How is genealogy growing? This is an interesting question that GenealogyInTime Magazine has asked. It is a known fact that the interest in genealogy has increased over the past 5-10 years, which is largely due to the availability of records online as well genealogy TV programs making genealogy fun, exciting and an acceptable hobby. But just HOW is it growing?
GenealogyInTime Magazine which is the world’s most popular online genealogy magazine (and it’s free), has just released a study that looks at how the field of genealogy is growing on the internet. The “Top Trends in Genealogy” study provides an insight into the current state of genealogy.
Based on a quantitative analysis of traffic statistics to the top 100 genealogy websites, and it answers such questions as:
- How fast is genealogy growing on the internet?
- What are the fastest growing genealogy websites?
- How widespread is genealogy growing on the internet?
- Which countries are experiencing the strongest internet growth in genealogy?
- Which sectors of genealogy are growing the fastest on the internet?
- How are free genealogy websites growing compared to paid genealogy websites?
- How effective are genealogy websites at getting inbound links.
Most studies and surveys in the field of genealogy are based on anecdotal evidence (asking who, what, when, where and why questions). The GenealogyInTime Magazine study provides a rare example of a genealogy survey based on hard statistics.
The study is entitled “Top Trends in Genealogy” and can be found online here.
After reading the above article, take a wander around their website. You’ll discover all sorts, such as their search engines that search billions of records, the genealogy toolbar, over 500 genealogy images that you can use on your computer or iPad, a even more fascinating articles, and many more useful bits.
GenealogyInTime.com … bookmark it!
What are the latest statistics on the popularity of Genealogy?
The last I read several years ago, two-thirds of everyday consumers were searching their family history. I imagine – since the popularity of Who Do You Think You Are, the percentage is higher now.
Please email an answer ASAP, as I wish to include the stats in a lecture.
Thank you.
Hi Sylvia, thanks for your inquiry. Personalyl I don’t have stats, so I put the query out to our friends on social media, who pointed me in the direction of several articles:
More Statistics on the Popularity of Genealogy
http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2012/09/more-statistics-on-the-popularity-of-genealogy.html
This is a follow-up to the earlier article, “Genealogy is the Second-most Popular Topic on the Web?” at http://goo.gl/737Ui: According to an article in Bloomberg Businessweek: Today, genealogy ranks second only to porn as the most searched topic online. According to a January 2012 report by market research firm Global Industry Analysts, an estimated 84 million people around the world spend anywhere from $1,000 to $18,000 a year in search of their ancestors. Visitors to online genealogy sites are mostly white women, 55 and older, who browse the Internet from home�or, says [Ancestry.com PR Director Sean] Pate, �your Aunt Betsy, who�s got a real rabid appetite for digging into family roots.� It�s a demographic projected to grow 36 percent by 2020, three times as fast as any other group.