Community Corner

Patch Ranks No. 4 Largest Online, Up From No. 10

Nielson-like (TV) ratings rank Patch online in local-regional category.

With Patch users more than tripling since a year ago, the patchwork of local news websites now rank fourth largest—up from 10th, according to comScore, a company that crunches numbers about online business.

The ranking was among local-regional online "properties" or companies, comScore said.

Patch at No. 4 trails only behind Yelp (No. 1), CityGrid (No. 2) and Yahoo! Local (No. 3.) Patch is ahead of CBS Local (No. 5.)

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“Given that the average Patch site is just over a year old, we couldn’t be happier with the traffic growth we’ve shown to date,” said Warren Webster, president of Patch Media.

“We are incredibly proud of the role we play in our communities every day—and of the consistent positive feedback we receive from our users—so seeing this rise in traffic is very gratifying for our entire team,” Webster said.

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Patch is described as a hyperlocal news, information and engagement website, with some 863 individual sites across the nation, typically in cities surrounding large urban areas.

According to a press release from Patch management Tuesday:

Patch, AOL’s platform of 863 hyperlocal news, information and engagement sites, is now the fourth largest regional/local property, more than tripling its UV traffic between December 2010 and December 2011, per the comScore data released this week.

In December 2011, Patch showed a 5 percent traffic bump over November (9.9M unique visitors versus 9.5M unique visitors), bucking the trend of seasonal declines in comScore’s local news and information category.

Unique visitors are one way internet companies measure customer use or traffic on their websites.

Patch facts:

  • Patch currently has 863 sites in 22 states plus Washington, D.C.
  • More than a thousand journalists manage those sites
  • 13,000-plus bloggers contribute content
  • Patch recently launched its first three Patch Latino sites
  • Patch launched coverage of the 2012 election season in primary states.

Patch provided this additional information:

  • Patch launched in 2009 with the mission of becoming the most trusted source of local news and information via a platform of hyperlocal sites.
  • Patch is the online destination for residents who want to participate in discussions, post announcements and event information, share their perspectives via Patch's blogging platform, and get involved in their communities.
  • Business owners and advertisers can benefit from Patch's unique ability to geotarget new and existing customers.
  • Patch serves as the eyes and ears for what is happening at the grassroots level across the nation.


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