Facebook vs. Google+ Searchers: How Their Demographics Differ

Google's Google+ social networking project is attracting a different crowd than Facebook, according to new data from comScore.

The report examined how the demographics of users searching for Facebook and Google+ compared to each other and concluded that individuals looking for Google+ tend to be younger and wealthier than Facebook searchers.

comScore writes,

Google+ searchers overwhelmingly skew towards 18-34 year olds. Clearly Google+ is a popular brand with the younger segments, and good knowledge for Google to have as they develop their acquisition strategy and evolve their user base. Since Facebook is a much more mature brand in the social networking space, their search audience falls closely in line with the search population at large.

The income skews are even more distinct, essentially polar opposites of each other. More than 32% of Google+ searchers have a household income of $100K or greater, compared to 23% of Facebook searchers. Google+ is definitely off to a fast start in reaching the most desirable income segments, which may make it more attractive to advertisers.

Google CEO Larry Page shared some statistics on Google+ users in July, several weeks after the service launched to a limited group of people, and revealed that, at the time, Google+ had grown to over 10 million users. Third parties have offered additional estimates of the demographic breakdown of Google+ users. For example, comScore reported last month that around 5.3 million Google+ users were from the U.S. (India, with 2.8 million users, was the next popular country on the service) and that 63 percent of visitors were male.

Read more from comScore's "Searcher Demographics" report here.

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Comments

[Cristian Biberon]

11:07 AM on 08/31/2011

Google plus here I come...

[Jose Manuel Herrera]

10:30 AM on 08/31/2011

I am going to open a Google + acc. and see what it's all about. Facebook is cool but too many changes lately annoy me...
Still No matter what site you use.. you will always need a great status so... get some good ones here.... http://tips21.com/most-liked-facebook-status.html

[huff puff naldo]

01:01 AM on 08/31/2011

I think Facebook will lose more people to Google plus; especially the more intelligen­t people who are fed up with Facebook's private policy abuses. I know I am. I still like FB but not like before. My personal info is MINE! Not for them to give the world just b-cuz they can.

[Jose Manuel Herrera]

09:43 AM on 08/31/2011

you're right about that.. All the kiddies from myspace are now on facebook

[jabreal00]

12:56 PM on 08/30/2011

What a silly article. Most early adopters of any medium tend to be younger and wealthier than the average population. I am within the touted demographics in terms of age and income. I have a Google+ account that is dormant. I have an already established FB account that I check every once in a while. Unless a company changes the game I see no reason for me to rush out to put all of my information on some "social media" website so advertisers can have a field day.

[JackHoffman]

07:05 PM on 08/30/2011

You already have.

[Phlan]

12:50 PM on 08/30/2011

I don't know if I believe you. Because of 1 annoying feature you deleted you entire Google account? Do you like fantasy movies?

[2crudedudes]

12:27 PM on 08/30/2011

Interesting that they can deduce income from the information people surrender for their profiles.

[J0E1]

03:05 PM on 08/30/2011

I almost want to give you an LOL badge but I think you are serious...

[Matt Herren]

12:05 PM on 08/30/2011

Many of those people on Google+ (myself included) while younger, are simply checking out the 'new' thing. While it's nicely integrated, it lacks a large enough base and is still raw enough that it does not bring people in over and over throughout the day as facebook does.

Having been lucky enough to attend a school that was one of the first 15 to be on facebook, I remember the early days well back in 2004, and while it too had it's faults, it's popularity and use was revolutionary enough that it didn't matter. Google+ is trying to create something that many people have come to see as commonplace... and risks falling to an also-ran status.

The real measure is the number of users on Google+ who do not also have facebook... and more importantly than that, which they use more. Frequency of use is what drives things and is obviously the most important measure. Thus far, Google+ may have had the hype to get people interested... but it lacks anything to keep them coming back over and over again for more.

[gazugafan]

11:32 AM on 08/30/2011

This just in! The userbase for Windows 8 has a much higher ratio of young wealthy tech-savvy people than Windows 7. How very surprising! Huffington Post should do an article on it.

[Hunter Robbins]

12:15 PM on 08/30/2011

Blahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.

My guess is that user base for Windows 8 also has a higher ration of people banging their head against the wall and wanting to throw their computer through a window. It's also safe to bet that the user base for Windows 8 has a much higher ratio of boring dill holes who lack any sense of creativity or imagination.

[gazugafan]

12:40 PM on 08/30/2011

Wait... what? Are you trying to turn this into an osx vs windows thread? I was satirizing the HP article, trying to make the point that software in private beta will always attract mostly young tech-savvy people, and that the statistics shouldn't be newsworthy.

[Phlan]

12:51 PM on 08/30/2011

You really, really, really missed her point, which was an excellent one about the article.

[durant]

01:45 PM on 08/30/2011

LOL. And they all live or work in Redmond, Washington. Let's see what the amateur statisticians make of that. :-)

[Savage Lotus]

11:23 AM on 08/30/2011

I'll never use Google +.....Simply because I hate Google with a passion. They do evil. period.

[garumphul]

11:15 AM on 08/30/2011

Wow, Google's invite-only service has a more skewed user base than an open-to-all competitor? Gosh, what a revelation. I mean, who would have imagined that a time-limited invite on a bunch of tech-oriented web sites would draw a crowd of young, wealthy men? Facebook is obviously doooommmeeeed.

Speaking of young wealthy men.... didn't Google just paid $500 million to the DoJ to bury email messages which prove Larry Page had full knowledge and was entirely complicit in allowing illegal ads from Canadian pharmacies to run on Google?

[cfern]

11:03 AM on 08/30/2011

Google+ is still not available to everyone. Can we wait till it is actually released before we start comparing it to Facebook?