Feb. 20: strong traffic and an important lesson

We had good traffic online Wednesday with 31,115 unique visitors and 153,904 page views.

Our strong showing was due, in large part, to a brief David Choate story, posted at 5:47 p.m., informing people they could watch last night's lunar eclipse at the UNH Observatory.

In meetings with reporters I have stressed that online, short, timely reports are just as important as full stories, and this is an example. Another example is a simple preview of a sentencing hearing of a Hampstead driver who killed a Portsmouth woman. This "staff report" took us no time to do and has garnered more than 2,000 hits since it was posted. Our original plan was to simply cover the hearing and file a report. If we had done that we would have missed out on all the traffic the preview brought us.

Top 10 stories:

1. Article: View tonight's lunar eclipse at UNH observatory 5,938
2. Article: Teens charged in rash of Route 1 burglaries 3,590
3. Article: Police hunt for prison escapees in Portsmouth 2,028
4. Article: Entertain Lindsay Lohan recreates Marilyn Monroe's last photoshoot 1,855
5. Article: Porn shops nix viewing booths 1,238
6. Article: Developer walks away from Newmarket mill project 1,064
7. Article: Jury finds ex-candidate Dodds guilty 1,052
8. Article: Lobster Barn evacuated in dramatic incident involving upsetwoman, fire extinguisher 974
9. Article: Business Momma D's to give away free meals for a year 913
10. Article: Police Log 912

Photo galleries

1. Flash Gallery: Restaurant Week 2,917
2. Flash Gallery: Exeter/Trinity Boys Basketball 1,922
3. Article: Photo Zoom: Lindsay Lohan recreates Marilyn Monroe's lastphoto shoot 607
4. Flash Gallery: More Division I Wrestling 539
5. Article: Photo Zoom: Teens charged in rash of Route 1 burglaries 511
6. Flash Gallery: Greenland Native American Study 431
7. Article: Photo Zoom: UNH senior an SI swimsuit model 345
8. Flash Gallery: Photos of the Week Feb11-17 317
9. Flash Gallery: Class I Quarterfinals PHS Girls 308
10. Flash Gallery: Photos of the Week Jan.28-Feb3 233

traffic feb. 19, restaurant week page

Tuesday, Feb. 19 was a decent day with 24,809 daily unique visitors and 149,596 page views.
We had seven stories that received more than 1,000 page views which is excellent.

Also be sure to check the excellent Restaurant Week landing page and videos by Rachel, Deb, Andrew, Jeff, Don, Rich and Scott. A sign of great work to come in the dining niche.

1. Article: Who is stalking your teenager? 1,488
2. Article: Demonic twist in Restaurant fracas 1,351
3. Article: Two teens arrested for string of burglaries 1,295
4. Article: Demonic twist in York restaurant fracas 1,287
5. Article: Crackdown after binge drinking at school dance 1,227
6. Article: Police Log 1,129
7. Article: Police search for man who forced two women into car trunk 1,045
8. Article: Hampstead teen faces charges in death of Portsmouth woman 757
9. Article: Batterer gets out of jail; charged again 664
10. Article: Opinion Letters to the Editor 610

Photo galleries
1. Flash Gallery: Photos of the Week Feb11-17 3,162
2. Flash Gallery: Restaurant Week 2,119
3. Flash Gallery: More Division I Wrestling 837
4. Flash Gallery: Class I Quarterfinals PHS Girls 830
5. Flash Gallery: Celeb Watch 18 375

traffic Feb. 15, 16, 17

Congratulations to all who worked on the Valentine's Day Landing Page. It finished its short run with more than 11,000 page views. Close to 6,000 people also voted for their favorite couple. This definitely goes in the win column and should be repeated next year.

Weekend traffic was fairly lackluster. Month to date we are averaging 31,747 daily unique visitors. Let's keep the pedal to the metal.

