Very few websites are unique or valuable enough to justify an access fee. With the exception of a few industry leaders, most content found on a website can, in most cases, be found elsewhere for free.
HUDSON, Fla. (PRWEB) January 20, 2020
The director of business development at ASEOHosting, a search engine optimization focused hosting provider, today said that gated content behind paywalls needs to have enough user value to justify the fee.
“On the surface, the paywall isn’t a terrible concept,” said Daniel Page, Director of Business Development at search engine optimization focused hosting provider. “You produce content that’s valuable to your audience. So, if that content were locked behind a nominal fee, the audience should be willing to pay for access.”
“The paywall revenue model neglects one very important factor, though,” he said. “Very few websites are unique or valuable enough to justify an access fee. With the exception of a few industry leaders, most content found on a website can, in most cases, be found elsewhere for free.”
In other words, said Page, most publishers, when they institute paywalls, are overestimating the value of their own content. They are adopting a business model that may work for industry leaders like the Harvard Business Review, but which falls entirely flat for smaller publications. At best, they will simply drive traffic away from the website in question.
At worst, they will alienate even that site’s most dedicated users.
“We have reached a point of total content saturation,” explained Page. “That’s no secret. The assumption that any content save that created by unquestioned thought leaders is valuable enough to lock behind a paid subscription is almost laughable.”
Instead of using a paywall, Page suggests a few alternatives. First, publications could take the necessary steps to properly police their ad networks, and make that fact clear to the audience. They could also ask for donations, or offer a paid subscription service that gives access to certain exclusive features and perks.
“The issue of funding where digital content is concerned is a challenging one,” Page admits. “And there’s no singular solution that will work for every organization. The only thing that is certain is that paywalls, as most businesses envision them, simply do not work.”
About ASEOHosting:
Launched in 2002, ASEOHosting is a leader in providing SEO Hosting, including Shared SEO Hosting, Dedicated SEO Hosting, US Dedicated SEO Servers, and EU Dedicated SEO Servers. Based in Orlando, FL, and Detroit, MI, ASEOHosting has established one of the web’s premier solutions for reseller web hosting, multiple IP hosting, dedicated servers, and VPS hosting. For more information, visit https://www.aseohosting.com.