Must Read Alaska milestone: Zooming past 5 million visitors

By
Suzanne Downing
-
9

A BRIEF TOUR THROUGH THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THIS SITE

A moment to reflect on the three-year anniversary of this website:

Must Read Alaska, the news site you’re reading now, has reached a new milestone:

The number of visits reached more than 5 million on Sunday.

To put it into perspective: That’s two-and-a-half times the number of tourists Alaska saw last year; it’s more than seven visits per year for every man, woman, and child who is an Alaskan.

Who are these readers? Primarily Alaskans. But they’re also reading MRAK from Seattle, Washington, D.C, Hawaii, and Australia. They read Must Read in Houston, Texas, Cottage Grove, Ore., and New York. They all have a tie to this great state and they’re all curious about how things are going up here in the land they love.

FUN FACTS ABOUT THIS SITE

The “Unique Visitor” Profile for the past 28 days; 99 percent of traffic is from real people, not bots:

MORE FUN FACTS

  • 61 percent of readers are reading on their mobile device, 28 percent on a desktop, and the rest on a tablet.
  • The majority of MRAK readers are in the Southcentral region. Seattle ranks #2, then Juneau, Fairbanks, and Kenai.
  • 62 percent of readers are men, 38 percent women.
  • 60 percent of readers are 45 years and older.
  • 55 percent of visitors are returning visitors.
  • Over 14,662 comments posted by readers.
  • 16,843 sites in the U.S. get more traffic than Must Read Alaska.
  • For perspective, 6,734 sites in the United States get more traffic than the Anchorage Daily News.
  • NRA.org ranks just ahead of Must Read Alaska for overall visits at 15,998.

In this analysis, the low number wins for traffic ranking, making ADN at the top for traffic. Must Read Alaska is the green line. That puts MRAK at #3 statewide for online news and commentary, a bit behind KTUU but closing steadily.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT

This site is supported by dozens of Alaskans, and I’d like to take a moment to thank each one of you. You are quiet supporters of journalism that’s done with a conservative reader in mind. You are the cheering section that keeps Must Read Alaska going every day with your enthusiasm and financial support.

Thank you so much for your support.

Now, back to work creating the most interesting and engaging website in Alaska.

Be sure to subscribe to the newsletter for more exclusive content.

9 COMMENTS

  2. Since the end of the Times, Alaska is ripe for diversity in media. With the death of print/legacy media, disruption is at hand. Hopefully, MRA will grow, based on new information flow and technology, into a full fledged information service for Alaska. Best of luck, and thank you.

  4. MRAK is a beautiful example of what happens when you combine hard work, journalistic integrity, intellectual persistence, and just happen to be a literal walking dictionary of all things Alaska.

    Suzanne’s deep knowledge of the history and vast intricacies of our state (especially it’s politics) is beyond impressive.

    She and MRAK are something that all Alaskans who care about our state’s future should treasure and SUPPORT.

    Truthful and factual well-researched articles have become so very rare in today’s media environment. 90% of what you read in most Alaska publications is likely to contain some kind of blatant omission, political propaganda, or both.

    Not MRAK.

    While we are busy working, Suzanne is busy bird-dogging the latest bait & switch swindle happening at our capitol.

    Sadly, oftentimes the Juneau political shenanigans are things we’d have never even read about if nor for Suzanne and MRAK’s reporting.

    Thank you, Suzanne, for delivering the real dirt on Alaska to my desktop everyday!

  5. New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet is predicting that “most local newspapers are going to die in the next five years.” But there’ll always be a need for local reporting. Quality websites like MRAK will only grow and become more influential as the old left-leaning dinosaurs like the ADN die off. The free market will continue to reward websites like MRAK.

    But generating content is hard, labor intensive and few do it well. Suzanne is an exception. I imagine it’s difficult to monetize a website like MRAK despite its popularity. I would certainly be willing to pay a monthly subscription fee to access the content here. I believe others would too. People gladly pay monthly fees for Netflix and other content sites. Why not pay for content from a local website like this one?

  6. Thanks for exposing the good, the bad, and the ugly, Suzanne! Without MRAK my link to what is happening in MY Alaska would be relegated to what? The ADN? Regurgitated headlines and press releases? Thanks for admitting when you make a mistake, and not apologizing when it isn’t warranted. And thanks for the cornucopia of content you continually bring to the forum that invites myriad of opinions, from apparently far and wide. Kudo’s to you and your team.

  7. Inasmuch as KTUU now reports mainly about puppies, community gardens and the weather, it should not be long until MRAK overtakes the Anchorage television station.

  8. Thank you Suzanne! We know you work 24-7 to keep us informed, and thank GOD for all your work. We have waited a long time for you and MRAK. Meanwhile I bet the local fake news paper, and NPR station wonders where their advertising dollars have vanished to! But good news for their soon to be unemployed editorial staff, they will be fully qualified to write up tomorrows lunch specials at the local sandwich shop! And speaking of advertising dollars, think I will drop $100 in your jar. Hay fake news and NPR, are you listening? You could learn a thing or two hanging around here.

  9. Suzanne is right up there with the Drudge Report. The best reporting and writing in Alaska. Period.

Comments are closed.