Instead of obsessing over clicks, publishers must analyse whether their readers are spending sufficient time with their content.
Relying on monthly page views and unique visitors to determine who their audiences are can prove misleading for publishers. Instead, they should be paying attention to metrics that help them identify how much time users spend on a piece of content.
Publishers should analyse whether users scrolled down through the text, and images and how often they returned to the website. By using metrics of attention rather than clicks, advertisers would also have incentives to create creative ads and not churn out gaudy content. On the other hand, consumers would also benefit from accessing quality content from publishers.
By focussing on engagement and attention, publishes can predict which of their readers will pay for news. Publishers will also be able to create more value for their users, boost memberships and execute an effective reader revenue programme.
[4 minute read]
