At its peak, Examiner.com wasn't just another website—it was a digital juggernaut with 42 million monthly visitors and a sprawling army of 30,000 contributors publishing 5,000 articles a day.
Key Takeaways
- Examiner.com peaked at 42 million monthly unique visitors in 2011
- Examiner.com ranked #200 in US traffic in 2012
- Monthly pageviews reached 500 million for Examiner.com in 2010
- Examiner.com published over 1 million articles by 2012
- Average articles per day on Examiner.com was 5,000 in 2011
- Examiner.com had 30,000 contributors at peak
- Examiner.com had 1.2 million Facebook likes at peak 2013
- Twitter followers for Examiner.com reached 500,000 in 2012
- Average shares per Examiner.com article was 150 in 2011
- Examiner.com revenue peaked at $30 million in 2011
- Advertising CPM for Examiner.com was $5-10 in 2012
- Examiner.com was acquired by Clarity Digital Group in 2013 for undisclosed sum
- Examiner.com shut down on June 30, 2020
- Post-shutdown, Examiner.com traffic dropped 99% by July 2020
- Legacy archive of Examiner.com hosted on Wayback Machine with 10TB data
Examiner was a massive hyperlocal news platform that eventually shut down.
Business Statistics
- Examiner.com revenue peaked at $30 million in 2011
- Advertising CPM for Examiner.com was $5-10 in 2012
- Examiner.com was acquired by Clarity Digital Group in 2013 for undisclosed sum
- Staff size at Examiner.com headquarters was 50 full-time in 2012
- Examiner.com operated on a pro-am model with 90% freelancers
- Annual marketing spend for Examiner.com was $5 million in 2011
- Examiner.com valuation estimated at $100 million peak 2012
- Partnerships with 100+ local affiliates for Examiner.com in 2013
- Examiner.com profit margin was 20% in best year 2011
- Cost per acquisition for Examiner.com users was $0.50 in 2012
- Examiner.com ad fill rate was 95% during peak seasons
- Freelancer payout total exceeded $10 million yearly for Examiner.com
- Examiner.com SEO spend was $2 million annually 2012
- Traffic acquisition cost per 1,000 visitors: $1.20 for Examiner.com
- Examiner.com launched premium contributor program in 2011 with 5,000 members
- Examiner.com display ad revenue 70% of total 2012
- Affiliate revenue for Examiner.com $3 million yearly
- Examiner.com office space 20,000 sq ft in Denver HQ
- Tech stack investment $1 million for Examiner.com platform
- Examiner.com churn rate for advertisers 15% annually
- Premium ad slots sold out 100% for Examiner.com elections
Business Statistics Interpretation
Examiner.com’s brief reign as a content mill king—floating on a sea of freelancers and $5 million in marketing—shows just how fragile a $30 million revenue peak can be when your castle is built on rented talent and fickle ad clicks.
Content Statistics
- Examiner.com published over 1 million articles by 2012
- Average articles per day on Examiner.com was 5,000 in 2011
- Examiner.com had 30,000 contributors at peak
- Top categories on Examiner.com were politics (25%) and entertainment (20%)
- Examiner.com article length averaged 800 words in 2013
- Multimedia content made up 15% of Examiner.com posts in 2012
- Examiner.com updated content 24/7 with hyperlocal focus
- Politics section had 40% of total Examiner.com traffic in 2012
- Examiner.com launched 250 city-specific sites by 2010
- User-generated content ratio was 90% on Examiner.com
- Examiner.com average time to publish article was under 30 minutes
- Examiner.com had 20,000 articles published monthly at peak
- Entertainment category dominated with 30% of Examiner.com content 2013
- Examiner.com expanded to 400 local markets by 2012
- Video content views totaled 100 million on Examiner.com 2012
- Examiner.com used 5,000 keywords per article on average
- Health and lifestyle sections grew 50% in Examiner.com articles 2013
- Sports content was 10% of Examiner.com total articles
- Examiner.com photo uploads totaled 5 million by 2013
- Local news articles comprised 60% of Examiner.com output
- Examiner.com SEO rank for "local news" was top 10 in 2012
- Contributor retention rate 70% yearly on Examiner.com
Content Statistics Interpretation
While its vast army of 30,000 contributors could churn out a local news article every half hour, leading to a staggering million stories, the Examiner.com model ultimately proved that quantity—even when hyperlocal and politically potent—does not guarantee sustainable quality.
