A Look At EN World's Stats & Demographics

EN World is an old community by internet standards - 16 years old! When it started, there was no Facebook or Twitter, WotC was being run by Peter Adkison and Ryan Dancey, Pathfinder wasn't even a glimmer in Jason Bulmahn's eye, and D&D was launching its 3rd edition. The forums had only about 4,000 members! Decades pass, and things change, and I thought it would be fun to take a peek at the demographics of this community's members. With over half a million individual users in the last 30 days, making millions of pageviews, a look at Google Analytics can reveal a lot of data on who is browsing EN World. No surprise, male Americans make the largest group, but there are increases in other countries. Note that all this data is aggregate, anonymous and from Google's analytics service. Consider this a sort of New Year "State of EN World" thing.

Overall traffic -- 3.9 million unique visitors over the year with 0.5 million in the last 30 days; over 11 million separate user sessions and tens of millions of pageviews. 77.3% are returning visitors and 32.7% are new.

The overall audience shows age and gender. That has changed a lot in recent years -- the age is skewing lower than it used to. In particular, the 18-24 group has grown considerably. Sadly, the gender disparity, although slightly better, is still not even close to equal, with 92.4% of the traffic being male. I don't know what the overall disparity of actual players is, so I couldn't tell you whether that is representative or not. Note that this is (see the popular pages below) largely people just reading the news, not necessarily participating in the community.

The following data is interesting. The US used to be around 80% of traffic, but it seems more locations are swinging by these days. Desktop browser usage has been dropping for years, and it's now starting to approach 50%. Another few years, and it'll be the minority. Social network referrals show that Facebook is by far the largest source of social network traffic, followed by Reddit. Social networks, however, only provide 4.5% of traffic overall with most of it coming directly from organic Google searches.


[TABLE="width: 750, align: center"]
[TR]
[TD]LOCATION[/TD]
[TD]DEVICES[/TD]
[TD]REFERRALS[/TD]
[TD]*SOCIAL NETWORKS[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]USA 60.73%
Canada 7.95%
UK 6.84%
Australia 3.88%
Brazil 1.95%
Germany 1.95%
Italy 1.62
Netherlands 1.28%
France 1.15%
Sweden 0.94%[/TD]
[TD]Desktop 57.56%
Mobile 35.99%
Tablet 6.45%[/TD]
[TD]Organic Search 74.8%
Direct 16.1%
Social Networks* 4.5%
Website Links 4.7%
Other 0.46%
Email 0% (62 people!)[/TD]
[TD]Facebook 41.92%
Reddit 24.83%
Blogger 18.39%
Twitter 6.9%
Google+ 2.8%
Stack Exchange 2.19%
Pinterest 1.43%
VKontakte 0.45%
Wikia 0.4%
StumbleUpon 0.2%[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]


The table below shows the most popular areas of EN World. The news page takes in over 50% of the traffic by itself, but that's no shock.

1. Front/news page
2. D&D 5th Edition forum
3. Character Sheets
4. Character Builds & Optimization forum
5. Media Lounge forum
7. Play-by-post forums
8. General RPG forum





The list below shows the most common search queries which landed people on EN World. Very D&D 5E oriented, as one might expect. I like "elf puns".

[UPDATE - I did this wrong before; this is the correct list]


