Watching The Paywall And Wondering!

Will we or won’t we pay? The Times has been getting on with bricking up online access to its news pages by starting the process of requesting visitor registration ahead of charging, due to commence this week. Is this the first act of Web 3.0 or an error of judgement?

Internet conferences and web seminars have long been discussing whether the end of the first phase of the open net was in sight, given that brands like Google, Apple, eBay, Facebook and Twitter have come to dominate the landscape, even as Microsoft’s all pervasive software stranglehold has been loosened.

In other words, are we witnessing News International’s battle for the control of website accessibility as a sign of things to come or a resuscitated revenue strategy as a stand alone event?

It may yet be too early to call. Indeed, media companies experiment with new online marketing business models all the time, gently calling for opt in email marketing newsletter sign ups and restricting access to reports, white papers and membership exclusives to registered and approved parties.

There is always the possibility that Murdoch is creating conditions that are in step with the austerity climate, monetising the press online in a way that previous advertising models failed to do. However, first reports appear to contradict the notion as The Times has found that even just asking for registration details has led to a dramatic drop in audience numbers and its registration page for the paper’s free content has been halved.

For publishers and eCommerce business owners alike, looking for more than just an email address from readers, there is reason to be wary as obviously, any website looking to charge for content in the near future is likely to find that revenue will come at the expense of readership.

Yet many business owners will no doubt be watching events unfold with great interest. Especially those hitherto, unconvinced by social media models – and looking for hard evidence of ROI in the new austerity era being ushered in by the coalition government.

Traffic to The Times’ website, which remained flat during April and May, dropped steeply in June as the registration process was rolled out. It tends to be hopefully presumed that Registration can work as a screening device inasmuch as visitors who are willing to take the time to register are thought to be much more likely to read content, return to a site and, very possibly click on advertising. The paper’s market share has dropped from 4.37% to 1.81%, less than half of the website’s average in May.

From July, The Times will begin charging for access to content and their competitors like The Telegraph, Guardian, and Independent, are set to benefit if readers think they can get similar content with less hassle, and thus, not go back to the Times site.

Visitor drop off is to be expected whenever a website puts a barrier between customers and content but will the line between registered customer and casual visitor become even more pronounced, and the beginning of the two lane information superhighway?