Branding is working.

A recent study from WebSideStory.com reveals that more people are going directly to web sites by direct navigation (typing in URLs) than using search engines. The best explanation for this is that branding campaigns have ingrained company's URL's in people's minds and in their browser's favorites lists. See this chart for the exact stats: Methods Used by Internet Users Worldwide to Arrive at Web Sites, 2001-2003

February February February

2001 2002 2003 Direct navigation 48.2% 53.2% 64.4% Web links/search engines 51.9% 46.8% 35.6% Source: WebSideStory, February 2003 Note: Table made from bar graph