According to Nina Link, President and CEO, Magazine Publishers of America (MPA), consumer magazine websites boasted a second quarter increase of 8.5 percent over last year, averaging 69.7 million unique monthly visitors during the second quarter of 2008.
This increase represents a rate of growth that is more than double that of the four percent increase seen in the overall U.S. Internet audience for the same period; based on an MPA analysis of Nielsen Online-supplied data from 314 consumer magazine brands online.
The industry association for consumer magazines, the MPA was established in 1919 and represents more than 240 domestic publishing companies with approximately 1,400 titles; more than 80 international companies and more than 100 associate members. Staffed by magazine industry specialists, the MPA is headquartered in New York, with an office of government affairs in Washington, D.C.
The MPA analysis also indicated that the average second quarter monthly reach for these websites grew to more than 42 percent of the total U.S. Internet population; an increase of more than four percent over last year. This usage reflects an average of 462.8 million sessions per month during the second quarter — nearly a 10 percent gain over last year.
Stickiness at these sites is also up, with more than 2.05 billion minutes per month during the second quarter showing a 21.5 percent increase over the same three-months in 2007.
"This latest data shows that the audience for magazine brands continues to grow," Link said. "Visitors to our sites are attracted to our filtered content and unique voice, and they want to be part of the vibrant community that flourishes around great magazine brands."
According to an MPA release, the websites included in this report met at least one of the following criteria: it is branded with the name of a printed consumer magazine or a former hard copy consumer magazine that now publishes only online; that it is a website that represents an aggregated group of magazines, which draw from or extend the brand of the individual magazines; and/or it offers readily identifiable magazine content (e.g. Epicurious.com, CNNmoney.com).
For adult operators reeling from traffic losses to social networking sites and other online entertainment offerings, the growth in magazine visits and session stickiness means more lost marketing opportunities. The big question is "what are the 'attractive' elements of these high-growth sectors and can they be incorporated into our own offerings?"