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Is The Telegraph's metered paywall a good idea?

Yesterday, the Telegraph announced the introduction of a 'metered paywall' which allows visitors to read up to 20 articles before having to subscribe for more.

There are two options: a 'web pack' which allows access to the website and content via apps at £1.99 per month, and a 'digital pack' which adds tablet access and loyalty club membership at £9.99 per month.

But can a paywall ever be a good idea for a general news site like The Telegraph though? And how will it affect the newspaper in terms of SEO and traffic to its ecommerce pages?

by Graham Charlton 27 March 2013 11:30am 15 comments

2013: the year of paid content?

Paid content is and has been a big business -- if you're in the right market.

Unfortunately for consumer-oriented news organizations, the right market isn't their market.

But could that be changing?

by Patricio Robles 04 January 2013 16:23pm 0 comments

Which newspaper has the slowest website?

While it's understandable that news sites want to maximise online revenues as offline ad sales decline, but they run the risk of damaging the user experience.

Several popular newspaper sites are now cumbersome and slow to load, thanks to the sheer number of elements on the page.

Having looked at the page speed of the top e-commerce sites in the UK, I thought I'd do the same with news sites. So which is the slowest?

by Graham Charlton 26 October 2012 10:56am 1 comment

The inconvenient mobile advertising truth media companies and publishers must face

Whether you're an internet giant like Google, Microsoft or Facebook, or a small publisher trying to carve out a niche, chances are one of your biggest priorities is solving the mobile monetization riddle.

The good news: there's little reason to believe that the future of mobile advertising isn't bright.

How big will it be? That remains to be seen, but even if it's not as big as the staunchest bulls believe, it's still going to be big by virtue of volume.

by Patricio Robles 25 October 2012 17:26pm 2 comments

Google shutters TV Ads platform but makes inroads against traditional ads

Google may be online advertising's 800 pound gorilla, but using its digital dominance to push into traditional advertising markets has proven to be a real challenge.

In 2006, for instance, Google began trials of a platform designed to help advertisers more efficiently purchase ad inventory in newspapers.

In 2009, the search giant killed the offering. Ditto for a similar platform created to move radio ad inventory.

So perhaps it won't come as a surprise that Google has decided to throw in the towel on Google TV Ads, an extension to AdWords that made it possible for advertisers to "bring digital buying and measurement technologies to traditional TV advertising."

by Patricio Robles 04 September 2012 14:32pm 0 comments

Internet ad spending resumes double-digit growth: report

The internet may not be a spring chicken, but with most ad budgets still out of proportion with where it sits in the ad world, there's still plenty of room for growth in internet advertising spend.

Need proof of that? Look no further than Nielsen's latest quarterly Global AdView Pulse report, which looks at ad spending across multiple channels, including the internet, television and newspapers.

by Patricio Robles 10 July 2012 17:24pm 0 comments

The great newspaper paywall debate continues

For many newspapers, the decision to erect a paywall has been a decision of last resort.

And for a seemingly good reason: despite the obvious need to generate the type of revenue that advertising often can't provide alone, asking the consumers of your content to pay for the privilege can be a difficult undertaking.

by Patricio Robles 29 May 2012 09:28am 4 comments

Facebook changes send social reader apps into a nosedive

A couple of months ago, Tanya Cordrey, the director of digital development for the Guardian, made a statement that raised some eyebrows. "It’s only a matter of time until social overtakes search for the Guardian," she told attendees at the Guardian Changing Media Submit.

The impetus for that comment was the Guardian's Facebook app, which enables Facebook users to share the articles they read on guardian.co.uk with their Facebook friends.

by Patricio Robles 08 May 2012 15:21pm 0 comments

Guardian predicts social to become more important than search for traffic

For many companies, nothing has historically been more important for traffic than search, making search a virtual holy grail. But for some publishers, social is fast becoming the new search.

Take the Guardian, for instance. According to Tanya Cordrey, who is the director of digital development for the news organization, "It’s only a matter of time until social overtakes search for the Guardian."

by Patricio Robles 22 March 2012 17:10pm 4 comments