Results tagged “content” from FinancialContent Blog

Continuing on the topic of great tactics that will drive traffic, deep linking is one method that is easy to implement and has no additional financial impact to your organization. Deep linking is the practice of linking to other pages within your site that are "in context" to what the end-user is currently interested in. The FinancialContent solution platform has a schema that is created so that individual content items can be selected using URLs. Here are a few examples.

It’s not just about finance,it is the opportunity to provide a relevant link and drive an end-user to new pages. Deep linking cuts across all topics from Sports to Real Estate, to Health and more.

Example: Your Sports Editor writes an article about the new stadium of the local baseball team and mention that Oracle (ORCL) is a major underwriter for the project. It is probable that the end-user would want to know more about Oracle. When creating the content, the Editor can opt to hyperlink the word Oracle or add the ticker in the accepted format (ORCL). The target URL can be the company profile, current price, or news about the company. See how client Paidcontent links users reading their original content to the finance page of the site. Also note that the links are carried over in their RSS feeds published using FeedBurner. FeedBurner is a FinancialContent partner and has integrated an RSS tagging structure for stock tickers that is compatible for syndication on the FinancialContent Studio platform.

A look at a sample URL shows that each page type has a name such as “Page=QUOTE” and the ending of the URL has the company identifier in the form of a stock ticker “Ticker=ORCL”. The FinancialContent support team will work with you on learning the schema and implementing this strategy.

Providing clear and easy access to content is the key to users generating more page views per user session. So how does one accomplish this in regards to a FinancialContent solution? Here are two great examples of using navigation enhancements to bring users to the relevant content they seek.

Example: (1) Enhance the stock market index widget that you place on the home page or business splash page. In this CBS example (located two scrolls from the top) CBS did three distinct actions; they provided a dropdown list so users can jump to sections they feel users are most interested in, added a selection for their own top stories, and lastly links to the FinancialContent created custom index covering local companies.

Example: (2) Enhance the core navigation so users can gain access to the most popular features as the Houston Chronicle did. Note that Chron.com knows users like a personal portfolio so not only is there a link in the Navigation but also a custom built quick access on the page. When user interest dictates due to market events, quick access to the energy markets page is also added.

Providing a deep linking strategy shows users that there is more content worth exploring. It also shows the user that you want to make their online experience a hassle free one by anticipating their needs. If you did not already know, the average user of a FinancialContent solution generates 2.7 page views per user session. When that user becomes a committed regular user they generate over 5.8 pages or more per user session. So let’s get working on that bottom line number by generating more traffic with deep linking.

Attention all business editors, here is your chance to make your online edition stand out!  Original content is very powerful and FinancialContent wants to be your partner in creating something your users will come back to on a regular basis.  Providing a local index allows you to showcase your local business market in a fresh way.
 
Imagine being able to report daily or weekly on how well YOUR index is doing.  Use the index to support reporting on your local economy.  Better yet, embed the index in related sections such as job classifieds so seekers can find out more about potential employers.  Track your index against the S&P, the ideas are endless.

Implementations range from a simple top 10 list to what SFGate.com has done by integrating their annual Bay Area Chron 200 content.  Other clients like The Hollywood Reporter have created a large index then divided it into several sub-indices.  Not sure what would work best for your website?  Soon FinancialContent will launch a series of state and sector focused indexes so if you’re in a Biotech hub just select that index and leave everything else to us.

Here is a short list of benefits to consider: