How is an Audience Built Online?

How is an audience built online? Effective traffic generation strategies for news orientated websites.-

Through research, analysis and factual opinion, an academic argument will be compiled, analysing key factors on website trafficking, how online traffic is generated, and how audiences are enticed to news orientated websites. This will be achieved through drawing evidence based from specific examples of news orientated websites and organisations, using a wide variety of sources and through connecting applicable similarities in each discussed fragment of the argument.

These sources will include a range of text books, internet websites, audio files, and video files from selected universities. I will use these to explain and underline the models and methods of traffic generation, and to provide evidence to ways that this is altering the way the news communicates with its audiences.

‘The world wide web remains the single most popular application since the creation of the internet.’                                                                                                                                                      (Crovella 2006)

This creation has since developed a profound existence and is prominent in the way news is gathered and distributed.

‘Not only are more people going online, but they can now instantly access news from all across the world, instead of waiting for scheduled reports on television or radio.’                                                                                                                             (Papper: 2000; pg. 134)

This has generated a new audience for news websites to provide for, and therefore, these audiences need to be identified and maintained to provide purpose for their existence.

Online audiences can be built and maintained through using website trafficking effectively. The strategies deployed by news websites to monitor the frequency and usage of their sites, must be carried out efficiently to ensure the accuracy of the information gathered. Due to the expansion of the internet, online sources of news have become more sought after, therefore meaning there is a new audience to supply for and a target market to approach.

People are no longer using the traditional methods of gaining news as a primary source, such as watching television, and listening to radio frequencies.

‘Online audiences are dominating; traditional news organisations have lost their privileged position.’                                                                                                                                            (Fenton 2010)

News orientated websites must therefore set a target audience and a style approach to suit, in order to build a rapport with their users, and generate a wider based audience over the internet.

The face of the news has reformed as a result of the increase and expansion of the internet. All aspects associated with the news have altered, such as strategies and directions in enticing new audiences through online mediums.

‘The internet features in many accounts as the decisive driver of change in the news environment and is marked out for its transformative potential.’                       (Fenton 2010)

This transformation has given the need for news websites to expand traffic growth to their websites through the recent years in which web trafficking has expanded and developed in conjunction with the growth of the internet.

‘Throughout its history, claims have been frequently made that internet traffic growth has been exponential.’                                                                                            (Crovella 2006)

As this increasing market is dominating, news associations must expand their influence online, to direct internet traffic to their specific websites. In order to do this, certain strategies need to be implemented and used.

News websites must analyse data and traffic flow through their websites to maintain suitability for the ever-changing audience, and insight into how their sites are being used.

‘The most fundamental tool for traffic analysis is packet capture, what is also called passive traffic measurement.’                                                                                             (Crovella 2006)

This can give useful statistics on how websites are being passed through, such as the clicks on links, and how the user interacts whilst on the site.

‘Packet train traces are a broadly useful summary of traffic: they can be used for monitoring basic network activity, monitoring users, and applications.’                                   

These packets are split into three sampling sections to use in a variety of states.

Random sampling packets are chosen for sampling with some fixed probability,

Deterministic sampling packets are chosen periodically, and the final, Stratified sampling, is divided into multiple steps. This process starts through packets firstly being divided into subsets, and then sampling is applied within each subset.   

(Crovella 2006)

This is a precise form of traffic monitoring. The accuracy of the detail of information on each individual user gives news websites a clear indication as to how traffic is coming to, flowing through, and leaving their websites.

Third party internet usage data is also a method of traffic generation. This activates from a user connecting to the internet, and an action such as ‘clicking the mouse’ will generate behavioural data. This includes site specific variables, such as how long they spend on a website, what pages they visit, and the destination site when they leave.                                                    (Roberts 2003)

This is an important factor when receiving this data, as advertising can then be marketed effectively to the user. The behavioural data can be used to market and advertise products and services to the specific websites. An example would be for a sports news website to advertise on a sportswear website, as the user behaviour of sites visited would trigger advertising through other associated websites visited.

‘In the U.K, the BBC online news dominates website traffic to online news sites.’

                                                                                                                                           (OECD 2010)

This has been achieved through the organisation already having a T.V and radio presence, (Cushion 2010).The BBC would have also recognised a new target market, and therefore approached it through using data and figures based around their offline audience, and transferring this online with an accurate style.

The BBC would consistently use beneficial tools to monitor traffic through their sites to glean useful information about where they are succeeding and failing.

One of these tools is Google Analytics. This tool is employed to give insight into website traffic, and the effectiveness of marketing strategies. It allows the users to see and analyse their traffic data, and to aid them to create better advertising and marketing techniques, which enables the capability to draw audiences to their website.                                                   (2010, www.lynda.com)

A high majority of news websites now include figures of online audiences in their total audience rating. In the U.S, the high majority of news websites have accumulated an attractive base of audience, and have succeeded in drawing audiences to their news sites, as well as their usual Television programming.

