Google+ Growth & Time on Site Peaked in Mid-July [REPORT]

[img src="https://ssl.gstatic.com/images/icons/gplus-64.png" caption="" credit="" alt=""]The time users spend on Google+ and the traffic to the site appear to have plateaued after a peak in mid-July, according to research from Experian Hitwise.

The researcher found that users spent 5 minutes and 50 seconds on the site the week of July 16; by late August, the average weekly time was 5 minutes and 47 seconds.

Meanwhile, U.S. visits to Google+ fell 5.5% to 1.16 million for the the week ended Aug. 27. Traffic had risen 283% the week of July 16. Reps from Experian Hitwise could not be reached for comment.

Hitwise's last report on Google+ was similarly downbeat. In late July, the company found traffic and time on the site had been on the decline. However, the average time since that report -- 5 minutes, 15 seconds -- is up. Total visits, however, are down, from 1.79 million. Of course, Google+ is still in a limited trial and the Hitwise numbers don't take into account visitors from mobile apps or visitors who access the site via Google's navigation bar.

A report on Google+'s August traffic from Hitwise rival measurement firm comScore will not be made public until next week, a rep says. ComScore's report on July traffic had contrasted with Hitwise's findings, showing an increase in time spent and traffic for the month.