Mail Online today announced plans for significant editorial expansion in the UK and US and revealed that it is preparing to open offices in other territories.
The news comes after the site achieved its best ever month for traffic in May when, according to ABC, it reached an average of 8.2m unique browsers per day and 128.6m over the course of the month.
Publisher Martin Clarke declined to reveal the number and nature of the journalistic roles he is seeking to fill. But Press Gazette understands that no ceiling has been set on the number of new hires.
Mail Online already has a significant editorial presence in the US and an India-facing site. Australia is seen as another likely area where the site may expand to.
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It said in a statement: "The website is to increase staffing levels in its UK and US offices, and prepare for the possibility of opening new offices in other territories."
Clarke said: “We feel there are massive opportunities for further growth for the Mail Online around the world. But it is crucial that we develop and find the right journalistic talent to fuel these plans.
“We’ve been very successful in the domestic and American markets thanks to the strengths of the core editorial team we have here – they’re the best. Now I want to find and hire the best journalists outside of the Mail Online to help us grow that success.
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“The global publishing market is tougher than it ever has been and the jobs we’re looking to fill will be very demanding. However the opportunities are enormous, which is why we need the cream of the journalistic crop to realise our ambitions.”
The roles being filled are said to range from reporters to “very senior” level staff, from sections heads to potential site editors.
Looking at Mail Online’s monthly ABC traffic total for May, some 66.6 per cent of ‘browsers’ (85.7m) came from overseas.
Mail Online is currently understood to employ in excess of 100 editorial staff.
Unlike rival titles such as the Telegraph and Guardian, the Daily Mail runs its website as a separate editorial operation from the print newspaper.
Mail Online reported revenue for the first half of its financial year (to the end of March 2013) of £20m, up 61 per cent year on year.
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