 By Steve Smith, Digital Media Editor for min, min's b2b, and min's Digital Media Report
What can we say? Summer stinks...for traffic, that is. As is often the case during vacation season, trade publishers shed traffic as office use declines overall. There are notable and almost predictable exceptions to the rule, however. The agriculture destinations like Meredith's AGRICULTURE.COM (+9.67% page views, -0.70% unique visitors) and Farm Journal's AgWeb (+1.27% PVs, +5.00%) spike at times during the summer even as most of the agribusiness action brings the trade away from their computers. Market volatility and ever-changing prices keep the forums humming. AGRICULTURE.COM editor John Walter told us recently that good news in the markets translates almost precisely to good news for his traffic. If you lay a chart of corn prices alongside his monthly stats, there is almost a one-to-one correspondence, he says. About half of his monthly traffic is into the community areas, and the audience responds to good price news by wanting to discuss it and shuts up when markets decline. The same good-news = good traffic equation also holds true among the financial news sites, where people love to watch bull markets and avert their eyes to weak ones.
Likewise, nothing succeeds in Hollywood like success. After a June dip, HOLLYWOODREPORTER.COM (+11.66% PVs, +19.69% UVs) roars as summer box office racked up its best summer ever and seemed to quiet rumors of movie theaters' demise.
Also notable this month was INC.COM (+79.23 PVs, +35.79 UVs), which has strong cover stories throughout the summer.
Which is not to say that seasonality is irrelevant. Take the publishing sector. As Marian the librarian takes to the beach, the hunt for book orders declines. The best that can be said for summer traffic to the Reed library sites like Criticas (-20.65% PVs, -10.63% UVs), PUBLISHERSWEEKLY.COM (-7.70% PVs, -4.51% UVs), and SCHOOLLIBRARYJOURNAL.COM (-4.45% PVs, -13.78% UVs) is that July declines slowed after June's deep double-digit decline across some of these titles. Boxscore mavens may recall that May gave all of these sites a kind of last gasp of traffic before vacation.
Finally, the consumer and the professional computer tech trade often run in opposite directions during the summer. Both Government Computer News (GCN.COM, .com, -3.00% PVs, -13.74% UVs) and Federal Computer Week (FCW.COM, -15.42% PVs, +4.52%) lost overall activity, even though the latter added a bit of audience. Expect both sites to spike in the fall, however, as government agencies need to dump their budgets on equipment. That spike has already begun at CAMPUSTECHNOLOGY.COM (+8.83% PVs, +12.36% UVs), where the IT planning comes earlier, a ramp up for fall school session. This could also be the rationale behind PCWORLD.COM (+30.62%, +24.68%) and its enormous jump in July. The IDG book has a mix of IT and consumer visitors, but it may be benefiting from the summer hunt for that school PC.