Friday, Feb. 15

Uniques 25,297, Page Views 140,991

1. Article: Superintendent Lister's retirement news angers School Boardboss 2,527
2. Article: Boy, 14, struck by car on Route 1 2,193
3. Article: Opinion Clever Cop Outmaneuvers the Handicapped! 1,805
4. Article: Clinton camp reimburses; landlord to donate check to Obamacampaign 1,621 5. Article: Business Mojo's aims for 'BBQ heaven' 1,231
6. Article: Clinton pays rent; money goes to Obama 1,133
7. Article: McIntosh College to close doors 1,027
8. Article: Police Log 749
9. Article: Three injured in head-on car crash 524
10. Article: Opinion Letters to the Editor 504

1. Flash Gallery: Celeb Watch 18 2,823
2. Flash Gallery: Exeter and Winnacunnet Hockey 954
3. Flash Gallery: Epping/Raymond Basketball 582
4. Flash Gallery: Exeter/Alvirne Boys Basketball 357
5. Flash Gallery: Photos of the Week Feb4-Feb10 212

Saturday, Feb. 16

Uniques 16,375, page views 88,130

1. Article: McIntosh College will close 1,527
2. Article: State police nab pair going 134 mph on I-295 1,106
3. Article: Lister to get $90K more in sick pay 993
4. Article: Sports Healthy Wakefield sets sights on Red Sox record 945
5. Article: Police Log 822
6. Article: Dodds crash tale not supported by bathroom evidence, saysprosecutor 477
7. Article: Clinton camp reimburses; landlord to donate check to Obamacampaign 445
8. Article: Woman faces DWI charges in crash 442
9. Article: New Hampshire man pleads guilty to 2006 murder 425
10. Article: Opinion Lister, LaPage must go 391

1. Flash Gallery: Epping/Somersworth Boys B-Ball 1,326
2. Flash Gallery: Winnacunnet/Exeter Girls B-Ball 614
3. Flash Gallery: Exeter/Alvirne Girls Basketball 578
4. Flash Gallery: Exeter and Winnacunnet Hockey 286 5. Flash Gallery: Celeb Watch 18 272

Sunday, Feb. 17
Uniques 17,710 and page views 91,881

1. Article: Pupils popping pills 1,030
2. Article: Sheila LaBarre: Poster child for insanity defense? 771
3. Article: Police Log 688
4. Article: Delay in case of woman charged with having sex with15-year-old 686
5. Article: 3 killed when car flips over snow bank in Shelburne 486
6. Article: Man found dead in Haverhill, N.H., hotel 424
7. Article: Business The silent victims of foreclosures — pets 375
8. Article: Boston hiker missing in New Hampshire mountains 365
9. Article: Biodiesel bill: State fleet, buildings would use fuel blend 340
10. Article: Clinton camp reimburses; landlord to donate check to Obama campaign
1. Flash Gallery: Division I Wrestling Tournament 2,051

2. Flash Gallery: Division II Swimming and Diving 444
3. Flash Gallery: Class I-M-S Track Championship 361
4. Flash Gallery: Epping/Somersworth Boys B-Ball 350
5. Flash Gallery: Photos of the Week Feb4-Feb10 178

Traffic report for Feb. 14

Uniques 28,821, Page Views 141,703

1. Article: Clinton camp reimburses; landlord to donate check to Obama campaign 5,518
2. Article: Clinton pays rent; money goes to Obama 3,671
3. Article: DWI arrest after head-on crash in Portsmouth 1,808
4. Article: Wrong-way driver charged with DWI following crash 1,336
5. Article: Dodds says authorities lied on stand 1,078
6. Article: Dodds emotional on stand 983
7. Article: Business C&J breaks from Trailways 938
8. Article: Driver faces DWI charge after head-on collision 834
9. Article: 14-year-old struck by car on Route 1 821
10. Article: Police Log 801

1. Flash Gallery: Exeter and Winnacunnet Hockey 1,994 2
2. Flash Gallery: Exeter/Alvirne Boys Basketball 587
3. Article: Photo Zoom: Clinton camp reimburses; landlord to donate checkto Obama campaign 386 5.5%

Referring domains
1. google.com 8,848
2. adicio.com 7,164
3. seacoastconnects.com 2,892
4. legacy.com 2,585
5. yahoo.com 1,896
6. seacoastcareers.com 1,468
7. careercast.com 1,134
8. digg.com 1,065
9. dailykos.com 1,042
10. stumbleupon.com 1,018
11. rawstory.com 905
12. foxnews.com 897
13. ottaway.com 867
14. politico.com 858
15. msn.com 670

Beautiful Valentines; traffic Feb. 13

I hope everyone has had a chance to check out the Valentine's Day page Gina, Andrew and Mary put together both in print and online. It's 14 couples sharing their "How We Met" stories. Online readers can also vote for their favorite couple and the winner will get $150 toward a restaurant of their choice. I read all 14 this morning in print and was reminded again how powerful it is to hear someone telling a story that is important to them in their own words. If you are busy and don't have time to read all 14 pieces at least check out Theresa and Maurice's story for some humor and wisdom.

