Page 155 - Electronic Commerce

Chapter 3

any specific information from its visitors; the fact that visitors are viewing the heating
stoves information page is enough justification for charging heating stove companies a
higher rate for ads on those pages. HowStuffWorks has a collection of pages that appeal
to an array of visitors with highly focused interests. Thus, it is an attractive online
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advertising option for a wide variety of companies because the site has a collection of
pages on a broad range of very specific products and processes that would be attractive
to a variety of consumers, each of whom has a highly focused interest in one or more
of them.
These three strategies—general interest, specific interest, and collection of specific
interests—for implementing an advertising-supported revenue model are summarized in
Figure 3-2.

General interest strategy Specific interest strategy Collection of specific interests

Advertisers pay high rates to Advertisers pay high rates for ads on
Advertisers pay low rates
to reach large numbers of reach small numbers of specific pages that appeal to visitors
undifferentiated visitors visitors with specific interests with specific interests related to those
related to the theme of the site pages or sections of the site

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FIGURE 3-2 Three strategies for an advertising-supported revenue model

Some companies have been successful using the general interest strategy shown in
Figure 3-2 by operating a Web portal. A portal or Web portal is a site that people use as a
launching point to enter the Web (the word “portal” means “doorway”). A portal almost
always includes a Web directory or search engine, but it also includes other features that
help visitors find what they are looking for on the Web and thus make the Web more
useful. Most portals include features such as shopping directories, white pages and yellow
pages searchable databases, free e-mail, chat rooms, file storage services, games, and
personal and group calendar tools.

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