Search results for mobile-friendly sites, magazine circulation in the first half, the impact of ad-blocking software on advertising revenue and more are covered in this installment of TFP’s Media Metrics roundup.
To help you keep up with trends and prepare for changes just around the corner, each month we compile excerpts from some key reports covering issues affecting the publishing and media industries. Here are our top picks.
Non-Mobile-Friendly Sites Disappearing From Top Google Results (Search Engine Land)
- Since Google launched its mobile-friendly algorithm, the top search result was mobile-friendly 83% of the time, while the top three results were mobile-friendly 81% of the time, according to a study by Moovweb.
- It found 77% of results on page one of the Google mobile SERP were mobile-friendly.
- Of the seven categories included in the study, retail had the most mobile-friendly results (about 80% of the time) for the examined keywords. Transportation came in the lowest (just over 65%).
Magazine Circulation Takes a New Hit (Media Life Magazine)
- For the six-month period ended June 30, newsstand sales fell 11.4%, according to the Alliance for Audited Media report.
- The report noted the decline followed a 14.2% decrease in newsstand sales in the second half of 2014.
- Although showing a slower decline, subscriptions were down as well, by 1.5%.
- Total circulation dropped 2.2% during the six-month period.
Study of Ad-Blocking Software Suggests Wide Use 
(The New York Times)
- Consumers’ use of ad-blocking software will result in a loss of nearly $22 billion in advertising revenue this year, a 41% increase over the previous 12 months, according to a new report from Adobe and PageFair.
- It said nearly 200 million people worldwide now use ad-blocking technology, with some 45 million users in the U.S. and 77 million in European countries. In Poland, for example, more than one-third of consumers block online ads.
- Ad-blocking is used most often on gaming, social network and other tech-related websites, the report noted.
Report: Digital Media Siphons $1 Billion from TV (Advertising Age)
- In the 2014-15 broadcast season, the national television market, mostly the Big Four networks, lost more than $1 billion to digital media, Standard Media Index research found.
- In the same period, cable gave up $140 million to digital, with overall spending in the segment down 1%. With local and syndicated TV added in, digital diverted a total of $1.5 billion from traditional TV.
- Digital media spending also saw $1 billion in new business in the period, with a 16% increase overall, the report said.
Magazine M&A Moves In Two Directions (Folio)
- In the first half of the year, magazine merger and acquisition activity in the consumer media and technology sector rose just slightly in both volume (9%) and value (18%), with 100 transactions worth $9.1 billion.
- B2B media and technology activity was down 27% in the same period, with the value of those deals falling 14% to $3.1 billion.
- Exhibitions and conferences saw the most movement, rising 40% to 42 transactions worth $2.5 billion, followed by mobile media and technology and database and information services.
“Modern” homepage design increases pageviews and reader comprehension, study finds (Nieman Lab)
- Homepages with modern, modular designs get at least 90% more unique pageviews than traditional newspaper-style sites, according to a recent study.
- It also found that viewers recall details of articles they read on modular pages at least 50% more often than do readers of stories on classic homepages.
- A majority of study participants said modern-looking sites are more “enjoyable, informative, credible, trustworthy, interesting, clear, and easy to navigate.”
Four Hot Trends in Online Advertising (Media Life Magazine)
- A new report from HubSpot said a majority of survey respondents (55%) predict native advertising will see the biggest increase in value among other forms of advertising during the next six months.
- More than 50% of sites surveyed said they are considering email banner ads or sponsorships for their newsletters.
- A quarter of respondents said they believe interest in video and audio advertising will see the biggest increase in interest in the next six months.
U.S. Newspaper Editorial Employment Reaches a 37-year Low (Guardian)
- Newsroom employment has dropped to its lowest level since the American Society of News Editors (ASNE) started measuring it in 1978, with the number of jobs falling to 32,900 compared with 36,700 in the prior year, a 10.4% decline.
- Newspapers with daily circulation between 250,000 and 500,000 and those with under 5,000 saw employment increase 13.98% and 15.9%, respectively. However, most newspapers have circulations between 100,000 and 250,000, and that category saw job numbers fall 21.58%.
- According to ASNE figures, newspaper employment hit its high in 2011 at 56,400 jobs.
Study: Think Digital Video, Think Mobile (Media Life Magazine)
- ZenithOptimedia projected that mobile will make up 52.7% of all online video viewing worldwide next year.
- In 2012, only 22.9% of time spent viewing online videos was via smartphone or tablet. Last year, that percentage jumped to 40.1%.
- Mobile video viewing is expected to increase 43.9% this year, compared with 9.5% growth for non-mobile viewing.
Gallup: We are totally addicted to our phones (Media Life Magazine)
- In a recent Gallup survey, some 47% of smartphone users said they “can’t imagine life” without their devices.
- It found that 73% of respondents check their phone at least once an hour, 41% check it a few times an hour, and 11% check it every few minutes.
- According to the report, 81% of respondents keep their smartphones nearby almost all the time.
Media Metrics is a monthly feature from Technology for Publishing, aimed at keeping you armed with the latest industry data. If you’d like to share something you’ve read, drop us a note. And keep up with the latest industry news coverage by signing up for our This Week in Publishing emails or our monthly Publishing Innovations newsletter.
Posted by: Margot Knorr Mancini