Traffic yesterday was very strong, with 30,620 uniques and 146,587 page views, as once again the national media picked up our coverage of the Clinton campaign and a local landlord. The majority of refers came to us from foxnews.com. Two Exeter-based stories; the student who died in Australia and the Fort Rock Farm ZBA hearing, also did very well.

Here are the details:

1. Article: Clinton camp reimburses; landlord to donate check to Obamac ampaign 8,146 18.1%
2. Article: Exeter church at Fort Rock approved 1,456 3.2%
3. Article: Exeter grad died after crashing through glass in Australia 1,444 3.2%
4. Article: Insanity defense: LaBarre pleads not guilty in 2 murders 917 2.0%
5. Article: 'Large amount of weapons' seized 812 1.8%
6. Article: Killer in Pam Smart case denied freedom 790 1.8%
7. Article: Exeter graduate, 20, dies in Australia 785 1.7%
8. Article: Former detective calls Dodds investigation 'disorganized' 724 1.6%
9. Article: Police Log 719 1.6%
10. Article: Entertain New publishing house opens in Seacoast 667 1.5%

Photo galleries

1. Flash Gallery: Epping/Raymond Basketball 4,840 39.5%
2. Flash Gallery: Photos of the Week Feb4-Feb10 1,008 8.2%
3. Article: Photo Zoom: Clinton camp reimburses; landlord to donate check to Obama campaign 599 4.9%
4. Flash Gallery: Division II Swimming and Diving 555 4.5%
5. Flash Gallery: Epping/Sanborn Boys Basketball 450 3.7%
6. Flash Gallery: Division I Swimming and Diving 433 3.5%
7. Flash Gallery: Winter photos 350 2.9%
8. Flash Gallery: Danish Health Club 224 1.8%
9. Flash Gallery: Celeb Watch 17 172 1.4%
10. Flash Gallery: Fall photos 152 1.2%

Top stories in January

Here is a link to our top 50 stories in January

Strong local traffic Feb. 12

A very strong day yesterday with 27,358 unique visitors and 158,169 page views. All the traffic was local and local stories, led by Jenn Feals' excellent story on the EHS graduate who died in Australia, all did very well.

Special Kudos to Gina Carbone whose reviews of the movies "Cloverfield" and "Juno" were two of our top stories for the month. I'll post the top 50 stories from January on the blog shortly.

In the meantime, here are our top stories from yesterday.

1. Article: Exeter graduate, 20, dies in Australia 3,422
2. Article: Car dealership targeted in seventh recent Lafayette Road
burglary 1,613
3. Article: Obama: 'Change the mind-set' 1,344
4. Article: Business Pease aiport plans $5 million terminal expansion 1,194
5. Article: Porn shop crackdown targets viewing booths 1,165
6. Article: Opinion Letters to the Editor 1,058
7. Article: Gunman in Pamela Smart murder case denied early release 1,016
8. Article: Dodds' wife testifies police did not help in search 992
9. Article: Seafood store fined for lacking license 944
10. Article: Stage Neck Inn arson probe ongoing 937
11. Article: Man collapses in Hampton race 901
12. Article: 2005 Exeter High grad dies in fall 740
13. Article: City rushes to comfort 300 stranded Marines 721
14. Article: Emile J. Dion Jr. 553
15. Article: LaBarre pleads not guilty by reason of insanity to two murder
charges 552


1. Flash Gallery: Photos of the Week Feb4-Feb10 2,840
2. Flash Gallery: Epping/Raymond Basketball 2,506
3. Flash Gallery: Division II Swimming and Diving 1,342
4. Flash Gallery: Division I Swimming and Diving 810
5. Flash Gallery: Epping/Sanborn Boys Basketball 302