Newspaper website traffic up 20% in last year

As newspapers across the United States increasingly seek to engage digital audiences, the Newspaper Association of America today released some encouraging news: traffic to newspaper websites has increased 20 percent in the last year.

Average daily visits by adults ages 18 and older were up 21 percent, according to the analysis by comScore for the NAA. Total page views were up 10 percent; total minutes spent on the sites increased 11 percent; and unique visitors were up 9 percent year-on-year.

“This strong audience growth coincided with the introduction of paywalls at many newspaper companies,” Caroline Little, NAA president and CEO, stated in a press release. “Clearly, consumers place high value upon the content that newspapers create – and they are seeking out newspaper websites to get it. Not only do online platforms deliver reach and engagement, they attract the demographics that advertisers want, which bodes well for the continued growth of this revenue stream.”

Meanwhile, The New York Times today also released some good news on the digital pay front; paying digital subscribers reached 324,000 in the third quarter this year, compared to 281,000 at the end of the second quarter. Its online paywall was put up in March.

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