| JULY 2007 VERSUS JUNE 2007 DIGITAL MEDIA BOXSCORES |
| Media Sites/Parent |
URL |
JULY PV |
JUNE PV |
% diff |
JULY UV |
JUNE UV |
% diff |
Source |
| Ad Age/Crain |
adage.com |
|
2,641,074
|
-100.00
|
|
645,237
|
-100.00
|
Hitbox
|
| Agriculture.com/Meredith |
agriculture.com |
4,115,514
|
3,752,687
|
9.67
|
146,121
|
147,150
|
-0.70
|
Omniture
|
| AgWeb/Farm Journal |
agweb.com |
4,154,016
|
4,102,079
|
1.27
|
249,554
|
237,663
|
5.00
|
WebTrends
|
| Air Charter Guide/Penton Media |
aircharterguide.com |
269,610
|
227,284
|
18.62
|
26,634
|
25,194
|
5.72
|
Omniture
|
| Application Development/1105 |
adtmag.com |
1,016,722
|
964,478
|
5.42
|
80,686
|
82,713
|
-2.45
|
WebTrends
|
| Aviation Today/Access Intelligence* |
aviationtoday.com |
163,118
|
189,198
|
-13.78
|
52,921
|
57,855
|
-8.53
|
GoogleAnalytics
|
| Big Builder/Hanley Wood |
bigbuilderonline.com |
39,617
|
43,737
|
-9.42
|
11,424
|
15,064
|
-24.16
|
Omniture
|
| Broadcasting Cable/Reed |
broadcastingcable.com |
636,930
|
769,107
|
-17.19
|
237,822
|
311,266
|
-23.60
|
Internal logs
|
| Builder/Hanley Wood |
builderonline.com |
271,866
|
261,129
|
4.11
|
94,207
|
94,002
|
0.22
|
Omniture
|
| Builder House Plans/Hanley Wood |
builderhouseplans.com |
400,745
|
376,039
|
6.57
|
18,869
|
17,376
|
8.59
|
Omniture
|
| Builder Jobs/Hanley Wood |
builderjobs.com |
174,039
|
174,502
|
-0.27
|
26,594
|
24,895
|
6.82
|
Omniture
|
| Business Finance/Penton Media |
businessfinancemag.com |
86,352
|
93,432
|
-7.58
|
20,635
|
21,903
|
-5.79
|
Hitbox
|
| Campus Technology/1105 |
campustechnology.com |
796,143
|
731,559
|
8.83
|
75,765
|
67,429
|
12.36
|
WebTrends
|
| CertCities/1105 |
certcities.com |
768,077
|
791,763
|
-2.99
|
81,405
|
76,597
|
6.28
|
WebTrends
|
| Chemical Engineering/Access Intel.* |
che.com |
69,540
|
64,233
|
8.26
|
15,883
|
15,652
|
1.48
|
GoogleAnalytics
|
| Chemical Week/Access Intel.* |
chemweek.com |
106,178
|
82,296
|
29.02
|
16,808
|
13,130
|
28.01
|
GoogleAnalytics
|
| Concrete Construction/Hanley Wood |
concreteconstruction.net |
56,412
|
63,292
|
-10.87
|
21,705
|
23,701
|
-8.42
|
Omniture
|
| Contracting Business/Penton |
contractingbusiness.com |
2,283,986
|
2,286,677
|
-0.12
|
105,468
|
108,124
|
-2.46
|
Hitbox
|
| Criticas Magazine/Reed |
criticasMagazine.com |
50,899
|
64,142
|
-20.65
|
11,037
|
12,350
|
-10.63
|
Internal logs
|
| CRN (Computer Reseller News)/CMP |
crn.com |
1,343,016
|
1,320,592
|
1.70
|
---
|
---
|
---
|
Omniture
|
| Custom Home Online/Hanley Wood |
customhomeonline.com |
40,389
|
51,578
|
-21.69
|
17,349
|
15,697
|
10.52
|
Omniture
|
| Dr. Dobb's Journal/CMP Media |
ddj.com |
763,411
|
785,208
|
-2.78
|
---
|
---
|
---
|
Omniture
|
| Dream Home Source/Hanley Wood |
dreamhomesource.com |
7,910,201
|
7,044,288
|
12.29
|
354,010
|
326,358
|
8.47
|
Omniture
|
| Drug Store News/Lebhar-Friedman |
drugstorenews.com |
142,324
|
123,941
|
14.83
|
31,633
|
29,070
|
8.82
|
WebTrends
|
| E Build/Hanley Wood |
