Route to online articles significantly impacted by topic

The research, from digital audience engagement firm Parse.ly, revealed that lifestyle articles got over 87% of external traffic through Facebook and just 7% from Google searches. The majority of this traffic ( 63%) came via a mobile device, the findings showed. 

Entertainment articles received 60% of external traffic through Facebook, with 56% being consumed on mobile. 

Meanwhile, technology stories received 61% of traffic from Google searches, closely followed by sport ( 50%) and business/ finance stories ( 47%). 

Overall, Facebook drove 39% of external traffic in 2016, while Google drove 35%, though the report pointed out that Google’s Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) publishing format for mobile is not currently measured in Google search traffic. 

'Understanding differences in referral data per topic has practical implications," the report said.

'Knowing ahead of time how an audience is likely to find your story can help you shape everything from editorial calendars to design.

'Having these references can help publishers make informed decisions about where to promote specific articles and increase the diversity of traffic sources to their content.'