For the first time, Google Sites took the top spot among US web properties, overtaking longtime leader Yahoo Sites, according to a comScore Media Metrix monthly analysis of US consumer activity at online properties in April, writes MarketingCharts.

With a total audience of more than 141.1 million visitors, Google Sites edged out Yahoo Sites, which had 140.6 million visitors.

Content categories showing gains in April included job search, career resources, and television sites.

"April was a very active month. Google took the top property position, thanks to continued search growth and rapid growth at YouTube," commented Jack Flanagan, EVP of comScore Media Metrix.

Top 50 Properties (Unique Visitors)

Among the highlights:

• Trailing Google Sites and Yahoo Sites, Microsoft Sites were third with 121.2 million visitors in April.
• Superpages.com Network and CareerBuilder LLC both jumped eight spots in the ranking to positions 18 and 30, respectively.

Top 50 Ad Focus Ranking (Advertising Reach)

Among the highlights:

• Platform-A continued to lead the Ad Focus ranking, reaching 89 percent of the more than 190 million Americans online in April.
• Turn, Inc. jumped 10 positions to #32, reaching 32 percent of the online population.
• National Newspaper Network introduced two Ad Focus entities in April, NNN Top 25 and NNN Top 10, which entered the rankings at position 40 and 50, respectively.

Top-Gaining Sites and Categories

Television Sites Gain as New Episodes Air

• With the writers strike resolved, many television shows finally returned to the airwaves in April with new episodes, causing the TV category to increase 4 percent to 93.2 million visitors.
• Yahoo TV led the category with 15.6 million visitors, a 38 percent increase versus the previous month, followed by AOL Television with 12.5 million visitors and MySpace TV with 12 million visitors.
• Significant gains were also achieved by MSN TV (up 21 percent to 11.7 million visitors) and ABC.com (up 18 percent to 9 million visitors).

Job Search and Career Sites Gain

Job search and career resource sites both experienced gains in April, as impending college graduations and an uncertain economy had Americans taking steps to control their careers:

• The job search category grew 5 percent increase to 17.2 million visitors, led by gains at Indeed.com Job Search (up 10 percent to 4.7 million visitors), SimplyHired.com Sites (up 29 percent to 3 million visitors), and AOL Find a Job by CareerBuilder.com Job Search (up 22 percent to 1.4 million visitors).
• The career resources category underwent a 3 percent increase during the month to 44 million visitors, led by CareerBuilder LLC with 23.9 million visitors.

Deadline Drives Traffic to Tax Sites

Americans racing to file their taxes by April 15 propelled gains at several tax-related sites:

• IRS.gov grew 35 percent to 23.4 million visitors, ranking as one of the top-gaining properties for the month.
• Intuit rose 11 percent to 13.3 million visitors, while TaxACT drew 5.2 million visitors and H&R Block attracted 4.2 million visitors.