Globally, Chrome Zings Past Opera And, In Our Logs, Safari & IE8, Too

Posted by David Berlind, Sep 5, 2008 02:35 PM

Judging by what's happening in both private and public logs of Web traffic, Google's Chrome is seeing the sort of uptick in popularity that other browsers have only dreamed of. The question is whether things will die down once the bloom is off the rose, particularly given the beta status of Chrome and the shortcomings that often go with that status. When we here at InformationWeek saw how Chrome bypassed Opera yesterday as it edged up on Safari (according to GetClicky's global stats), we took a peek at our own traffic logs for kicks.

According to GetClicky, Chrome blew by Opera on its first day out (Sept. 2) with a 2.503% global market share. Opera normally hovers in the mid-to-low 1s. But on that day, it dipped below it's traditional levels to 1.039%. Apple's Safari ran at 5.405% that day. On Tuesday (9/3), when the hyperbole reached full boil, Chrome was up to 3.115%, Safari ticked up to 5.879%, and Opera was still trailing at 1.071%. By yesterday, Chrome started to quiet down but so, too, did Safari, and more substantially so. Chrome was down to 2.644%, Safari came in at 4.688% and Opera bounced up in at 1.363% (but still didn't surpass Chrome).

Those were GetClicky's worldwide results. Here's what our log files had to say about yesterday's traffic at InformationWeek.com:

Not surprisingly (given the business orientation of our audience), Chrome didn't just beat out Opera, it beat out Safari as well, commanding more than 6% of our overall traffic. But even more interesting to me is how the beta of Internet Explorer 8 is well behind the Chrome beta. I have all sorts of ideas on why that could be. But what do you make of it? Feel free to comment below. While you're thinking about your answer, how about participating in our poll, too! 45% of the respondents say they've downloaded Chrome and are testing it already.

Also, just FYI, this isn't showing all of the browser data. There were a bunch of other older versions of various browsers in our report that weren't worth listing.

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