[TABLE="width: 500, align: center"]
[TR]
[TD]1.[/TD]
[TD]unknown[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2.[/TD]
[TD]enworld[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3.[/TD]
[TD]en world[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4.[/TD]
[TD](not set)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5.[/TD]
[TD]enworld.org[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]6.[/TD]
[TD]enworld 5e[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]7.[/TD]
[TD]enworld forum[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]8.[/TD]
[TD]dungeons and dragons forum[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]9.[/TD]
[TD]homebrewing-a-world-help-me-out[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]10.[/TD]
[TD]delta green[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]11.[/TD]
[TD]mystara 5e[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]12.[/TD]
[TD]http://www.enworld.org/[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]13.[/TD]
[TD]breaking up with pathfinder rpg[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]14.[/TD]
[TD]enword[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]15.[/TD]
[TD]why does 5e suck mishihari site[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]16.[/TD]
[TD]rape-culture-and-the-matriarchy-a-twist-on-elves-let-s-do-it-right[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]17.[/TD]
[TD]d&d reddit monster[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]18.[/TD]
[TD]www.enworld.org[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]19.[/TD]
[TD]cache:http://www.enworld.org/forum/forum.php[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]20.[/TD]
[TD]dnd 5th edition character builder[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]21.[/TD]
[TD]enlarge person spell also gain size increase[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]22.[/TD]
[TD]gish d&d[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]23.[/TD]
[TD]d&d 5e dex fighter[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]24.[/TD]
[TD]rpg downloads[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]25.[/TD]
[TD]princes of the apocalypse review[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]26.[/TD]
[TD]kobald press tome of beasts list[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]27.[/TD]
[TD]shadow of the demonlord en world[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]28.[/TD]
[TD]enworld 5e forum[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]29.[/TD]
[TD]5e favored soul[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]30.[/TD]
[TD]5e character sheet[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]31.[/TD]
[TD]doomvault site[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]32.[/TD]
[TD]5e dungeons and dragons long rest interrupted[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]33.[/TD]
[TD]d&d 5e wizard guide[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]34.[/TD]
[TD]5e fighter guide charop[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]35.[/TD]
[TD]5e wizard guide[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]36.[/TD]
[TD]traveller d20 srd[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]37.[/TD]
[TD]d&d intellect devourer[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]38.[/TD]
[TD]dark obelisk kickstarter[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]39.[/TD]
[TD]enworld forums[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]40.[/TD]
[TD]hoard of the dragon queen errata[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]41.[/TD]
[TD]enworld ua ranger[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]42.[/TD]
[TD]wand of viscid globs overpowered[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]43.[/TD]
[TD]d&d 5e sorcerer[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]44.[/TD]
[TD]dnd forum[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]45.[/TD]
[TD]heist site:enworld.org[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]46.[/TD]
[TD]chris perkins the dm experience[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]47.[/TD]
[TD]d&d 5e sorcerer guide[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]48.[/TD]
[TD]what-are-the-options-for-living-without-ddi[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]49.[/TD]
[TD]dungeons and dragons 5th edition monster cards[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]50.[/TD]
[TD]utility power 4e[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]51.[/TD]
[TD]d&d 5e fighter guide[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]52.[/TD]
[TD]aughisky d&d[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]53.[/TD]
[TD]d&d 5e character builder[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]54.[/TD]
[TD]hoard of the dragon queen[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]55.[/TD]
[TD]5e grapple[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]56.[/TD]
[TD]volo's guide to monsters new races[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]57.[/TD]
[TD]d&d 5e rogue guide[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]58.[/TD]
[TD]d-d-s-lead-increases-stars-without-number-surges-in-latest-orr-group-report[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]59.[/TD]
[TD]map greyhawk[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]60.[/TD]
[TD]d&d 5e character sheet[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]61.[/TD]
[TD]5e warlock guide[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]62.[/TD]
[TD]pathfinder steal combat maneuver[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]63.[/TD]
[TD]5e great weapon master d12 axe[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]64.[/TD]
[TD]savage worlds tokens[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]65.[/TD]
[TD]sword coast bladesinger[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]66.[/TD]
[TD]"social skills"[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]67.[/TD]
[TD]phandalin population[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]68.[/TD]
[TD]bladesinger 5e[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]69.[/TD]
[TD]campaign log site[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]70.[/TD]
[TD]d&d 5e goblin stats[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]71.[/TD]
[TD]spelljammer 5e[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]72.[/TD]
[TD]titansgrave season 2[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]73.[/TD]
[TD]5e highest passive perception[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]74.[/TD]
[TD]recommended-magic-item-creation-alternative-rules[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]75.[/TD]
[TD]en world forum[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]76.[/TD]
[TD]bullgrit blog[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]77.[/TD]
[TD]chronicles of the gatekeeper review[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]78.[/TD]
[TD]dragon+ on computer[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]79.[/TD]
[TD]converting conan to 5e[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]80.[/TD]
[TD]tyranny of dragons errata[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]81.[/TD]
[TD]d&d 5e what counts as not wearing armor[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]82.[/TD]
[TD]"night's dark terror" podcast[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]83.[/TD]
[TD]5e sorcerer guide[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]84.[/TD]
[TD]the-treasure-map-rg[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]85.[/TD]
[TD]conan rpg monster tokens[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]86.[/TD]
[TD]d and d 5e witch[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]87.[/TD]
[TD]d&d 5e rogue[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]88.[/TD]
[TD]empire of nerath[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]89.[/TD]
[TD]5e sorcerer[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]90.[/TD]
[TD]d&d character sheets[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]91.[/TD]
[TD]dungeon mapping software[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]92.[/TD]
[TD]iarno albrek[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]93.[/TD]
[TD]arcane trickster 5th edition[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]94.[/TD]
[TD]d&d 5e warlock[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]95.[/TD]
[TD]d&d 5e[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]96.[/TD]
[TD]shannara 5th edition d&d[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]97.[/TD]
[TD]5e unarmored defense[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]98.[/TD]
[TD]d&d 5e pixie[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]99.[/TD]
[TD]enworld.com[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]100.[/TD]
[TD]ocupied space blade barrier[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

