Spike in visitors shuts down internet newspaper for first time since races at Daytona

Tourism-related stories trend well

Internet newspaper's tourism stories trending / Headline SurferHeadline Surfer graphic / Feature tourism stories promoting the Southeast Volusia Advertising Authority continue to show strong placement in the major online news directories and search engines as demonstrated here.

DAYTONA BEACH -- For the first time since Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway back in February, Headline Surfer experienced tremendous surges in visitors Wednesday evening that forced the 24/7 internet newspaper's server in Dallas to shutdown periodically between 9-11 p.m. Wednesday because of tremendous increases in visitors.

Headline Surfer hadn't had a problem like this since the Nationwide Race highlights from Daytona when the internet newspaper was overwhelmed by users checking out the multi-media coverage of the last-lap crash that sent debris from several wrecked race cars into the grandstands, including a tire. After that, it was touch and go through the running of the Daytona 500.

Headline Surfer repaired problems with its database and switched to a much larger server after the Daytona 500. But Wednesday proved to be a bit of a challenge, though the database was not compromised despite so many users trying to access the site at the same time.

Headline Surfer's traffic has continued to show considerable growth since the home-base operation was moved from New Smyrna Beach to Lake Mary, opening up the Orlando market in addition to greater Daytona Beach.

Kissimmee perfume robbers / Headline SurferStand Your Ground trending / Headline SurferHeadline Surfer graphic / The 24/7 internet newspaper's stories either go to the top of the online news directories like the perfume theft story in in the Google News Directory for Kissimmee or near the top like the Stand Your ground story in the Google news directory for Sanford, FL.

Sanford Though Headline Surfer, a husband-wife team, is among the smallest around-the-clock internet newspapers worldwide with a very small budget, it enjoys a global audience.

Unlike the much larger daily print publications that enjoys taxpayer-supported advertising, Headline Surfer stands alone in providing digital access free of charge while the area newspapers like the Daytona Beach News-Journal, Orlando Sentinel, Florida Today and others require use of a credit card to pay for such access after a certain number of clicks in a given month (typically 5 to 10).

Offline alert / Headline SurferHeadline Surfer graphic / Shown here is the offline graphic for the 24/7 Internet newspaper that appeared for the first time since February because of heavy concentrated visitorship to the site Wednesday night.

Because of the filters required for these digital services, the Google, Bing and Yahoo robots can't penetrate the print newspaper online sites as easily.

This is one of the primary reasons why Headline Surfer's news content is typically found at or near the top of the news directories and search engines, literally within minutes.

And Headline Surfer content stays up longer because it's easier to access to those who don't regularly come directly to Headline Surfer. And the content stays in position longer because of the organic growth.

Because of the filters required for these digital services, the Google, Bing and Yahoo robots can't penetrate the print newspaper online sites as easily. This is one of the primary reasons why Headline Surfer's news content is typically found at or near the top of the news directories and search engines, literally within minutes. 

Viewers will also find that photos of newsmakers are more often branded with Headline Surfer's imprint than the print competitors because of the accessibility in the major search engines and news directories.

Headline Surfer's advertising is far more affordable and visible, too. And the internet newspaper's brand of journalism has proven itself to be award-winning with eight Florida Press Club Awards in the past three years, including three more this week for nine stories.

FAST FACTS: Headline Surfer audience

Florida analytics / Headline SurferHeadline Surfer graphics. The snapshots of Headline Surfer's world and Florida maps that show darker blue reflect heaviest access locations.
 
According to our Google Analytics, Headline Surfer (HeadlineSurfer.com, NSBNews.net) has been accessed in the past 30 days by visitors in 107 countries (and 2,904 cities, including USA), all 50 states and 295 Florida communities. The Top 10 Florida cities: 1. New Smyrna Beach; 2. Sanford; 3. Daytona Beach; 4. Port Orange; 5. Hialeah; 6. DeLand; 7. Ormond Beach; 8. Orlando; 9. Tampa; 10. Palm Coast.

Did You Know?

When Headline Surfer was initially launched from New Smyrna Beach as NSBNews.net on April 7, 2008, it was the first 24/7 internet newspaper in Florida and among the first in the world. The name was changed last year to Headline Surfer ® after the registered trademark for news and advertising was legally acquired.
The home operation was moved to Lake Mary in September. Headline Surfer is an internet newspaper as opposed to a blog because of the focus on fact-based news as opposed to strictly opinion.
This electronic-only medium comes under the heading of "new media"  as opposed to "mainstream media" or traditional "news media."
Headline Surfer is a custom-built website with full social media integration (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, RSS) recognized by Google News as press. And as such, its editorial content is continuously indexed in the online giant's news directories by city and in its search engine database as well as with Bing and Yahoo.