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US online giant, Google has topped the list of top 50 UK web brands, which was compiled by Nielsen and UKOM, the industry body that looks at internet traffic.

According to the report, traditional brands such as Tesco or Marks and Spencer have replaced online brands that were popular in 2004 such as Freeserve, Lycos and Kelkoo. Google had most UK visitors in January 2011 compared to the same month in 2004.

The other ten brands include Amazon and eBay.

A Nielsen spokesman said: “The online world is increasingly reflecting the offline world, with the web’s 50 most-popular brands consisting more than ever of businesses established in the ‘real world’ and sites serving the interaction between ‘real people’…35 of the web’s top 50 brands are accounted for by social media and traditional businesses, up from 19 in 2004.”

UKOM general manager James Smythe has pointed out that the in the last seven years, the sites built on social content and those that has a real world presence has gained popularity in the country. There was only one brand called Friends Reunited in the list in January 2004, while the list from January 2011 includes YouTube, Wikipedia and Tripadvisor and Facebook.

The number of media companies in the top 50 list from seven years ago had nine media companies while the number has now reached 16 such as Sky, ITV and The Telegraph.

The top of the list has not changed much in the last few years with seven brands remaining in the top ten, which are MSN, Microsoft, Google, Yahoo, BBC, eBay and Amazon.

Google has been on the top spot since 2006 and attracted more than 35 million unique UK users every month.