Nielsen: Online newspaper traffic up 16%

In December 2007 just over 34.5 million unique visitors (daily) came to newspaper hubs. In December 2008 just over 40 million unique users visited.

Which papers are among the most visited for the month? The New York Times (18 million unique users), USA Today (11.4 million users) and The Washington Post (9.4 million unique users). Rounding out the top five were the LA Times (7.9 million unique users) and Wall Street Journal Online (7.2 million unique users).

"Nine of the top 10 newspaper Web sites experienced positive year-over-year growth," said Chuck Schilling, research director, agency & media, Nielsen Online. "News coverage in December ranged from how the 2008 holiday season would be affected by the weakening economy to Obama's latest nomination for his administration, all of which helped to drive this impressive growth."

What is even more encouraging for marketers is that consumers aren't simply visiting newspaper websites once. They are visiting day after day for more content, making this traffic even more important for marketers.

Because these consumers are return visitors, marketers have a better chance at converting them into buyers by building their brand around the content offered.

Tags: newspaper ads, newspapers, Nielsen Online, online newspaper sites