Business Insider's Traffic Tumult
On Wednesday morning, Business Insider chief Christian Baesler gathered staffers for an all-hands meeting at the company’s New York offices. The newly appointed boss of the Axel Springer publication took the stage before a wary staff, many of whom have watched the outlet endure rounds of layoffs and mounting business troubles, telling them that it is “essential to deal with urgency” as the company pursues a new business model far less reliant on traffic-based revenue amid the continued erosion of web audience.
“It’s definitely a challenging time as we navigate the change of the industry and our transition from that traffic-based model,” Baesler gently acknowledged.
This story is based on an audio recording of the meeting, obtained by Status, in which Baesler revealed internal figures to staffers. The numbers, which have not been previously reported, revealed the stunning extent to which the digital outlet has been starved of SEO traffic—the former lifeblood of the Henry Blodget-founded publication—and offered the shaken workforce insight into how the company’s subscription business is performing. Baesler disclosed the figures to…
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