‘6 Ways For Newspaper Sites To Attract Traffic’

How to make a smooth transition from print to online is the focus of a recent blog post from Mark Potts.

The new media consultant says part of the problem is quite simply the poor standard of many newspaper websites

“What should newspaper websites be doing to break out of the box they’re in and get traffic and revenue moving in the right direction again?”

In answer to this question, Potts has put together some quick and easy suggestions on how newspapers can improve their digital services.

Here are some of the highlights from his post:

1 – Keep It Simple

“Knock half the links off your home page. Then go back and knock off half of what’s left.”

He adds: “And don’t forget to put some of that simplified home page navigation on every page - unlike printed newspapers, few readers enter websites through the front door.”

2 – Nail The Niche Market

“Build strong niche products - possibly as separate sites with their own brands - to go after targeted audiences and advertisers.”

3 – Don’t Stop Moving

“Web-savvy companies like Google or Apple or Facebook or Yelp think nothing of jumping into smart new technologies and ways of producing and displaying information.”

4 – Build Links

“Use your site to create the best possible guide to what’s going on in your market, regardless of sources.”

Potts adds: “Make it essential that your readers come to your site first to find out what’s going on around them.”

5 – Spread The Word

“Do content-sharing deals anywhere you can - with competitors, social networks, blogs, aggregators, whatever.

“Put your content in front of as many eyeballs as possible and use it to drive business back to your site and your advertisers.”

6 – Find The Audience

“Deliver your Web content any way you can: e-newsletters, RSS, Facebook apps, Twitter, whatever. Get it out there (and be sure to include ads!).”

To read Patching The Leaking Lifeboat in full, visit Potts’s Recovering Journalist blog.