FILE PHOTO: INQUIRER.net and Similarweb
Inquirer.net has topped four other Filipino news website competitors in terms of traffic to its website as of January 2022, data from newly tapped web traffic analytics provider Similarweb showed.
In its monitoring report, Similarweb said that Inquirer.net has been mostly on top in terms of daily traffic for desktop computer users, for a viewership share of 27.99 percent from Dec. 28, 2021 to Jan. 23, 2022.This is well ahead compared to its leading competitor—ABS-CBN.com’s 21.07 percent, Rappler.com’s 19.29 percent, Philstar.com’s 15.85 percent, and GMANetwork.com’s 15.79 percent.
Regarding traffic for mobile phone users during the same period, Inquirer.net was overtaken only once by ABS-CBN.com, on Jan. 16. Still, viewership splits showed that mobile users preferred Inquirer.net—grabbing 30.57 percent of the audience share.
Comparison
In comparison, ABS-CBN.com had 26.25 percent; GMANetwork.com had 20.39 percent; Rappler.com with 15.49 percent; and Philstar.com with 7.30 percent.
Inquirer.net was also top in terms of engagement metrics for desktop, gaining an average of 94,157 average daily views, in comparison to the nearest competitor, ABS-CBN.com, which got 70,881. For mobile, Inquirer.net is also at the top, with 479,359 average daily views, compared to second-place ABS-CBN.com’s 411,702.
Aside from this, data from Similarweb indicated that for both desktop and mobile-driven traffic sources, Inquirer.net was top for direct visits, or users who directly typed the website’s URL on their respective browsers.
It was also top in terms of organic sources for desktop, and top for search items in mobile.
Monitoring tool
It was announced by Inquirer Interactive Inc. chair and president Paolo R. Prieto that Inquirer.net will now use the services of Similarweb, to monitor online traffic and as a guide for content and publication strategies.
The use of Similarweb is a departure from Alexa Internet, as the latter would stop operating by May 2022 according to its parent company Amazon.
READ: INQUIRER.net shifts to Similarweb for online traffic analytics
“The decision to switch to Similarweb is a necessity with the impending closure of Alexa. Alexa has served our needs for years, in particular with its ranking which is a globally accepted measuring stick for our online traffic versus competitors,” Prieto said in a statement.
“In seeking out a replacement, we looked for two things. First, a globally accepted ranking that would be accepted by our stakeholders. Second, we wanted an innovative technology partner that would help us improve our insights and analytics as we seek to stay on top of the news publishing industry in the Philippines,” he added.