Google News brings national clicks to local news
Google News is one of my favorite ways to get a quick overview of what’s going on with the world. However, once in a while, I click on a news article that’s interesting, but goes to a local news site… I think mostly local tv station websites. Since these sites were created to serve the local market, they generally don’t feel the need to note prominently where the station is located… i.e. what state they are in.
Here’s an example for “Fayetteville’s FayObserver.com”… I have no idea what state Fayetteville is in. I’m sure if I clicked around a bit, I’d see the state, but I think it should be listed clearly. Here’s an example of a newspaper site (my local) that sometimes breaks national news… the Austin-American Statesman. However, if you didn’t know it was in Texas, this page wouldn’t tell you.
It’s really an interesting evolution… local can now draw national attention and clicks. I’d suggest that managers that run local-oriented news sites take a look at who their users just might be… classic issue to be solved by user-centered design methods (and maybe a little web traffic analytics).
Does your site quickly give context to new visitors? Or do they have to be local or in your industry to understand anything?
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