Bebo catching eBay

"Bebo catching eBay as most searched-for brand."

UK social networking site Bebo looks set to overtake eBay as the most searched-for UK brand according to new research.

Internet research firm Hitwise reports that since May, Bebo has been the second most searched-for brand in the UK after eBay, measured as a share of UK internet searches.

However, Bebo’s rapid rise is narrowing the gap with eBay. The market share of UK internet searches for “bebo” has increased more than three-fold in the past six months and 17.6% in the past three months.

The gap in the share of searches for “ebay” and “bebo” was only 5% in the four weeks to 30th September 2006, down from 25% three months ago and 80% six months ago, according to Hitwise. Social networking sites Bebo, MySpace and YouTube have joined Faceparty among the top 20 most searched-for brands in the UK, comparing September 2005 and 2006.