Forward Thinking Content Rich Web Sites Will Pay Off in the Long Run

One of the factors that consumer-facing Web sites should be considering is whether or not they think their content has value other than just being an assortment of static pages to be viewed or consumed online. They should also be open to trying to drive revenue through a variety of ways.

Clearly there are Web sites and online properties that provide compelling information or entertainment and charge a monthly or annual fee. But what if you have a Web site such as a sports or travel-oriented site that starts to get a tremendous amount of traffic? If your Web site’s business model is based only on advertising, you can slowly ramp-up your rate card as viewership increases. However, at some point you will reach a saturation point and revenue will start to flatten out.  Then what? You can install a shopping cart to sell items of interest or look to SEO companies to increase viewership and hits, but what about the content itself? Perhaps there is gold in the content you already have.

What I am driving at here, is that assuming the content has value, it should be thought of as an asset. With that in mind, Web sites that have images, articles or third party content should license the materials for multiple uses. For example, let’s say you run a soccer Web site. It started out as a hobby and has grown in size and viewership and you are now aggregating content from multiple sources. Perhaps it’s time to start licensing those images and articles of David Beckham or Mia Hamm for resale to your viewer base.  Not only will you start to develop multiple sources of revenue, but you will also monetize your existing online content.