Belfasttelegraph.co.uk has
undergone a complete makeover to enable greater interaction with
its readers and develop additional areas of interest including a
travel section fuelled by national sister site
independent.co.uk.
Since its relaunch, belfasttelegraph.co.uk has seen a 29 per
cent increase week on week in page impressions. The new website,
launched on 14 July, was revealed following a complete redesign, a
thorough content review and the move to a ‘tri-site
platform’.
The new tri-site platform links belfasttelegraph.co.uk to
fellow Independent News & Media sites independent.co.uk and
independent.ie, increasing the
functionality of its online portfolio and enhancing the interactive
qualities of the content.
Sam McIlveen, digital publisher of Independent News
& Media (Northern Ireland), said of the site: “The
new tri-site platform has given us an enhanced level of
functionality that a standalone paper would not be able to achieve.
This huge resource greatly expands what we have to offer and means
we can do more than just shunt newspaper copy online.
“We are thrilled with the huge increase in audience the
website has seen so soon after launch. If this trend continues, we
would be tracking 4 million page impressions per month which we
would be delighted with – but our ambition is to be
bigger.”
New elements have been added to belfasttelegraph.co.uk,
including a travel section which will feature content written by
the independent.co.uk editorial team, led by Simon Calder,
repurposed for the Northern Irish consumer. Users of the site can
watch videos of different travel locations, comment on stories and
post their own reviews.
In partnership with Invest NI, the site’s new business section
provides a searchable business events planner which will include
dates for exhibitions, seminars and other networking opportunities
across Northern Ireland that are relevant to local enterprises.
Company profiles and their financial performance are also available
to view, and experts are on hand to answer queries through the
Business Clinic section.
The makeover of belfasttelegraph.co.uk has allowed for greater
interaction with its users via video news, opinion polls,
competitions and the ability to comment on and upload pictures,
video and stories. Regular blogs on football, property and motoring
are published, and allow its readers to join in the debate.
McIlveen continues: “It was frightening when our readers
started to interact with us. Within ten minutes of us switching on
the new website we had our first comment; it was
amazing.
“We are getting incredibly good feedback, and the site has
already begun to provide us with stories. Since the relaunch, we’ve
had our first case of reverse publishing where a comment from a
member of the public became a story in the main
newspaper.”
The website was launched to current and potential users via a
series of email newsletters, online advertising and in-paper
promotion. Meetings were held with advertising agencies in advance
of the launch to build awareness and excitement around the site’s
new look.