India’s news publishers react to decreasing online traffic

Major news publishers in India are seeing a drop-off in online traffic to their sites and are pointing the finger at Google and the changes it has made to its search engine algorithm.

Context 

One leading publisher notes that the web traffic of the top 10 news publishers has fallen by an average of nearly 15% over the past six months, coinciding with Google’s release of major algorithm updates. Publishers are now anxiously watching for the impact of a February update, e4m reports.

But not every title has been adversely affected: the growth of smaller niche players may be having a disproportionate impact on traffic to larger titles. Further, a changed algorithm may not be the only factor – a decline in mobile data consumption and extensive crime coverage may also have hit traffic to news sites.

Why it matters

Google is a major source of traffic for news sites and less traffic means less ad revenue – and this at a time when some advertisers are already reining in spending because of the economic outlook.

What it means

The big-news publishers are having to explore new revenue streams, which include looking again at subscription offers, emailed newsletters and app adoption. They are also thinking about how best to localise content in terms of geography and language in order to attract new audiences – and advertisers – in lower-tier cities. 

Key quote

“The digital publishing industry will need to connect deeply with existing audiences to drive stronger repeat usage and loyalty on platforms. Also, reduce dependency around Social Platforms and build stickiness on Own and Operate (O&O) platforms” – Sriram Hebbar, VP & Business Head, Languages, Times Internet.

Sourced from e4m