Rochdale Online celebrates 21 years serving borough of Rochdale

The Rochdale Online website, one of the oldest and most popular ‘hyperlocal’ websites in the country, is celebrating 21 years of serving the borough of Rochdale.

For the first three years, Rochdale Online was one local man’s hobby, becoming a commercial enterprise when Rochdale Online Ltd was registered as a company in 2001.

From its launch on 28 June 1998, Rochdale Online, now based in Rochdale town centre and whose staff all live locally, has strived to serve the Rochdale Borough community (Heywood, Middleton, Pennines and Rochdale) by publicising local businesses, sports groups and organisations.

In doing so, Rochdale Online has grown to become a very important resource for the local community, recognised throughout the borough as an independent and trusted source of news and information.

Since implementing Google Analytics in 2011, the site’s unique visitors each month has grown phenomenally from an average of 58,000 unique visitors a month to a whopping average of 198,464 in 2019 (January to June).

Local news

Whilst the site is a comprehensive portal of local information, including jobs, properties, a constantly updated local business directory and a competitions page, the news and events sections of the site are the most visited sections.

Rochdale Online’s busiest page, Main News, covers everything from breaking news to community fundraisers, police and crime news to coverage of events and items sent in from you, the public.

• www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news

There are also have regular columns from the local police, Mayor of Rochdale and the MP, Tony Lloyd, about their experiences in and around the borough.

‘Sports News’ carries reports on the town's professional sports teams, and an array of amateur sports/clubs, including cricket, rugby league, rugby union, football, golf, hockey, running, cycling, swimming, boxing, martial arts, and even regular reports on a local motor rally driver.

• www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/4/sport

The local business community is catered for in the ‘Business News’ sub-section. In the main this covers news about local companies, but also features regional and national business news that is of interest to our readers.

• www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/1/business

Local events

Since the site’s inception, Rochdale Online has provided free advertising in a very popular ‘Events Diary’, with an average of over 25,000 page views a month.

A round up of weekend events is posted each week in the News section, which is proving more and more popular every week.

• www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/events/

 

 

Community commitment

Rochdale Online takes its commitment to the local community very seriously.

It is important to give back to the community, and as such, from the very beginning of the website back in 1998, Rochdale Online has offered local community groups, voluntary organisations and charities a free website hosted and maintained by Rochdale Online.

• www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/community/

Rochdale Online also uses local suppliers; the website is hosted on servers from Zen Internet in Rochdale, IT support comes from a company is in Heywood, security systems were installed by a company in Milnrow, the company accountant is in Littleborough and office supplies also come from a Rochdale company.

The future of independent local news

Since 2001, the site has been funded via advertising revenue, however, you can continue help us to employ local people to research and report on local news, from as little as £3 per month.

A small contribution will allow us to continue covering issues that concern you about the area you live in, your community, business or sport news, photograph and report on events which happen around the borough.

Rochdale Online also pays for ongoing training for our reporters, to provide you with a top-quality news service.

If you enjoy the independent news and other free services we offer, please consider supporting us financially and help Rochdale Online to continue to provide local engaging content for years to come.

Support us now, and help us to continue to provide local engaging content for many more years to come.

• www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/local/contribute/