Bonuses for staff who meet site traffic targets are being trialled at Metro.co.uk.

Quarterly bonuses are paid to members of the senior editorial team for the website who meet growth targets for unique users and page impressions.

The trial, which has been ongoing for 18 months, has caused some tension with editorial teams on the title's print product, Jamie Walters, digital director of Metro, told Journalism.co.uk.

"It's the right thing to do because it's so measurable, but you don't want to do it on a really granular basis - it has to fit in with a broader traffic strategy or targets," he explained at an Association of Online Publishers (AOP) forum.

The bonuses are paid from the site's commercial side and are relevant because driving traffic up creates revenue opportunities, he added.

The bonus system could also work for heads of channel content, but this has not been introduced, said Walters.

Speaking at the event, Times Online search editor Drew Broomhall said the title's staff were not financially rewarded for generating traffic with their content, but that interesting online projects are acknowledged by management.

More to follow from Journalism.co.uk on Metro.co.uk, Telegraph.co.uk and Times Online's search strategies.