Yahoo! sites had more Web visitors than Google in July

For the first time in more than two years, more Americans visited Yahoo’s websites than Google’s, according to comScore Inc.’s Internet traffic data for July.

The research firm said Wednesday that Yahoo Inc.’s websites saw 196.6 million unique U.S. visitors last month, while Google’s sites had 192.3 million. The last time Yahoo was ahead of Google was in May 2011, according to comScore.

That said, Yahoo is still far behind Google in making money from the people who visit its websites. After stripping out advertising commissions, Yahoo’s revenue came to $1.07 billion in the April-June quarter. Google’s, meanwhile, was $11.1 billion by the same measure.

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Research firm eMarketer estimates that Google will generate $38.83 billion in worldwide digital advertising revenue this year, more than any other company. Facebook Inc. is at No. 2 with an estimated $5.89 billion, while Yahoo is No. 3 with $3.63 billion expected. EMarketer’s figures include mobile ads, which comScore does not count in its Web visitor figures.

It’s hard to say if July’s figures are a blip or the start of an upward trend for Yahoo. The company is in the midst of a turnaround orchestrated by CEO Marissa Mayer. Mayer, who recently clocked in a year at the helm of the Internet company, has described her plan for Yahoo as a “series of sprints” that will take several years to finish.

Shares of Google Inc. climbed $3.20 to $872.53 in afternoon trading. Yahoo’s stock rose 79 cents to $27.85.

Reuters