term "vaccine." The top paid search terms were "swine flu symptoms," "swine flu" and "symptoms of swine flu" for the four weeks ending Oct. 31, 2009. Paid search traffic on the term "swine flu symptoms" increased 7 percent for the four weeks ending Oct. 31, compared with the previous four weeks.

CDC.gov top Website receiving traffic from term "h1n1" and "swine flu"
The CDC.gov Website received the most visits from the term "h1n1" for the four weeks ending Oct. 31, 2009. Wikipedia was next, receiving 11.24 percent of visits, followed by Google News with 4.84 percent. Among the top 10 Websites, Flu.gov's visits increased 70 percent, which was the largest month-over-month increase. Yahoo! News, Google News and Facebook all saw double-digit increases month over month.

The CDC.gov Website received the most visits from the term "swine flu" for the four weeks ending Oct. 31, 2009. Wikipedia was next, receiving 8.55 percent of visits, followed by Medicine Net with 8.03 percent. Among the top 10 Websites, Swineflu.gov's visits increased 161 percent, which was the largest month-over-month increase. The CDC, Medicine Net and Yahoo! News websites all saw double-digit increases month over month.

About Experian Hitwise
Experian Hitwise is the leading online competitive intelligence service. Experian Hitwise gives marketers a competitive advantage by providing daily insights on how 25 million Internet users around the world interact with more than 1 million Web sites. This external view helps companies grow and protect their businesses by identifying threats and opportunities as they develop. Experian Hitwise has more than 1,500 clients across numerous sectors, including financial services, media, travel and retail.

Experian Hitwise (FTS:EXPN), http://www.experianplc.com, operates in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Canada and Brazil. More information about Experian Hitwise is available at www.hitwise.com.

For up-to-date analysis of online trends, please visit the Hitwise Research Blog and Hitwise Data Center.

About Experian
Experian is the leading global information services company, providing data and analytical tools to clients in more than 65 countries. The company helps businesses to manage credit risk, prevent fraud, target marketing offers and automate decision making. Experian also helps individuals to check their credit report and credit score and protect against identity theft.

Experian plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange (EXPN) and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index. Total revenue for the year ended March 31, 2009, was $3.9 billion. Experian employs approximately 15,000 people in 40 countries and has its corporate headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, with operational headquarters in Nottingham, UK; Costa Mesa, California; and São Paulo, Brazil. 

For more information, visit http://www.experianplc.com.

Experian and the marks used herein are service marks or registered trademarks of Experian Information Solutions, Inc.

Other product and company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.