Evaluating Indian newspaper web sites using Alexa Internet

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate Indian newspaper web sites using Alexa databank.

Design/methodology/approach

The list compiled by Audit Bureau of Circulations of top newspapers in India by daily circulation was used for selecting newspapers. The list included 28 newspapers in various languages. Out of these 26 were available online. These 26 newspapers are taken for evaluation in the present study. Each newspaper web site was searched in Alexa databank and relevant data including traffic rank, pages viewed, speed, links, bounce percentage, time on site, search percentage, and Indian/foreign users were collected. The data collected were analysed and tabulated to reveal findings in accordance with the desired objectives.

Findings

The results of this study show that Dainik Bhaskar has the highest traffic rank. Punjab Kesari has the highest number of average pages viewed per day and estimated daily time spent on site by the visitors. The fastest downloading speed is for Economic Times. Hindustan Times has the highest number of links. Decan Herald has the highest reach amongst the global internet users, where as Udayavani has the lowest bounce percentage. The highest percentage of visits that came from search engines is for Dainik Jagran. The highest number of foreign users is for Ananda Bazar Patrika. Most of the foreign users to Indian newspapers come from the USA.

Originality/value

Besides administrators of Indian newspapers, the results of this study will be useful for web site managers in any field including those in charge of library web sites. The study will also help librarians and anyone interested to increase usage of a web site by analysing the use of web site.

Citation

Hanief Bhat, M. (2013), "Evaluating Indian newspaper web sites using Alexa Internet", Library Review, Vol. 62 No. 6/7, pp. 398-406. https://doi.org/10.1108/LR-01-2013-0010