CNN (2009) is one of these news organisations that include the online audience in their cumulative audience reach figure. Fox news of the U.S, is also one of the top visited news sites in the country. In comparison with the BBC, ABC news of Australia has made a transition from television to online news delivery seamlessly. As these organisations are already trusted and established, they have developed into one of the top visited news sites in each of their countries.                                                                                                           (Cushion 2010)

As part of being able to draw traffic to their sites, news organisations must also be a visible location on the internet. They must be easy to find, and broadly accessible. A way they could do this is by optimising their websites through search engines.

‘Few people understand specialized functions of search engines. They are considered highly effective in drawing traffic to a site.’                                                                              (Roberts 2003)

Search engines are a highly powerful tool for news websites, as they are a means for connecting with users of the internet without them being a specifically desired location for the user. The more optimised the news site is within the search; the more likely it is that it will be a greater discernible result on the search engine.

Search engines have revolutionised the discovery of online content, but if news sites fail to design their website effectively for the search engine to read, they will not unlock the potential value they have already invested in developing their site.                                (HS Talks, 2007)

Keywords connecting their websites with search engine words are a fundamental tool to ensure a high return in a search engine, optimising the results for their pages in a search.

‘They focus on how many unique visitors come to their websites and design their websites for search engine maximisation.’                                                (Cushion 2010)

This would occur through the keywords appearing as frequently as possible on the home pages and entry pages of a website.

News sites have to consider two target audiences when optimising their website; the target consumer, and the search engine, to enable the page to be found.                                                                                                                                            (HS talks, 2007)

The search engines used would provide a high amount of traffic towards news websites. Directories are search engines that create ‘hierarchal directory to a subject.’ Search engines that are deemed directories, using the hierarchal structure, would therefore provide a result that gauges the frequently popular websites and sets them as the priority in the search.                                                                          (Roberts 2003)

Search engines find and read different websites through using a programme called a ‘web spider’, or otherwise known as a ‘web crawler’. This reads the specific content on a web page, and by being able to understand how this reads websites, news organisations can generate the right content in the right format to enable and maximise success in a search engine.                                                                                                                         (HS talks, 2007)

‘Figures in the U.K show that 25 – 35 % of traffic to news websites comes from one single prominent search engine alone.’                                                                                  (OECD 2010)

Thus reiterating the message of how important it is for news organisations to understand how search engines work, and how effective search engines are in directing traffic to news orientated websites.

The increase in news websites online has profoundly changed the form of how news is delivered, and has influenced audience habits such as the need and accessibility of 24-hour news:

‘By following the on demand 24 hour news approach, news websites have encouraged their audiences to also be news grazers and have succeeded.’   (Cushion 2010)

This has impacted the way audiences interact and want to receive their news. They want it now, and they want it consistently and conveniently.

‘The 24 hour news approach the broadcasters developed has profoundly influenced the shape of online news.’                                                                                               (Cushion 2010)

A way they can do this is through Social media, or networking. Websites such as Facebook and Twitter have distinctly changed audiences approach to receiving and even delivering their own news.

‘The citizen is able to use new media, to challenge mainstream media and provide alternatives.’                                                                                                                     (HS Talks, 2008)

This use of social networks has influenced news to be a form of entertainment, rather than a need or a public interest. News is changing to maximise its audiences, and to engage in keeping the audiences whichever way is necessary.

‘The way that mainstream media has worked for decades is no longer sustainable.’   (HS Talks, 2008)

Changing media is altering the processes that the public go through to attain their news. The public are becoming more aware of the ways they can assemble, create and share their own pieces of news with each other. There is a notice by Sunstein, (2001), cited Fenton (2010), that; ‘a market dominated by countless versions of ‘‘daily me’’ … will create a high degree of social fragmentation.’

The mainstream media techniques of old are seemingly becoming less useful in an internet free world.

‘The audience is changing, it’s fragmenting and disappearing. Consumers are now more educated and individualistic; they’re finding their own data and news for themselves.’ (HS Talks, 2008)

News organisations, as a whole, now depend on online news publishing as a source of delivery. They can no longer sustain an audience solely built on old form such as television and radio. As discussed, ‘they’re picking and choosing, and sometimes leaving mainstream news altogether in favour of social networks and other activities.’                                                                          (HS Talks, 2008)

The role of news organisations will continue to evolve with the ever changing audiences and ways of delivering news online. Audiences are becoming more aware of ways to interact, and more media savvy, to challenge the traditional media notions. ‘The internet itself is accelerating that process.’                                                                                                                                (HS Talks, 2007)

Journalist’s roles in news and connecting with audiences are changing. It is unlikely, as assembled from areas discussed, that the old models will ever rekindle from the past.     

‘The internet is most certainly disrupting existing news business models, but it is likely that, if organisations continue to invest in Journalism, the priorities and personalities that shape today’s news will play a prominent role in the news of the future.’  (Fenton 2010)