The New York Times Company's third-quarter numbers, released yesterday, show that revenue from its digital units surged while other units' remained relatively flat, reports ClickZ. Ad revenue from websites in the News Media Group - including NYTimes.com and Boston.com - were 31 percent higher than in the year-ago quarter. About.com results were particularly strong, with profits of $3.8 million on revenue of $14.2 million - up 67 percent from 3Q04.

Overall, however, 3Q05 net income for the company was down by half, with per-share earnings of $0.16 compared with $0.33 in 3Q04. Revenues were up slightly, from $773 million to $791 million. Ad revenues increased four percent year over year.

NYT Co.'s digital properties accounted for 35 million monthly unique visitors in September. President and CEO Janet Robinson attributed the increase in part to improved search engine optimization. CEO of New York Times Digital Martin Nisenholtz also emphasized the company's SEO efforts.