CONCLUSION - it's clear that the largest audience grouping here is male American D&D players. The audience size itself has increased over the year month on month, exceeding half a million unique users each month. That's a lot of people! The most popular page is the front/news page (not surprising) followed by the D&D 5th Edition forum. Areas where I'd like to improve include more coverage of non-D&D games (lots of that coming this year with our paid freelance articles program to be run by Chris Helton) and a broader, more representative sample of visitors.

The largest behavioural grouping by far from regular visitors is folks who come along and read the news. That has always been the busiest part of the sites and continues to be.



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[Blue]

Thanks Morris, this is pretty cool!

Demographics are an interesting skew - because what's being reported is really the overlap in the Venn diagram of "Reads Internet Forums", "Likes RPGs" and whatever X demographic is.

 

[Morrus]

Thanks Morris, this is pretty cool!

Demographics are an interesting skew - because what's being reported is really the overlap in the Venn diagram of "Reads Internet Forums", "Likes RPGs" and whatever X demographic is.

Not forums, but the site as a whole. Traffic on the front page is much higher than that of the forums. So it's more "uses websites" than "reads forums".

More accurately, what's exactly being reported is "visits EN World in some capacity".

 

[Lylandra]

I'm in neither of the three major groups

 

[Koloth]

Entertaining that the most common search terms upon arriving at En World are variations on enworld

 

[Ghost2020]

Oh man..I thought I wouldn't cross over into the small group, but apparently i did. I'm in the 45-54. Oof...that stings.

I am very very happy to know that the large chunk of people are the ones who spend money on gaming books and will keep the hobby moving! Very encouraging!

 

[Lord_Blacksteel]

I am glad to see the younger category shooting up. I'm in the not-as-younger category as noted above but I'm doing what I can to train the next generation. Apparently some of the rest of the crew is too.

 

[Louis Brenton]

I'm 44 & I started playing in the early 80s. I'm very pleased to see the growing younger demographic, as I would have assumed that my age group would certainly be the largest. Instead, there are two groups larger. That bodes well for the future of the rpg hobby & the next generation of rpg-ers.

 

[Wulffolk]

I has been my anecdotal experience that table-top RPG's and LARPing were fighting a losing battle against MMORPG's and card games, especially Magic the Gathering. Every one of the few remaining hobby stores within a reasonable drive from me is completely dominated by kids playing Magic, and only carries a minimal amount of Actual RPG material.

 

[Psikerlord#]

I'm surprised News is the big draw. I go straight to the forums myself.

 

[Morrus]

I'm surprised News is the big draw. I go straight to the forums myself.

Must people don't delve into the forums of news websites. I visit a dozen news websites every day (different topics - world news, tech news, movie news, etc). On all of them I visit the front page, skim it for news articles which interest me. I don't even know if those sites have forums!

The forum folks are the hard core. They're a (vocal!) minority dwarfed by the majority who drive by the front page each day.