Guardian Australia launch sees 634 per cent traffic increase for Swan Hill Guardian website

The Guardian launched its new website in Australia yesterday, adding to its current offerings in the UK and United States.

The newspaper, founded in Manchester in 1821, claims to have 40m readers worldwide – one third of which come from the UK.

Editor of the Australia edition Katharine Viner said in her introductory blog post that the title already has 1m readers Down Under.

Last week, The Guardian announced plans to move its web address from Guardian.co.uk to TheGuardian.com in line with its global approach.

It today reported that The Swan Hill (in Victoria, Australia) Guardian’s website saw a 634 per cent increase in web traffic on Monday.

Guardian Australia has reported that the spike, from an average daily online readership of 900 to 6,000, occurred because the paper’s web address is TheGuardian.com.au.

Swan Hill Guardian general manager Rob Duffield told Guardian Australia: “We’re having a bit of fun with it. It’s certainly different for us. Our editor is away at the moment, he’s climbing a mountain in Asia, and he would be sorely sorry that he’s missed it all.”

Guardian Australia is funded by businessman Graeme Wood who is said to have provided enough money to keep the site going for five years. The Guardian has yet to reveal a figure for his investment.