Leading Software Brands in Australia: Q4 2023 Analysis

In the rapidly evolving digital landscape of Australia, several software brands have emerged as leaders in terms of audience reach and engagement across their websites and apps. This article delves into the performance and trends of Microsoft 365 (Office 365), Gmail, and Google Search from Q3 to Q4 2023, highlighting their unique strengths and audience dynamics.

Microsoft 365 (Office 365)

Microsoft 365 has maintained a robust presence across multiple platforms, showcasing a diverse range of websites and applications such as Microsoft Word and Microsoft Teams.

• Audience Trends: Key websites like forms.office.com and office.com experienced significant fluctuations. Office.com had a notable spike in visits in August, reaching nearly 230M visits, before declining in December. The monthly deduplicated audience remained above 7M throughout the quarter.

• App Engagement: Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Teams apps consistently engaged users, with Outlook maintaining over 4.5M monthly active users. Teams saw a gradual decline towards December, dropping to around 1.6M.

• Ad Spend & Channels: Monthly ad spend peaked in August at approximately $260K, primarily through Facebook and Instagram, with impressions exceeding 60M.

Gmail

Gmail, accessible via mail.google.com and the Gmail app, continues to be a dominant force in email communication.

• Audience Trends: Mail.google.com maintained high engagement, with visits peaking at over 720M in August. The monthly deduplicated audience was stable, surpassing 15M by December.

• App Engagement: The Gmail app consistently attracted over 7M monthly active users, indicating strong mobile engagement.

• Ad Spend & Channels: Minimal monthly ad spend was recorded, with a slight increase only in November, indicating a focus on organic growth.

Google Search

Google Search, through google.com and the Google app, remains a pivotal tool for users.

• Audience Trends: Google.com consistently attracted over 2.6B visits monthly, with the monthly deduplicated audience steadily rising to over 15M by the end of Q4.

• App Engagement: The Google app maintained a stable user base with over 5M monthly active users.

• Ad Spend & Channels: Advertising efforts were concentrated on desktop video and Facebook, with December seeing a notable increase in monthly spend to over $9K.

Conclusion

The software category in Australia demonstrates a dynamic interplay between website and app engagement, with Microsoft 365, Gmail, and Google Search leading the charge. Sensor Tower's comprehensive data, including Web Insights, App Performance Insights, and Pathmatics, provides an unparalleled view into these trends, offering crucial insights into user behavior and engagement across platforms.

For businesses and marketers, understanding these dynamics is essential to strategize effectively and capitalize on the digital opportunities in the Australian market. Sensor Tower's data-driven insights empower decision-makers to navigate this complex environment with confidence.