Stuttgarter Zeitung‘s Direct Traffic Turnaround: A focus on Audience & Ownership
For the Stuttgarter Zeitung, building a strong direct relationship with readers has moved beyond a simple measure of success – it’s now critical for the company’s long-term viability. Relying on owned channels is seen as essential for consistent customer reach, fostering loyalty, and maintaining independent journalistic distribution.
The publishing company acknowledged starting from a challenging position, with below-average direct website traffic and comparatively weak customer retention. However, over the past 18 months, a focused strategy has yielded notable improvements in direct traffic numbers.
The core of this approach centers on understanding and serving the genuine interests of their readership. The Stuttgarter Zeitung identified five key areas that drove positive results:
1. Concentrated Audience Focus: The journalistic strategy was refined to prioritize local communities and specific interest groups. This included dedicated coverage for those involved in the automotive sector and passionate followers of VfB Stuttgart football club.
2. Empowering Editorial Teams: A coaching program was implemented to equip editorial staff with the skills to better understand and connect with their audiences. This involved experimentation with new content formats,streamlined workflows,faster feedback loops,and a greater emphasis on data-informed decision-making.
3. Building a dedicated Digital Ecosystem: Targeted newsletters, specialized social media channels, and diverse content types – ranging from traditional articles to concise videos – were created to cater to the preferences of key audience segments.
4. Expanding Website Capabilities: New engagement features were introduced on the website, alongside revised editorial priorities. A subscriber-exclusive section offering curated, topic-focused content was launched, aiming to increase user engagement and time spent on the site.
5. Prioritizing Breaking News: The Stuttgarter Zeitung committed to maintaining a consistently updated website, providing swift and reliable coverage of major events. They actively disseminate breaking news through their own channels, demonstrating their commitment to trustworthy and timely information, independent of algorithmic platforms.
AI: A Supporting Role
Artificial intelligence is being utilized strategically to automate tasks and enhance content production efficiency. However, the company emphasizes that human creativity remains central to the process, and human oversight ensures final quality control.
Positive Results & Collaboration
The implemented strategy resulted in nearly a doubling of direct website traffic within a few months. The Stuttgarter Zeitung believes this growth trajectory is sustainable. Crucially, this success was achieved through close collaboration between editorial, product, marketing, reader revenue, data, and technology teams.
Carsten Groß, Managing Director of Stuttgarter Zeitung, originally shared this information on LinkedIn, where it has been republished with permission.