As The Pageview Turns
There’s a change afoot in the world of online tracking. It’s subtle, but it’s an important shift. And the change has serious implications for publishers as well as businesses.
I am speaking of pageviews. You might not have noticed it, but in fact, we are moving into a phase of online evolution where pageviews are becoming less and less important.
Perhaps I should cover a little background first: If a visitor to your website clicks around to five different pages on your site, he has racked up five pageviews. The theory has been that the more pageviews, the better, because that means visitors to your website are really engaged in the content and clicking around all over the place.
But how man pageviews are too many? And how much web traffic is too much?
The Newspaper Conundrum
That’s a question that clearly has been on the minds of publishers like the New York Times and other daily newspapers as they’ve watched their business models explode with the advent of the Internet and free content. And now, it seems, they are ready to draw the line and say enough is enough.
By now you’ve probably heard about the New York Times’ plan to begin charging for content next year in a so-called metered model, which means that some content will continue to be free, but after a visitor accesses New York Times content a certain number of times, he will be prompted to pay.
The NYT Co.’s local property, the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, also plans to begin charging for content starting this summer.
So, what do newspapers charging for content (some or all) have to do with the death of pageviews?
Well, in my humble opinion, the two are inextricably intertwined. If you can remember all the way back to the mid- to late-90s, you’ll recall that a number of news sites were charging for online content.
But then, many of them realized (particularly large urban dailies) that no one was coming to their sites. So, they compensated by opening up the floodgates and making everything free in an effort to drive traffic, and yes, pageviews and thereby advertising revenues.
But now that online news sites have become comfortable with their traffic patterns, and it’s clear that banner advertising rates are struggling to increase, many online publishers are making the move to pull back and really get their arms around their Internet audiences.
So, if you are focused on reaching a specific online audience, pageviews become somewhat less important than reaching the right people.
MSNBC.com’s recently redesigned website is said by some in the blogosphere to mark the death of the pageview. The site features a design that allows readers to browse a tremendous amount of content without having to click deep into the site. For example, when you roll over the categories on the main navigation bar on the homepage, you don’t get a drop down menu and you aren’t forced to click through. Instead, you see a number of related headlines and photos. It’s really pretty easy to browse on the top menu once you get used to it.
But there are some problems with the site, too.
There’s a lot going on. In fact, if you don’t have fast Internet connection, you may be recalling the days of 1996 as you wait for all the graphics to load.
Here at the Worcester Business Journal, we’re having lots of conversations about pageviews, audience and paid content as we discuss the continued evolution of our own website, WBJournal.com. But even if you aren’t part of a news organization, this online trend still has relevance.
Nearly every business today has a website. And nearly every business owner who’s glanced at an analytics report tracking traffic has asked herself, “How much traffic is enough traffic?”
Well, the appetite for unlimited pageviews seems to be waning for the news industry, and that likely means that trend will spread out across all industries.
I expect a focus shift from quantity to quality when it comes to online traffic. That means delivering valuable content that serves a targeted market.
So, the next time someone stops by your desk with a report on web traffic, perhaps it’s appropriate to ask, “Who?” instead of, “How much?”
Off-Line
I've spent a lot of ink in this column talking about how nearly every business has a website. But, in fact, there are still a number of companies out there that don't have an online presence.
If you know a local business without a website, please contact me at the e-mail below. I plan to focus an upcoming column on those businesses that are finding success without Interent marketing.
Got news for our Digital Diva column? E-mail Christina H. Davis at cdavis@wbjournal.com.
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