What is the ‘Deeply read’ list?

What is the ‘Deeply read’ list?

Tracking Engagement Beyond Clicks

For years, The Guardian has monitored how long readers engage with our content. While traditional metrics like click counts provide a glimpse into an article’s potential significance or appeal within specific subjects, they don’t fully capture the depth of engagement with the material itself.

Platforms such as The Guardian have long showcased top-performing pieces through ‘Most viewed’ lists, which rely on click-based popularity. Yet these rankings often miss insightful journalism on less mainstream topics, favoring widely shared content over in-depth reporting that resonates with smaller but dedicated audiences.

To address this, we’ve introduced the ‘Deeply read’ list, which prioritizes articles based on reader attention duration. Unlike conventional lists, this feature appears on localized home pages, reflecting the unique interests of each regional community.

Not every featured piece is lengthy. The list’s algorithm evaluates the ratio of reader attention time to article length, ensuring a mix of topics, lengths, and formats. This approach highlights diverse journalism, offering a broader spectrum of stories that deserve more than just a quick glance.