Email newsletters are helping Metro.co.uk change its relationship with its readers and build more direct traffic as social and search become less reliable and predictable.

Metro.co.uk editor Deborah Arthurs told Press Gazette’s Future of Media Explained podcast that changes at Facebook and Google, which were frequently the biggest traffic referrers for Metro and other major publishers for many years, have led to a pivot in approach towards persuading audiences to come directly.

According to digital intelligence platform Similarweb, 43% of Metro.co.uk’s traffic now comes directly, followed by 41% from search and 10% from social media. Metro claims to have a global millennial audience of 50 million.