How Local Publishers Use AI for Content
Recommendations
(https://webpublisherpro.com/local-publishers-useai-for-content-recommendations/)
STEPHANIE MILES (HTTPS://WEBPUBLISHERPRO.COM/AUTHOR/STEPHANIE-MILES/)
AUGUST 15, 2018 (HTTPS://WEBPUBLISHERPRO.COM/LOCAL-PUBLISHERS-USE-AI-FOR-CONTENTRECOMMENDATIONS/)
Content recommendations help keep people on your website, even after they’re finished reading the
articles they came for.
According to data from Parse.ly, content recommendation systems generate
(https://medium.com/@hindsighttechnologysolutions/looking-at-current-news-contentrecommendation-systems-85e856c73480) a 3.2% uplift in page views. Savvy publishers have been
able to get that percentage up even higher by using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to predict
what visitors will want to read.
With the potential for a large payoff in the form of decreased bounce rates, local publishers have
been eager to add content recommendation widgets to the bottom of most articles on their
websites. Let’s learn more about how local publishers are using AI for personalized content
recommendations.
What Are Content Recommendations?
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Local publishers who want to keep readers on their websites for longer will often add widgets to the
bottom of each story that suggest additional stories that readers may want to view.
The articles that populate in these widgets are usually the result of manual related content tagging
or a third-party recommendation system that uses algorithms to generate the links that appear at
the bottom of each article page. From a functional perspective, that means publishers are adding
outward links, either manually or with CMS logic, with the vast majority of website visitors seeing the
same stories below each article.
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The way these stories have traditionally been selected is by popularity or by subject. For example,
someone reading a story about a new restaurant might see recommendations for additional
restaurant reviews at the end of the article. If a website’s content recommendations are based on
popularity, then that same reader would see the most popular articles show up below the story he
or she was reading, regardless of the topic.
Content recommendation widgets placed below articles on local news websites have a proven track
record of success, but forward-thinking publishers are always looking for ways to improve, and that’s
where AI comes into play.
How AI Improves Personalized Recommendations
Now that we understand how most content recommendation systems work, let’s look at how to
make them better.
When publishers use popularity or topic to populate their content recommendation widgets, they
run the risk of readers seeing the same content on multiple pages. If a reader didn’t click on an
article the first time he saw the link, there’s an even smaller chance he’s going to click on it the
second time.
With AI, algorithms can be programmed to recommend articles to readers based on the content
they’ve already consumed, combined with any other data the publisher has been able to collect.
What does that mean in the real world? For starters, a reader who spends significantly more time in
the sports section than the dining section is more likely to see sports story recommendations,
regardless of which section of the website he’s on currently. Location and demographics can play a
role here, too. Depending on how the content recommendations algorithm has been setup,
publishers could suggest hyperlocal content that’s focused on the reader’s own neighborhood.
The more personalized the content recommendations, the more effective they become.
Content recommendations fueled by AI get more relevant over time. Within a matter of days or
weeks, a recommendations algorithm should be able to determine which articles a reader is most
likely to click on, so that readers can be exposed to even more of the content they might appreciate.
How Common Is AI in Content Recommendations?
The practice of using AI to improve content recommendations is growing within the local publishing
community. According to a survey
(https://agency.reuters.com/content/dam/openweb/documents/pdf/news-
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agency/report/journalism-media-technology-trends-and-predictions-2018.pdf) by Reuters, 59% of
publishers say they’re “actively looking into” using AI to improve content recommendations on their
websites and mobile apps.
Local publishers with WordPress websites (https://webpublisherpro.com/top-wordpress-pluginspublishers/) have a number of content recommendation widgets to choose from.
A widget called Contextly (https://wordpress.org/plugins/contextly-related-links/) gets readers to
explore websites by identifying “evergreen” content—that is, articles that are always relevant—and
the most popular articles, and then including those articles on a recommendations tab that
publishers can add near the bottom of each page. For larger websites, Contextly also offers a
personalized recommendations feature.
Other popular content recommendation widgets for local publishers with WordPress websites
include Bibblio (https://wordpress.org/plugins/bibblio-related-posts/), which uses “smart AI” to keep
readers on websites for longer, and AddThis’ WordPress Related Posts Plugin
(https://wordpress.org/plugins/addthis-related-posts/). Both plugins generate automated
recommendations based on what’s most relevant to readers.
If you’d like help adding content recommendations to your own local news website, our team here at
Web Publisher PRO would be happy to help.
