Jagran New Media (JNM) is the digital arm of Dainik Jagran. JNM features a wide portfolio of 12 digital-first platforms, reaching over 100 million monthly users in India. Their content spans multiple segments, including News and Information, Business, Auto, Technology, Entertainment, Lifestyle, Educational News and Careers. Their key products include Jagran.com and thedailyjagran.com, which deliver news to mass audiences; Herzindagi.com, a women-centered lifestyle platform; Jagranjosh.com, aimed at students and young professionals; and various Digital Epapers.
Impact and results
- Web: Achieved a +500% increase in daily sign-ups driven by streamlined prompt UIs.
- Android and iOS: Saw a ~30% increase in sign-ups driven by Sign in with Google button, providing a seamless, native authentication experience.
The Challenge
Before implementing Sign in with Google (SiwG), JNM faced significant friction in its user authentication flow:
Password Fatigue: Requiring users to remember credentials resulted in an estimated 25–30% abandonment rate.
Email Verification Hurdles: Manual code-based verification caused an estimated 18% user drop-off during onboarding. Users often abandoned the process while searching their inboxes for verification emails, notably slowing user activation.
Username/Email Ambiguity: Returning users frequently forgot which email address they had initially used to register.
The Solution: Sign in with Google
JNM implemented Sign in with Google to revamp their authentication model. This integration brought a fundamental shift in the user experience by delivering the following benefits:
Frictionless Onboarding: The transition from a multi-step process to a single click allowed users to resume their journey in seconds.
Verified Identity & Clean Data: Receiving verified email addresses directly from Google eliminated the need for manual verification, ensured clean communication channels, and provided reliable profile data for immediate personalization.
Cross-Platform Consistency: The solution maintained a flawless and consistent sign-in experience across JNM's varied platforms.
Enhanced User Confidence: Leveraging Google's trusted ecosystem eliminated password fatigue, increased speed, and reduced user hesitation during onboarding.
Implementation Timeline
Core Integration: Integrating the core Sign in with Google elements took only 2-3 days.
Full Infrastructure Overhaul: Over six months, a project team consisting of one Product Manager and three Engineers (two Backend, one Frontend) engineered an OAuth SSO identity stack from the ground up. This "One Account - One Network" vision culminated in a seamless sign-in experience rolled out to millions of users.
Why SiwG is a Strong Business Opportunity for JNM
Reduced User Acquisition Cost: It improves the organic conversion rate of existing traffic.
Customer Data Platform (CDP) Enhancement: It creates a unified, persistent view of user segments by tying behavior to identity across touchpoints, driving smarter segmentation and lifecycle-driven targeting.
Subscription Growth: It helps identify target user bases for tailored upsell journeys, leading to higher conversion, better retention, and more predictable recurring revenue.
Improved Marketing Reach: Understanding user needs and consumption patterns is more effective with a larger base of verified, signed-in users.