ebuild.com |
681,333
|
617,714
|
10.30
|
156,439
|
154,077
|
1.53
|
Omniture
|
| EE Times/CMP Media |
eetimes.com |
2,409,855
|
2,356,487
|
2.26
|
---
|
---
|
---
|
Omniture
|
| Electronic Source Book/Penton Media |
electronicsourcebook.com |
827,734
|
868,139
|
-4.65
|
98,008
|
97,966
|
0.04
|
Omniture
|
| ENT News/1105 |
entmag.com |
601,607
|
714,470
|
-15.80
|
63,421
|
66,080
|
-4.02
|
WebTrends
|
| Enterprise Systems/1105 |
esj.com |
816,459
|
719,862
|
13.42
|
56,097
|
59,070
|
-5.03
|
WebTrends
|
| Entrepreneur.com |
entrepreneurmag.com |
31,592,369
|
56,224,314
|
-43.81
|
3,462,675
|
4,393,458
|
-21.19
|
Omniture
|
| Eplans/Hanley Wood |
eplans.com |
14,088,181
|
13,696,881
|
2.86
|
558,923
|
515,709
|
8.38
|
Omniture
|
| EquipmentWatch/Penton Media |
equipmentwatch.com |
423,520
|
419,034
|
1.07
|
10,401
|
10,714
|
-2.92
|
Omniture
|
| Federal Computer Week/1105 |
fcw.com |
4,018,232
|
4,751,079
|
-15.42
|
256,621
|
245,531
|
4.52
|
WebTrends
|
| Firehouse/Cygnus Business |
firehouse.com |
8,363,362
|
10,933,956
|
-23.51
|
665,337
|
713,625
|
-6.77
|
Hitbox
|
| Functional Foods Nutraceuticals/Penton |
ffnmag.com |
76,690
|
71,649
|
7.04
|
23,806
|
21,877
|
8.82
|
Hitbox
|
| Government Computer News/1105 |
gcn.com |
6,093,269
|
6,281,684
|
-3.00
|
284,607
|
329,930
|
-13.74
|
WebTrends
|
| Government Health IT/Penton |
govhealthit.com |
547,147
|
588,046
|
-6.96
|
39,160
|
36,412
|
7.55
|
WebTrends
|
| Hollywood Reporter, The/Nielsen |
thehollywoodreporter.com |
3,292,613
|
2,948,723
|
11.66
|
1,587,026
|
1,325,957
|
19.69
|
|
| Inc/Mansueto Ventures |
inc.com |
7,689,990
|
4,290,573
|
79.23
|
635,705
|
468,162
|
35.79
|
Omniture
|
| IndustryWeek/Penton Media |
industryweek.com |
270,916
|
336,098
|
-19.39
|
100,672
|
131,994
|
-23.73
|
Hitbox
|
| Information Week/CMP Media |
informationweek.com |
3,570,385
|
3,306,914
|
7.97
|
---
|
---
|
---
|
Omniture
|
| IT Compliance Institute/Penton |
itcinstitute.com |
381,842
|
375,801
|
1.61
|
35,442
|
37,017
|
-4.25
|
WebTrends
|
| JCK/Reed |
jck.com |
154,644
|
139,358
|
10.97
|
40,577
|
38,028
|
6.70
|
Internal logs
|
| Law/ALM |
law.com |
6,143,601
|
6,202,431
|
-0.95
|
418,350
|
397,359
|
5.28
|
Hitbox
|
| Library Journal/Reed |
libraryjournal.com |
472,316
|
459,769
|
2.73
|
151,474
|
142,680
|
6.16
|
Internal logs
|
| Machine Design/Penton |
machinedesign.com |
403,544
|
419,657
|
-3.84
|
123,833
|
126,222
|
-1.89
|
Hitbox
|
| MacTech.com |
mactech.com |
---
|
---
|
---
|
175,209
|
156,179
|
12.18
|
Internal logs
|
| MacForge.com |
macforge.com |
---
|
---
|
---
|
10,474
|
10,972
|
-4.54
|
Internal logs
|
| Medical Device Link/Canon |
devicelink.com |
1,341,225
|
1,390,260
|
-3.53
|
170,800
|
170,807
|
0.00
|
Urchin Web
|
| Microsoft Cert. Professional Mag/1105 |
mcpmag.com |
1,845,291
|
1,787,634
|
3.23
|
215,183
|
190,199
|
13.14
|
WebTrends
|
| Multi Channel News/Reed |
multichannelnews.com |
748,019
|
715,224
|
4.59
|
280,506
|
276,746
|