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How Digital Publishers Can Make Money from ECommerce (https://webpublisherpro.com/digitalpublishers-can-make-money-from-e-commerce/)
STEPHANIE MILES (HTTPS://WEBPUBLISHERPRO.COM/AUTHOR/STEPHANIE-MILES/)
MAY 7, 2019 (HTTPS://WEBPUBLISHERPRO.COM/DIGITAL-PUBLISHERS-CAN-MAKE-MONEY-FROM-ECOMMERCE/)
Wondering how digital publishers can make money from e-commerce? Keep reading to find out.
E-commerce has become the fastest growing segment
(https://www.emarketer.com/Report/Worldwide-Retail-Ecommerce-Sales-eMarketers-UpdatedForecast-New-Mcommerce-Estimates-20162021/2002182) of consumer spending, making up more
than 10% of total retail sales worldwide. Global retailers like Amazon and Walmart are bringing in
the bulk of those sales, but digital publishers are finding that they have a competitive advantage that
gives them a high chance of success when it comes to selling products and services online. This
realization is creating a new demand among digital publishers to enter the world of e-commerce,
selling not just branded merchandise and tchotchkes, but also physical goods and services related to
the industries and people they cover.
In a recent report (https://www.businessinsider.com/ecommerce-in-digital-media-report-2018-11),
The E-Commerce in Digital Media Report, Business Insider Intelligence looked at how digital media
organizations are taking advantage of e-commerce and found that the three most popular strategies
are affiliate links, social commerce, and video commerce. Business Insider Intelligence found that
affiliate programs, in particular, are lucrative for digital publishers with large audiences. By the year
2022, affiliate marketing is expected to generate a whopping $8.2 billion in revenue in the U.S. alone.
Why Are Publishers Moving to E-Commerce?
With subscription and membership programs (https://webpublisherpro.com/subscription-pricingstrategies-for-digital-publishers/) beginning to stall, and digital advertising rates dropping gradually
over time, digital publishers are in search of new revenue streams. E-commerce has become a viable
option, not just because it’s lucrative, but also because it is sustainable and because digital
publishers are coming into this field with a competitive advantage.
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One of the hardest parts of starting a traditional e-commerce business is setting up and launching a
website. For digital publishers, this step is already done. With robust websites already live and
operational, most digital publishers don’t have to worry about creating a website before they can
start selling products and services online. Digital publishers don’t have to worry about getting
eyeballs on their sites, either. With SEO strategies already firmly in place, digital publishers have the
built-in audience that’s necessary to generate traction in the world of online commerce. That’s two
major advantages right out of the starting gates.
E-commerce represents an opportunity for digital publishers to generate revenue in a way that
incurs very few upfront costs. The real question is, why isn’t every digital publisher adopting this
strategy?
How Digital Publishers Can Make Money from
E-Commerce
Now that we understand what e-commerce is, and why digital publishers are particularly well
positioned to take advantage of this trend in retail sales, let’s dig into the fun stuff — how digital
publishers can make money from e-commerce.
Digital publishers can make money from e-commerce in three main ways — affiliate links, social
commerce, and video commerce.
Affiliate marketing is common among online publishers. Simply put, the strategy involves
embedding retail product links in stories and other website content. When visitors click on those
links, they’re taken to the item on another retailer’s website, and the publisher gets a small
commission with every sale that’s made. Affiliate links are one of the easiest and safest ways for
digital publishers to dip their toes into e-commerce, since there is zero cost and publishers
themselves aren’t handling any of the messy work that goes along with running a retail website.
Next up is social commerce. Social commerce uses social media to encourage online transactions.
For example, a fashion publisher might post images of a new handbag on Instagram and Facebook,
with links to buy the bag online. Social commerce takes advantage of the built-in social networks
that digital publishers have created and grown organically.
Finally, we have video commerce. Video commerce is the latest entrant here, but it is growing to
become a real force in the online retail space. Video commerce has moved beyond YouTube. Both
Amazon and Walmart have added shoppable video content on Prime Video and Vudu, as well. Digital
publishers can make money from e-commerce by using video to demonstrate how certain products
work to their visitors, and then selling those products through links in the captions or embedded
into the videos themselves.
Once again, digital publishers have a competitive advantage when it comes to video commerce
because they already have the built-in SEO, they already have the trust of their audience, and in
many cases, they already have the means for producing high-quality video content on a regular
basis.
What do you think about publishers entering the world of e-commerce sales?
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