Free content won’t work for all
Simon Wharton of online marketing agency PushON fails Crain’s for ring fencing content for paid subscribers only. That’s a big no-no as far as search engine rankings are concerned because when people link to content it generally rises in search engine results. And PushON spends a lot of time helping clients rank well in search engines.
But to be fair to Crain’s, who do give some content away, theirs is a revenue hungry business. It’s worth remembering too that Crain’s isn’t a charity, but exists to make a profit.
My local newspaper, the South Manchester Reporter, is certified as 75 per cent advertising. In print, such a large amount of advertising is relatively easy to hide; you can always ensure the first few pages are editorial. Online it’s far more difficult.
Manchester has a successful online consumer magazine in Manchester Confidential, which is constantly written off as a vehicle for advertorial.
Crain’s will almost certainly want as many people to see their content as possible, and no doubt welcome all the search engine traffic they can get, but if those readers aren’t generating revenue by responding to ads or paying a sub they’re worth nothing to the business. Worse, they’re a cost.
Paid content does reduce readership, hamper online marketing and may reduce advertising revenues as a result. But the chances are that Crain’s brings in far more in subscription fees than it loses.
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