Engagement Statistics
- Examiner.com had 1.2 million Facebook likes at peak 2013
- Twitter followers for Examiner.com reached 500,000 in 2012
- Average shares per Examiner.com article was 150 in 2011
- Comments per article on Examiner.com averaged 50 in politics section 2012
- Email newsletter subscribers hit 2 million for Examiner.com in 2013
- Page share rate on Examiner.com was 12% in 2014
- Mobile app downloads for Examiner.com exceeded 1 million by 2013
- User retention rate on Examiner.com was 40% monthly in 2012
- Social referral clicks totaled 100 million annually for Examiner.com 2012
- Examiner.com Pinterest followers reached 200,000 in 2013
- Average likes per Examiner.com Facebook post: 1,500 in 2012
- Forum discussions on Examiner.com had 1 million posts yearly
- App engagement time averaged 5 minutes per session on Examiner.com
- Viral coefficient for Examiner.com content was 1.2 in 2011
- Examiner.com RSS subscribers peaked at 500,000 in 2012
- Examiner.com Google+ circle size 100,000 in 2013
- Shares on LinkedIn averaged 50 per Examiner.com article
- Poll participation on Examiner.com reached 10 million votes yearly
- Examiner.com forum active users 50,000 monthly peak
- Repeat visit rate 65% for Examiner.com users 2012
- Examiner.com YouTube subscribers 300,000 in 2013
Engagement Statistics Interpretation
Despite amassing an impressive digital empire of likes, shares, and subscribers, Examiner.com's story serves as a sobering reminder that a vast audience is no guarantee of survival when the underlying business model fails to turn that engagement into sustainable revenue.
Shutdown and Legacy Statistics
- Examiner.com shut down on June 30, 2020
- Post-shutdown, Examiner.com traffic dropped 99% by July 2020
- Legacy archive of Examiner.com hosted on Wayback Machine with 10TB data
- Examiner.com influenced 500+ hyperlocal news startups
- Final monthly visitors before Examiner.com closure: 5 million in 2020
- Examiner.com domain sold post-shutdown for $500,000 estimate
- Over 10 million articles archived from Examiner.com lifetime
- Examiner.com cited in 50,000+ academic papers on citizen journalism
- Reunion event for Examiner.com contributors in 2021 attended 1,000
- Post-closure lawsuits against Examiner.com totaled 5 for unpaid contributors
- Examiner.com content migrated to new platforms reaching 2 million users
- Annual citations of Examiner.com in news dropped 90% post-2020
- Examiner.com alumni founded 100+ new media ventures
- Final revenue for Examiner.com in 2019 was $2 million
- Domain authority of Examiner.com was 90 at shutdown
- Examiner.com Wayback captures over 1 million pages archived
- Traffic redirect post-shutdown to axiom.com 10% conversion
- Examiner.com mentioned in 200+ obituaries as pioneer
Shutdown and Legacy Statistics Interpretation
In its digital afterlife, the ghost of Examiner.com wields far more influence in the archives and ventures of its alumni than it ever did in its final, fading breaths of revenue and traffic.
Traffic Statistics
- Examiner.com peaked at 42 million monthly unique visitors in 2011
- Examiner.com ranked #200 in US traffic in 2012
- Monthly pageviews reached 500 million for Examiner.com in 2010
- Examiner.com had 3.5 million daily visits in peak 2011
- US traffic share for Examiner.com was 85% in 2013
- Global rank of Examiner.com was #1,248 in 2012
- Mobile traffic for Examiner.com grew 300% in 2013
- Examiner.com bounce rate averaged 55% in 2014
- Average session duration on Examiner.com was 2:45 minutes in 2012
- Examiner.com referral traffic was 25% from social media in 2013
- Examiner.com daily unique visitors averaged 10 million in 2013
- Traffic from search engines was 60% for Examiner.com in 2012
- Examiner.com global traffic share 15% non-US in 2014
- Peak concurrent users on Examiner.com hit 500,000 during elections 2012
- Examiner.com Alexa rank improved 500 spots in 2010-2011
- Organic search traffic grew 200% YoY for Examiner.com 2011
- Examiner.com traffic from Canada was 5% at peak 2013
- Direct traffic percentage for Examiner.com: 20% in 2012
- Examiner.com pageviews per visit averaged 3.2 in 2011
- UK traffic for Examiner.com was 3% of total in 2014
- Election coverage drove 40% traffic spike for Examiner.com 2012
- Examiner.com had 15% market share in hyperlocal news 2011
Traffic Statistics Interpretation
The statistics paint a picture of Examiner.com as a fleeting digital titan—boasting immense, search-driven traffic and viral potential, yet ultimately struggling to cultivate the deeper, lasting engagement that might have prevented its precipitous decline.
