One-Third of Web Users Visit Newspaper Sites

Newspaper websites attracted more than 70.3 million unique visitors in June 2009, a figure which amounts to 35.9% of all US internet users, according to a custom analysis by The Nielsen Company for the Newspaper Association of America (NAA).

The analysis revealed that newspaper website visitors generated 3.5 billion page views during the month and spent 2.7 billion minutes browsing the sites during more than 597 million sessions.

These audience figures reflect Nielsen’s introduction of its new methodology, part of an effort to provide a significantly larger sample size, which enables more newspaper websites to be reported with greater depth and granularity. As a result of this change, comparisons with prior period reports are not statistically valid.

NAA reported that these Nielsen numbers track with data from a MORI Research survey of 3,000 adults, which found that newspaper advertising remains the leading advertising medium cited by consumers in planning, shopping and making purchasing decisions. The study, part of a series entitled “American Consumer Insights,” also found that 82% of adults said they ‘took action’ as a result of newspaper advertising - from clipping a coupon or making a purchase to visiting a website to learn more.

In contrast to the NAA’s survey findings, a recent study by Harris Interactive put newspaper ads behind TV ads as the most helpful to consumers making purchase decisions.

Another survey, commissioned by Google, found that newspaper ads do drive consumers to the web, heightening the importance of newspaper websites and the growing need for them to be integrated with other types of offline media.

Comments

[Relayer10:]

As always, you have to be sure you know something about the source of information. How the question is asked can lead to a desired answer (read "Nudge" by Cass Sustien). In this case, MORI has long been used by the newspaper industry to conduct surveys.

That being said, it is no surprise that so many internet users read online newspapers. Makes perfect sense. Information seekers are looking for information. Newspapers have a lot of new content every day.

The other truth, newspapers usually reach more homes in any market than any single TV, Radio, or other medium. Advertising in any newspaper will normally reach more homes than any other single local medium.

The problem with the web/print connection is that the ability to reach local customers with advertising in a meaningful way is still in transition. Web readers are looking for the information, and try to do it without intrusion of advertising (pop up blockers, RSS, and others). Print advertising had effectively priced itself out of the reach of small local business. The infra structure of the printed piece is just expensive, slow, and aging (many presses are over 30 years old). Without significant local advertising, a newspaper is forced to depend more and more on regional and national large budget advertisers. They are extremely volatile in a rough economy.

Right now, local newspapers are feverishly working to monetize local advertisers both in print and on the web. The hurtle is their recent past. The local effort was largely ignored for about 10 years, in favor of the large advertiser. Proof of this was in rate structure, which gave huge discounts to large budgets, and much higher CPM to locals. That gave rise to new competition, like shoppers, direct mail, niche weeklies, that have claimed a large portion of those small local businesses.

The survey shows about the same information as it has for the past 20 years....newspapers have lots of readers, and their advertising reaches lots of consumers. This information is about the same as it would have shown in the mid 90's. The NAA ran a self promotion campaign about 3 years ago touting the results of a survey similar to this. The issues remain exactly the same...how to get local advertisers back? It's obvious that this survey provided the newspaper information it wanted to hear, or else it would never have been released. In essence, nothing materially new in this survey. Slightly more depth, some different metrics, very similar results. The results will be rolled out to local sales staffs everywhere, as if this information itself will convince the local advertiser that they should abandon everything and come back. Been done many many times....It's not that the info is flawed, it's not. It's understanding that the information is not new- and knowing that using it same old way will not change anything. Current executives will feel good about the information, and likely presume that simply integrating it into local sales presentations is enough.

Unless the paradigm changes, nothing new will result from the use of the information. I hope they realize this before it's too late...newpapers used to be a stable business and good community partner. They will be missed....but they have to wake up very soon, or it will all be gone!

Sep 19 10:34 AM

[Joe:]

I agree with Relayer10 that skepticism is appropriate.
Quite recently the INMA published a quite remarkable article.
Among others, one could learn form it that the newspaper industry
tells it clients they should spend 5% of their revenue on
advertising.
Not bad if the advertisers are willing to spend like that, forego all
other consideration. For a long time it worked indeed.

From that article one also learns how the ad industry, very
much interested in growing ad revenue managed to get
ever more revenue in the past indeed. Just like the arms race.
Whereas now it might be prudent to take other factors into
account. For instance, where consumers are concerned,
that advertising can be pretty counterproductive meantime.
Advertising Christmas 08 turned into a disaster, retailers had
to begin with discount sales early December, including the
luxury segments. It's possible that this experience is somehow
repeated again this year, the newspaper blues following
in January and February when the financial data is getting
published.
And then of course the side of businesses has to be
considered, like in that article from 2004, pointed out because
one of the papers mentioned folded this year.
denver.bizjournals.com...

Sep 19 05:07 PM

[Joe:]

Sorry, I forgot to post the INMA article mentioned.
www.inma.org/modules/b...

Sep 19 05:08 PM

[Relayer10:]

You are right on the money Joe! Thanks for posting the inma link. I've been out of the biz for a few years now- had not seen the article. I am very familiar with the Denver operations....and the article was spot on!

Sep 19 08:30 PM