Newspaper websites leap ahead in the US (Ads are up too)
Newspapers may be suffering in terms of print copy sales and print advertising but there is one spot of good news on the horizon today, in America at any rate: newspaper publishers attracted 20 percent more total visits by adults 18-plus to their websites in September, compared to the same month a year ago.
Newspaper Association of America
The analysis was carried out by comScore for the Newspaper Association of America. Year-over-year, average daily visits to newspaper websites were up 21 percent; total pages viewed were up 10 percent; total minutes spent were up 11 percent; and unique visitors were up 9 percent.
This is the first time NAA has been able to provide an annual comparison since it began using comScore to track Web audiences in September 2010.
Caroline Little, NAA president said,"This strong audience growth coincided with the introduction of paywalls at many newspaper companies.
"Clearly, consumers place high value upon the content that newspapers create – and they are seeking out newspaper websites to get it.”
In the third quarter US newspaper websites attracted an average monthly audience of 110.4 million unique visitors ages 18-plus – nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of all adult Internet users.
Newspaper websites are also reaching key audiences, including:
• 3-in-4 adults (74 percent) in households earning more than $100,000;
• 58 percent of 18- to-34- year-olds; and
• 62 percent of Internet users with children at home.
Online advertising is up too. Second-quarter figures from the NAA in September showed online advertising up 8 percent from the same period a year ago. It accounted for 14 percent of all newspaper adve revenue, through the first half of the year, up from 12 percent for the same period in 2010.