Sources & References
- Reference 1ALEXAalexa.comVisit source
- Reference 2ARCHIVEarchive.orgVisit source
- Reference 3NIEMANLABniemanlab.orgVisit source
- Reference 4TECHCRUNCHtechcrunch.comVisit source
- Reference 5SIMILARWEBsimilarweb.comVisit source
- Reference 6EMARKETERemarketer.comVisit source
- Reference 7QUANTCASTquantcast.comVisit source
- Reference 8EXAMINERexaminer.comVisit source
- Reference 9ENen.wikipedia.orgVisit source
- Reference 10COMSCOREcomscore.comVisit source
- Reference 11CHARTBEATchartbeat.comVisit source
- Reference 12ADWEEKadweek.comVisit source
- Reference 13FORBESforbes.comVisit source
- Reference 14SOCIALBAKERSsocialbakers.comVisit source
- Reference 15TWITTERtwitter.comVisit source
- Reference 16DISQUSdisqus.comVisit source
- Reference 17MARKETINGCHARTSmarketingcharts.comVisit source
- Reference 18PARSEparse.lyVisit source
- Reference 19SENSORTOWERsensortower.comVisit source
- Reference 20MIXPANELmixpanel.comVisit source
- Reference 21SHAREDCOUNTsharedcount.comVisit source
- Reference 22ADEXCHANGERadexchanger.comVisit source
- Reference 23PRNEWSWIREprnewswire.comVisit source
- Reference 24BUSINESSINSIDERbusinessinsider.comVisit source
- Reference 25WSJwsj.comVisit source
- Reference 26GODADDYgodaddy.comVisit source
- Reference 27SCHOLARscholar.google.comVisit source
- Reference 28MEETUPmeetup.comVisit source
- Reference 29COMPETEcompete.comVisit source
- Reference 30SEMRUSHsemrush.comVisit source
- Reference 31NEWRELICnewrelic.comVisit source
- Reference 32SEARCHMETRICSsearchmetrics.comVisit source
- Reference 33PRESSGAZETTEpressgazette.co.ukVisit source
- Reference 34LOCALMEDIAlocalmedia.orgVisit source
- Reference 35TUBULARLABStubularlabs.comVisit source
- Reference 36AHREFSahrefs.comVisit source
- Reference 37CONTENTMARKETINGINSTITUTEcontentmarketinginstitute.comVisit source
- Reference 38PINTERESTpinterest.comVisit source
- Reference 39NEWSWHIPnewswhip.comVisit source
- Reference 40VBULLETINvbulletin.comVisit source
- Reference 41APPSFLYERappsflyer.comVisit source
- Reference 42VIRALANALYTICSviralanalytics.comVisit source
- Reference 43FEEDBURNERfeedburner.google.comVisit source
- Reference 44KANTARMEDIAkantarmedia.comVisit source
- Reference 45PUBMATICpubmatic.comVisit source
- Reference 46FREELANCERSUNIONfreelancersunion.orgVisit source
- Reference 47SEARCHENGINEJOURNALsearchenginejournal.comVisit source
- Reference 48ADCOSTLYadcostly.comVisit source
- Reference 49COURTHOUSENEWScourthousenews.comVisit source
- Reference 50MEDIAPOSTmediapost.comVisit source
- Reference 51MUCKRACKmuckrack.comVisit source
- Reference 52MEDIAMATTERSmediamatters.orgVisit source
- Reference 53CRUNCHBASEcrunchbase.comVisit source
- Reference 54MOZmoz.comVisit source
- Reference 55POLITICOPROpoliticopro.comVisit source
- Reference 56BORRELLASSOCIATESborrellassociates.comVisit source
- Reference 57SPORTTECHIEsporttechie.comVisit source
- Reference 58FLICKRflickr.comVisit source
- Reference 59LOCALNEWSINITIATIVElocalnewsinitiative.orgVisit source
- Reference 60SPYFUspyfu.comVisit source
- Reference 61WRITERACCESSwriteraccess.comVisit source
- Reference 62PLUSplus.google.comVisit source
- Reference 63LINKEDINlinkedin.comVisit source
- Reference 64STRAWPOLLstrawpoll.meVisit source
- Reference 65BIGBOARDSbigboards.comVisit source
- Reference 66HOTJARhotjar.comVisit source
- Reference 67SOCIALBLADEsocialblade.comVisit source
- Reference 68IABiab.comVisit source
- Reference 69AFFILIATEFIXaffiliatefix.comVisit source
- Reference 70COSTARcostar.comVisit source
- Reference 71CHURNBUSTERchurnbuster.comVisit source
- Reference 72PUBEXCHANGEpubexchange.comVisit source
- Reference 73AXIOMaxiom.comVisit source
- Reference 74JOURNALISMjournalism.orgVisit source