WebSideStory's data source, StatMarket, found that Yahoo! generates more than twice as many referrals to Web sites as its closest competitor, Excite. StatMarket real-time data is based on more than 20 million unique visitors a day to more than 50,000 Web sites using the HitBOX Tracker.

As of March 30, Yahoo! was responsible for 45.92% of all referrals to Web sites, while Excite accounted for 21.68%. The top ten referring search engines are:

1. Yahoo -- 45.92%
2. Excite -- 21.68%
3. Alta Vista -- 9.70%
4. Infoseek -- 5.32%
5. Web Crawler -- 3.35%
6. HotBot -- 3.42%
7. Snap -- 3.09%
8. MSN -- 2.32%
9. Lycos -- 1.83%
10. GoTo -- 1.69%

The San Diego, Calif.-based company claims it represents the largest sampling of Internet users to provide user trends. StatMarket is updated daily, offering user trends and statistics derived from incorporating data from independent Web sites that belong to its HitBOX.com community, where users engage its HitBOX Tracker traffic analyzer tool.

Statmarket gathers raw data gleaned from actual visitors, rather than information manually reported by individuals in a sample group in order to provide facts rather estimates, according to the company.

"StatMarket and the HitBOX Tracker provide data that anyone who is serious about promoting a Web site should know," said Blaise Barrelet, president and CEO of WebSideStory. "Knowing which search engines are sending the most traffic is key to properly promoting a Web site."