Scripps test results in content-access registration protocol

Posted by Diana Epstein on April 21, 2006 at 12:34 PM

Newspaper publisher E.W. Scripps, after initiating a month-long test of a 30-day registration wall trial to their online content, recently decided to keep some of these restrictions in place.

The new content-access registration system was set in place to address company concerns that the previous pay-for wall restricted site traffic growth too much, especially traffic coming from on their site search engines.

The initial registration for the sites created a “wall” where users had to register to get to content was set between index pages and almost all articles on its sites, The company then moved to use a "long form" requiring users to fill out contact information and asking them to give information about their demographic and interests.

But the test, which "softened" the pay-per wall, allowing users who had not registered to view up to a set number of articles in a 30-day period, would then intercept the user with a registration form after the 30-day period was over.

Test results (according to Editor and Publisher):

The "softening" of the content wall did not increase traffic noticeably, and did not yield a pattern as to how many unique visitors came to the sites.
The company also determined that, despite the "softening", the percentage of users who abandon the site at the wall intercept remained constant.
Scripps found that when the wall was "softened" -- at any threshold number of visits -- fewer users (half or less) checked the boxes to "opt in" to an e-mail marketing program featuring local advertisers' special offers.

Local managers of the company's 13 sites that participated in the test are still deciding where to set their soft-wall thresholds permanently, although they hae been advised to place thembetween three and five "free" article views per user per 30 days.

As a result of these tests, Scripps will continue to evolve its registration methods to find the best solution for access to their content.

Source: Editor & Publisher [Through the Ifra Executive News Service]

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