May ABCes: Guardian retains top spot, Sun posts biggest gain

Guardian.co.uk recorded the highest number of unique users in May, according to the latest figures from the Audit Bureau of Circulations Electronic (ABCe).

[Jump to the full stats or graph of ABCe results for 2009 so far]

Despite posting a slight month-on-month drop (0.47 per cent) the title's 27,194,840 uniques for the month beat Telegraph.co.uk into second place.

But the Telegraph was one of four audited titles to show growth last month, recording a month-on-month rise of 5.75 per cent to reach 25,246,936 unique users.

Telegraph.co.uk's coverage of the MPs' expenses scandal had a significant impact on page impressions for May with a record 238 million for the site (up 18 per cent month-on-month). According to a press statement, page views on the site's news channel, which carried the reporting, rose by 69 per cent from April's figures.

The biggest increase in unique users last month was for The Sun, according to the stats. The website gained 11.57 per cent on April. Mail Online and Mirror Group also saw an increase in unique users, but there were drops for the Independent (down 8.23 per cent) and Times Online (down 5.46 per cent).

The full figures for the six audited titles and Mirror Group's websites are listed below. The percentage in brackets indicates the month-on-month change compared with April's ABCe report:

Telegraph.co.uk
Unique users: 25,246,936 (+5.75 per cent); +36.49 per cent year-on-year

Guardian.co.uk
Unique users: 27,194,840 (-0.47 per cent); +48.41 per cent year-on-year

Mail Online
Unique users: 24,637,383 (+6.41 per cent); +31.66 per cent year-on-year

Times Online
Unique users: 20,406,420 (-5.46 per cent); +28.52 per cent year-on-year

TheSun.co.uk
Unique users: 22,946,242 (+11.57 per cent); +53.51 per cent year-on-year

Independent.co.uk
Unique users: 9,573,870 (-8.23 per cent); +46.53 per cent year-on-year

Mirror Group
Unique users: 8,693,58 (+1.12 per cent); +80 per cent year-on-year

ABCe figures since January:

Free daily newsletter

If you like our news and feature articles, you can sign up to receive our free daily (Mon-Fri) email newsletter (mobile friendly).