One thing we’ve been looking more closely at this year is the difference between the articles publishers pick up most often and the ones audiences actually read most. Of course, there’s overlap, but not as much as you might expect. Some of the strongest pageview performers across our publisher network in Q1 and into spring weren’t necessarily picked up the most.
In many cases, we noticed that those strong PV performers were stories that connected curiosity with something personal or immediately relevant to people.
The patterns behind our hidden gems
Articles that don’t have high pickups across our publisher network but have higher-than-average pageviews per pickup are referred to as our “hidden gems.” These stories matter for both sides of Stacker’s newswire.
- For publishers taking the wire, it offers a chance to run fresh articles without mirroring the exact coverage appearing elsewhere.
- For nonprofit newsrooms and other organizations that syndicate content across our wire, they’re a reminder that pickup volume is just part of the equation.
A common denominator under most of our hidden gems is that they make complex topics more accessible. We’ve seen that the articles that punch above their weight tend to sit at the intersection of multiple themes:
- policy + human impact
- environment + economy
- mental health + parenting
- personal finance + wellness
You can see how these categories can all tie back to the emotional or human appeal. They don’t necessarily have to, though creating a connection for the reader helps take something from simply reporting to reporting in a way that resonates with readers.
Observations from January to now
Some stories from Q1 were below our average benchmark for pickups but above average for pageviews, such as an article exploring how ADHD can affect children’s motor skill development. Another piece examining the real costs of industrial air pollution generated 2.7M pageviews.
Zooming out to Stacker subcategories with above-average pageviews per pickup included Cities, Government, Mental Health, Sustainability, and Small Business.
Continuing into this quarter, high-readership articles tap into questions readers are curious about, even if they aren’t dominant conversations. Some appeared narrower in scope or more exploratory.
But when they connected, they connected deeply– and that’s an important distinction.
- Trump aims to shrink the Education Department, while Washington tightens its grip on schools
- The beautiful Venetian plant with a secret climate superpower
- The US cities where the American Dream is still alive, and buying a home is still possible
The local angle
We’re also continuing to see highly engaged audiences come from local or more hyper-focused publishers.
Partners like Allen Media and The Santa Fe New Mexican generated some of the highest average pageviews per pickup in Q1, reinforcing something local publishers already know well: audience trust and geographic relevance matter enormously.
For brands, where you can lean into geographically-bound data or regional trends to help make sense of a bigger situation or offer insights forged from your unique perspective– that’s an indication that you may have a hidden gem waiting to be unearthed.
What this means for you
High-engagement stories in 2026 are rarely just “viral.” They’re stories that take something broad or abstract and give readers a clearer, more personal way into it. Figure out your emotional appeal, your human connection, or your way of making the complex, simple.
Brands and nonprofit newsrooms work with Stacker for different reasons. Though, if your goal is increasing overall readership and dissemination of the reporting that your organization is doing, ask yourself if your story:
- Plays at an intersection relevant to readers
- Makes something complicated easier to understand
- Links back to a distinct geographic angle
These considerations aren't a silver bullet per se, but they're a great place to start as you think about expanding the impact of each piece of content your organization produces.
Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock // Canva
