ComScore: Pinterest closes in on Twitter in referral traffic

Pinterest, the image-based social-networking site where users “pin” and organize things they like online, has been generating a lot of buzz lately, primarily due to its impressive growth. ComScore recently found the site reached 11.7 million unique monthly visitors in January, up from only 7.5 million in December, marking the fastest growth ever for a standalone site. Plus, a separate study from Shareaholic showed that Pinterest is now the fastest-growing site for referral traffic—and it drives more referral traffic than Google+, YouTube and LinkedIn combined. The site grew to 3.6% of referral traffic in January from 2.5% in December, which is nothing to scoff at considering it was at 0.17% in July. As TechCrunch’s Josh Constine wrote, “Suddenly, it seems the investors that got in at that rumored $200 million valuation, and especially that $40 million valuation from September pinned a real winner.” The looming question now is how will Pinterest monetize that growth?

• Study: Pinterest drives more referral traffic than Google+, nearly on par with Twitter (GigaOm)
  
• Pinterest Hits 10 Million U.S. Monthly Uniques Faster Than Any Standalone Site Ever (TechCrunch)
  
• Pinterest Rate of Referral Now Close to Twitter, Google+ (Wall Street Journal)
  
• Is Pinterest Already Making Money, Quietly? (NY Times)
  
• Pinterest nearly equals Twitter and Google in referral traffic (CNET News)
  
• New Social Site Pinterest Attracts Enthusiasm, Scrutiny (PCWorld)
  
• The Wall Street Journal covers Fashion Week fashionably, finding uses for Pinterest and Instagram (Wall Street Journal)