Traffic increases for re-launched USATODAY.com

USATODAY.com has seen an impressive increase in registrations and unique visitors since its re-launch in March.

by Helen Leggatt

usa today logo This week, USATODAY.com announced a 380 percent increase in registrations since it re-launched with social networking features last month. Nielsen//NetRatings has reported that unique visitors to the site rose by 21 percent since February, 2007, with nearly 11 million counted. Sections of the website that saw the biggest increases in traffic were Money, Travel, Sports and Tech.

The newspaper website has reinvented itself as an interactive, social networking hub packed with user-generated content, videos, blogs and reviews. Registered users can create personal profiles, “friend” others, interact with USA Today journalists and comment on content. In March alone, almost 40,000 user comments were posted on the website and readers stayed on the site longer.

"We are very pleased our readers are connecting with USATODAY.com, using the new tools, enthusiastically participating with comments and recommendations, and registering to be a part of the USA TODAY community. It is also gratifying traffic is increasing as users of the site embrace the many new offerings," said Jeff Webber, publisher of USATODAY.com and senior vice president, advertising for USA TODAY.