Why Facebook now sends more traffic to news sites than Google
Facebook accounted for nearly 43 per cent of traffic to its network of media sites — a network that includes over 400 outlets such as Mashable, Reuters and The Atlantic — according to new numbers from Parse.ly. It sends 6 billion page views and over 1 billion unique visitors their way.
Google, meanwhile, drove a mere 38 per cent of traffic to media sites.
To be clear, Google is still the top referral source when it comes to search and overall web traffic referrals. But Facebook now has the edge when it comes to referrals to media sites.
Facebook’s importance as an online media traffic driver has grown dramatically over the last 18 months. In January 2014, Facebook accounted for just 20 per cent of all traffic to its network of media sites. That’s a figure that has doubled in the last 18 months.
Facebook’s rising importance as a traffic driver shouldn’t be a surprise to media sites, many of which closely monitor traffic and where that traffic originates from. As the social network’s user base has swelled — it’s now 1.49 billion and counting — so has its power as a content distribution platform.
More like this
‘Facebook is the best app for news’: Publishers are still way behind in mobile
For major publishers, Facebook referral traffic passes Google again
