Hyper-Local On The Home Page
Local advertising and local publishing alike have been handcuffed by an outdated business model that hasn’t changed much in the past decade. With print circulations plummeting while online spending continues to rise, advertisers have found the online medium far more cost effective than traditional local media options. In fact, Borrell Associates — a research firm specializing in newspaper publishing, Internet and TV — is predicting online ad spending to reach $8.5 billion by the end of 2008. Local advertising makes up the growing “long tail” of that figure and local publishers are trying to find the best way to satisfy advertisers and in turn, monetize their traffic. However, when local publishers moved online more than a decade ago, they simply re-created a digital version of what had worked for hundreds of years. After only ten years online, we’ve learned that the old model doesn’t work in the digital age. In order to reach local audiences online, advertisers should look for publishers that are adapting to better serve their needs.
Redefining Content
When print publications moved online they simply placed content in the same order and format which had proved to be effective for so long. This meant putting the truly local ads – the classifieds – on the very last pages. But as more and more users log on and become Web-savvy, they’ve come to expect local, relevant information at their fingertips. If the information they’re looking for is more than a couple clicks away from the home page, you’ve already lost their attention. As a result, publishers have tried to squeeze every last bit of content onto the homepage, to satisfy what they believe their readers seek.
A user might visit a site for information on the weather, local news, national news, entertainment, sports, activities, or to research local businesses to help make a purchasing decision. When you try to squeeze that amount of information onto one page, you get one thing – clutter. Publishers are now trying to figure out how to eliminate clutter and embrace a cleaner, “Web 2.0” look-and-feel.
But it’s a “catch-22” – how do publishers de-centralize content while providing everything in one place?
After years of burying local solutions in hard-to-find classified pages at the back of the website, publishers had the right idea of moving local ad solutions to the home page, but banner ads have only added to the clutter. To compound the issue, targeting becomes difficult as there’s only room for so many banner ads on one page without adding even more clutter. Ultimately, it’s impossible to display a single ad that appeals to everyone.
Personalization engines have helped target users and increase ads’ effectiveness and click-through, but even the best personalization engine can’t overcome the issue of space. It’s simple math – the limited amount of real-estate on a single page limits the number of ads that can be displayed, and the chances of displaying the right ad at the right time.
Putting Ads Front-and-Center
Instead of thinking about classified pages, think about a classified directory that creates a resource for users and acts as a filtering engine that allows them to self-select the topics they’re seeking. Directories make it possible to move ads to the front — at the user’s fingertips — without adding to the clutter.
For example, someone visiting the Web page of their local newspaper or radio station might enter the directory looking for recommendations on a local flower shop to make a purchase for their mom’s birthday. With a directory on the home page to complement ads served by personalization engines, the user finds answers to their questions at their fingertips, while enjoying a clutter-free experience and the advertiser has gained quick and easy access to a customer that’s ready to purchase.
As we enter 2008, publishers are taking a closer look at their websites and the changes they can make to not only provide the user with information, but assist in their purchasing decisions. Rather than using banner ads and risk losing someone that’s in “transactional mode”, a user-driven solution provides immediate value to the user, incremental revenue for publishers, and high-impact for your ad dollar.
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