• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, June 16, 2006

Online ad revenues at The New York Times Co. last month soared 26.9 percent from May of 2005, while ad revenues at the company overall grew 4.4 percent--the highest increase so far this year.

The company's Web presence has been bolstered significantly by the acquisition of About.com, which helped yield a total of 39 million unique visitors for all its Web properties last month, according to Nielsen//NetRatings. About.com has enjoyed an expansive 59 percent year-over-year growth in ad revenue, in large part because of an increase in cost-per-click advertising, as well as increased demand for display ads.

The overall positive picture at the Times was offset somewhat by significant declines in both regional demand and certain ad categories. For example, the company's New England Media Group posted a 6.9 percent decline in revenue compared to May 2005, and national ad categories like automotive, studio entertainment, travel, and financial services all suffered too. Overall national advertising was up 2.4 percent and retail 10.4 percent compared to May 2005--although in a year-to-date comparison, in the first five months of 2006 the two have fallen 1.0 and .9 percent, respectively.

The company's classified advertising revenue dipped 1.9 overall, with certain areas posting more significant declines. Automotive classified revenue fell 19.5 percent and Help Wanted 6.2 compared to May 2005. These declines were apparently offset by real estate classified revenue, which rose 15.6 percent over May 2005.