News Traffic Redux: Guardian Still Top, Telegraph *Is* Surging, Thanks To ‘Light’ Readers
By Robert Andrews - Wed 28 May 2008 06:07 AM PST
Nielsen Online has weighed in to the hugely problematic and simmering online newspaper traffic war, which got a filip last week when standardised ABCe metrics showed Telegraph.co.uk had overtaken the big daddy Guardian.co.uk. That prompted concern in certain quarters over Telegraph.co.uk’s reporting methods, and Nielsen still pegs Guardian.co.uk in the lead - but says Telegraph.co.uk is growing far quicker than its rival…
Why? Nielsen says Telegraph.co.uk has seen the biggest growth in “light” users (those who spend just a couple of minutes on-site), who now make up 81 percent of all traffic. While Telegraph.co.uk’s reporting methods come under scrutiny from some, Nielsen says this growth “could be due to the site’s improved visibility in search results”. Release. The competition is now also underscored by a developing editorial tussle over stories The Guardian is running about the MyTelegraph blogging platform. Telegraph.co.uk fired back, alleging “sour grapes”.
Caveat: You can pretty much pick your own winner. We now have a scenario where either Guardian.co.uk (Nielsen), Telegraph.co.uk (ABCe) or Sun Online (comScore) is the leader, depending who you listen to - and each with widely varying results.
Posted in: Companies, Guardian Media Group, Telegraph, Media, Newspapers, Research & Metrics
