Guardian Australia’s audience increased by 104% in March, making it the fourth most popular news site in the nation with 11.6 million readers.
The global Covid-19 pandemic has seen a spike in traffic to news websites, with Guardian Australia experiencing the biggest surge in the Australian market.
Guardian Australia doubled its unique audience in March and moved up from seventh to fourth place, according to the Nielsen digital content ratings.
The coronavirus reporting, which includes two of the most popular pages on the site – a daily liveblog and data tracker, has boosted Guardian Australia up the rankings ahead of the Daily Mail (fifth), nine.com.au (sixth) and the Sydney Morning Herald (seventh).
Lenore Taylor, editor of Guardian Australia, said that incredible audience growth demonstrates high levels of trust.
“I’m proud and delighted that 11.6 million Australians have put their trust in Guardian Australia’s journalism at this time,” says Taylor.
“Our Australian editorial team, and Guardian journalists around the world, are delivering distinctive, fact-based news and sharp commentary and analysis to inform and explain the events we are all living through.
“I’d also like to thank our Guardian Australia readers, who have provided so much support and encouragement in the seven years since we launched here, and who have now made us the fourth-most-read news site in the nation.”
ABC News reported 15 million unique readers, up from 9.9 million in February, and has retained the top spot for three months, knocking news.com.au off from number one.
News.com.au ranked second with a unique audience of 12.3 million, followed by 7NEWS with 11.8 million.
The Australian is 10th and the Daily Telegraph and the Herald Sun didn’t make it into the top 10.
Dan Stinton, managing director of Guardian Australia, said almost half the country read Guardian Australia last month and it’s a readership that is deeply engaged with its journalism.
“Our reach is now bigger than almost any other advertising platform – including most free-to-air television shows – and we believe our readers trust us a lot more than someone watching Married at First Sight or a re-run of an old footy final,” Stinton says.
While publishers are enjoying record growth the disappearance of advertising revenue as consumer spending sharply contracts has seen widespread cuts across a media industry already under stress.
In January Guardian Australia reached a record 6.5 million Australians in the wake of the country’s bushfires, flooding and climate crisis.
Launched in May 2013, Guardian Australia has four bureaus located in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Canberra and is also part of the Guardian’s 24-hour global news operation, helping to cover breaking international stories in all parts of the world.
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