1.36
|
Internal logs
|
| Multi Family Executive/Hanley Wood |
multifamilyexecutive.com |
43,983
|
36,553
|
20.33
|
14,885
|
13,493
|
10.32
|
Omniture
|
| Natural Foods Merchandiser/Penton |
naturalfoodsmerchandiser.com |
50,498
|
50,972
|
-0.93
|
13,930
|
14,470
|
-3.73
|
Hitbox
|
| Network Computing/CMP |
networkcomputing.com |
633,899
|
743,363
|
-14.73
|
---
|
---
|
---
|
Omniture
|
| Officer/Cygnus Business |
officer.com |
5,462,244
|
5,363,682
|
1.84
|
446,879
|
428,198
|
4.36
|
Hitbox
|
| PC World.com/IDG |
pcworld.com |
35,363,109
|
27,073,288
|
30.62
|
2,930,000
|
2,350,000
|
24.68
|
Hitbox
|
| Penton Electronics Group/Penton Media |
pentonelectronicsgroup.com |
952,824
|
1,539,388
|
-38.10
|
311,352
|
421,719
|
-26.17
|
Hitbox
|
| Publishers Weekly/Reed |
publishersweekly.com |
849,000
|
919,813
|
-7.70
|
248,963
|
260,724
|
-4.51
|
Internal logs
|
| Redmond Channel Partner/1105 |
rcpmag.com |
500,310
|
486,599
|
2.82
|
64,997
|
57,506
|
13.03
|
WebTrends
|
| Redmond magazine/1105 |
redmondmag.com |
1,155,547
|
1,255,767
|
-7.98
|
130,072
|
137,214
|
-5.21
|
WebTrends
|
| Remodeling Magazine/Hanley Wood |
remodelingmagazine.com |
174,425
|
164,613
|
5.96
|
71,562
|
66,437
|
7.71
|
Omniture
|
| Residential Architect/Hanley Wood |
residentialarchitect.com |
66,106
|
65,388
|
1.10
|
19,277
|
17,567
|
9.73
|
Omniture
|
| School Library Journal/Reed |
schoollibraryjournal.com |
292,173
|
305,784
|
-4.45
|
79,825
|
92,585
|
-13.78
|
Internal logs
|
| Studio Daily/Access Intel. |
studiodaily.com |
189,798
|
177,727
|
6.79
|
66,695
|
60,214
|
10.76
|
GoogleAnalytics
|
| TechWeb/CMP Media |
techweb.com |
708,816
|
749,180
|
-5.39
|
---
|
---
|
---
|
Omniture
|
| TelecomWeb/Access Intelligence |
telecomweb.com |
33,343
|
40,006
|
-16.66
|
11,207
|
13,562
|
-17.36
|
GoogleAnalytics
|
| The Data Warehousing Institute/1105 |
tdwi.org |
855,849
|
823,865
|
3.88
|
61,283
|
58,784
|
4.25
|
WebTrends
|
| The Journal/1105 |
thejournal.com |
964,208
|
966,730
|
-0.26
|
77,366
|
79,624
|
-2.84
|
WebTrends
|
| Tools of the Trade/Hanley Wood |
toolsofthetrade.net |
143,900
|
127,924
|
12.49
|
52,492
|
62,200
|
-15.61
|
Omniture
|
| Twice/Reed |
twice.com |
431,837
|
472,641
|
-8.63
|
133,707
|
140,532
|
-4.86
|
Internal logs
|
| Variety.com/Reed |
Variety.com |
6,110,430
|
6,808,485
|
-10.25
|
1,865,772
|
1,930,711
|
-3.36
|
Unica's
|
| Washington Technology/1105 |
washingtontechnology.com |
4,964,998
|
4,969,441
|
-0.09
|
154,413
|
153,291
|
0.73
|
WebTrends
|
| Windows & .Net/Penton |
winnetmag.com |
5,130,038
|
5,007,428
|
2.45
|
1,975,242
|
1,929,289
|
2.38
|
Hitbox
|
|
PV = Page Views: Total page requests served from the site for the month and generally received from internal logs or third-party audit; NEW = Sites new to chart; UV = Unique Visitors: Unduplicated audience coming to the site this month, often retrieved from third-party-panel-based measurement services
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