Times Online traffic growth pushes it ahead of MailOnline

by Jacquie Bowser, Brand Republic 23-Dec-08, 12:40

LONDON - Times Online increased its unique user traffic by over 5% in November to overtake MailOnline for third position among the national newspaper websites, according to the latest ABCe figures.

Times Online's users jumped 5.5% to hit a record 21.6m during the month, while the site's UK users climbed 1.6% to hit 7.2m.

Zach Leonard, News International director of digital strategy and development, said: "These are a brilliant set of results.

"To attract more than 21m users from around the world proves the drawing power of our brand, news coverage and commentary -- it means we can deliver advertisers a powerful global audience."

However, The Guardian still holds on to the top spot. The website's unique users increased by a marginal 0.26% during November to hit 26m even though its UK user total fell by 5.8% to 9.5m.

Telegraph.co.uk maintained its position in second place despite its unique users dropping by 1.1% month on month to 22.96m. However, the site's UK users increased by 5.5% to hit 7.4m

Following the Times Online's strong performance, MailOnline, which includes the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday sites, was relegated to fourth with 20.87m unique users in November, a fall of 1.54% month on month. Its UK user total remained fairly static at 6.4m.

The Sun, which includes the daily newspaper site as well as NewsoftheWorld.co.uk and Page3.com, posted a 4.1% fall in unique users to 16.4m. However, its UK users increased by 6.3% to 6.9m.

Independent.co.uk performed well during November with a 5.7% rise in unique users to 8.9m.

Mirror Group, spanning Mirror.co.uk, SundayMirror.co.uk and People.co.uk, increased by 1.4% month on month to hit 5.9m unique users.

Its UK user total remained static at 3.4m.