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
1Examiner.com revenue peaked at $30 million in 2011
Verified2Advertising CPM for Examiner.com was $5-10 in 2012
Verified3Examiner.com was acquired by Clarity Digital Group in 2013 for undisclosed sum
Verified4Staff size at Examiner.com headquarters was 50 full-time in 2012
Directional5Examiner.com operated on a pro-am model with 90% freelancers
Single source6Annual marketing spend for Examiner.com was $5 million in 2011
Verified7Examiner.com valuation estimated at $100 million peak 2012
Verified8Partnerships with 100+ local affiliates for Examiner.com in 2013
Verified9Examiner.com profit margin was 20% in best year 2011
Directional10Cost per acquisition for Examiner.com users was $0.50 in 2012
Single source11Examiner.com ad fill rate was 95% during peak seasons
Verified12Freelancer payout total exceeded $10 million yearly for Examiner.com
Verified13Examiner.com SEO spend was $2 million annually 2012
Verified14Traffic acquisition cost per 1,000 visitors: $1.20 for Examiner.com
Directional15Examiner.com launched premium contributor program in 2011 with 5,000 members
Single source16Examiner.com display ad revenue 70% of total 2012
Verified17Affiliate revenue for Examiner.com $3 million yearly
Verified18Examiner.com office space 20,000 sq ft in Denver HQ
Verified19Tech stack investment $1 million for Examiner.com platform
Directional20Examiner.com churn rate for advertisers 15% annually
Single source21Premium ad slots sold out 100% for Examiner.com elections
VerifiedBusiness 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
1Examiner.com published over 1 million articles by 2012
Verified2Average articles per day on Examiner.com was 5,000 in 2011
Verified3Examiner.com had 30,000 contributors at peak
Verified4Top categories on Examiner.com were politics (25%) and entertainment (20%)
Directional5Examiner.com article length averaged 800 words in 2013
Single source6Multimedia content made up 15% of Examiner.com posts in 2012
Verified7Examiner.com updated content 24/7 with hyperlocal focus
Verified8Politics section had 40% of total Examiner.com traffic in 2012
Verified9Examiner.com launched 250 city-specific sites by 2010
Directional10User-generated content ratio was 90% on Examiner.com
Single source11Examiner.com average time to publish article was under 30 minutes
Verified12Examiner.com had 20,000 articles published monthly at peak
Verified13Entertainment category dominated with 30% of Examiner.com content 2013
Verified14Examiner.com expanded to 400 local markets by 2012
Directional15Video content views totaled 100 million on Examiner.com 2012
Single source16Examiner.com used 5,000 keywords per article on average
Verified17Health and lifestyle sections grew 50% in Examiner.com articles 2013
Verified18Sports content was 10% of Examiner.com total articles
Verified19Examiner.com photo uploads totaled 5 million by 2013
Directional20Local news articles comprised 60% of Examiner.com output
Single source21Examiner.com SEO rank for "local news" was top 10 in 2012
Verified22Contributor retention rate 70% yearly on Examiner.com
VerifiedContent 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
1Examiner.com had 1.2 million Facebook likes at peak 2013
Verified2Twitter followers for Examiner.com reached 500,000 in 2012
Verified3Average shares per Examiner.com article was 150 in 2011
Verified4Comments per article on Examiner.com averaged 50 in politics section 2012
Directional5Email newsletter subscribers hit 2 million for Examiner.com in 2013
Single source6Page share rate on Examiner.com was 12% in 2014
Verified7Mobile app downloads for Examiner.com exceeded 1 million by 2013
Verified8User retention rate on Examiner.com was 40% monthly in 2012
Verified9Social referral clicks totaled 100 million annually for Examiner.com 2012
Directional10Examiner.com Pinterest followers reached 200,000 in 2013
Single source11Average likes per Examiner.com Facebook post: 1,500 in 2012
Verified12Forum discussions on Examiner.com had 1 million posts yearly
Verified13App engagement time averaged 5 minutes per session on Examiner.com
Verified14Viral coefficient for Examiner.com content was 1.2 in 2011
Directional15Examiner.com RSS subscribers peaked at 500,000 in 2012
Single source16Examiner.com Google+ circle size 100,000 in 2013
Verified17Shares on LinkedIn averaged 50 per Examiner.com article
Verified18Poll participation on Examiner.com reached 10 million votes yearly
Verified19Examiner.com forum active users 50,000 monthly peak
Directional20Repeat visit rate 65% for Examiner.com users 2012
Single source21Examiner.com YouTube subscribers 300,000 in 2013
VerifiedEngagement 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
1Examiner.com shut down on June 30, 2020
Verified2Post-shutdown, Examiner.com traffic dropped 99% by July 2020
Verified3Legacy archive of Examiner.com hosted on Wayback Machine with 10TB data
Verified4Examiner.com influenced 500+ hyperlocal news startups
Directional5Final monthly visitors before Examiner.com closure: 5 million in 2020
Single source6Examiner.com domain sold post-shutdown for $500,000 estimate
Verified7Over 10 million articles archived from Examiner.com lifetime
Verified8Examiner.com cited in 50,000+ academic papers on citizen journalism
Verified9Reunion event for Examiner.com contributors in 2021 attended 1,000
Directional10Post-closure lawsuits against Examiner.com totaled 5 for unpaid contributors
Single source11Examiner.com content migrated to new platforms reaching 2 million users
Verified12Annual citations of Examiner.com in news dropped 90% post-2020
Verified13Examiner.com alumni founded 100+ new media ventures
Verified14Final revenue for Examiner.com in 2019 was $2 million
Directional15Domain authority of Examiner.com was 90 at shutdown
Single source16Examiner.com Wayback captures over 1 million pages archived
Verified17Traffic redirect post-shutdown to axiom.com 10% conversion
Verified18Examiner.com mentioned in 200+ obituaries as pioneer
VerifiedShutdown 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
1Examiner.com peaked at 42 million monthly unique visitors in 2011
Verified2Examiner.com ranked #200 in US traffic in 2012
Verified3Monthly pageviews reached 500 million for Examiner.com in 2010
Verified4Examiner.com had 3.5 million daily visits in peak 2011
Directional5US traffic share for Examiner.com was 85% in 2013
Single source6Global rank of Examiner.com was #1,248 in 2012
Verified7Mobile traffic for Examiner.com grew 300% in 2013
Verified8Examiner.com bounce rate averaged 55% in 2014
Verified9Average session duration on Examiner.com was 2:45 minutes in 2012
Directional10Examiner.com referral traffic was 25% from social media in 2013
Single source11Examiner.com daily unique visitors averaged 10 million in 2013
Verified12Traffic from search engines was 60% for Examiner.com in 2012
Verified13Examiner.com global traffic share 15% non-US in 2014
Verified14Peak concurrent users on Examiner.com hit 500,000 during elections 2012
Directional15Examiner.com Alexa rank improved 500 spots in 2010-2011
Single source16Organic search traffic grew 200% YoY for Examiner.com 2011
Verified17Examiner.com traffic from Canada was 5% at peak 2013
Verified18Direct traffic percentage for Examiner.com: 20% in 2012
Verified19Examiner.com pageviews per visit averaged 3.2 in 2011
Directional20UK traffic for Examiner.com was 3% of total in 2014
Single source21Election coverage drove 40% traffic spike for Examiner.com 2012
Verified22Examiner.com had 15% market share in hyperlocal news 2011
VerifiedTraffic 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.
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