June 17th, 2010 by Susie

When it comes to online content, most companies will spend a lot of time perfecting their web pages to ensure that it is relevant and interesting to users. Websites are, of course, free to browse, though charges are usual for downloading more extensive or specialist information, or when purchasing products or services. However, is this about to change, and could the future see users being charged just to view certain online content?

Earlier this year, the Times Online announced they were going to introduce a charge for consumers wanting to view certain news content on their website. This sparked a lot of controversy when it was revealed, with many conflicting arguments for and against it. Although the official launch date is June 2010, it will probably take a while for the Times to see the effects of this, and decipher how successful it has been.

If it does work, then the question is: what will it mean for the rest of the online world? Ask any SEO company, and they are likely to advise strongly against charging consumers to view content. However, from the perspective of the Times Online, there is some serious rationale behind this idea, which strongly backs it up.

With the press industry struggling, as more and more people read newspapers online, surely it makes perfect sense to charge for this service? After all, you would not be able to buy the Times newspaper for free, so why should you be able to get the same content online at no charge? If the purchase of actual newspapers is diminishing and online viewing is free, then it is not a huge step to suggest that revenue could be at a loss.

Those arguing against the charge would claim that people are simply just going to look elsewhere for news articles, and with many other news pages being very strong leaders in online journalism, there is a danger that the Times Online could lose out. There is also the point that the Times Online is a prestigious place to advertise, and could therefore easily charge a premium for this service and make money that way. That being said, the cost for reading content is remarkably low and the type of person who is a regular reader of the Times would possibly be willing to pay for this service, as they appreciate a certain level of news content.

In terms of most standard companies, charging to view your content is probably not a good idea, and will likely not help your search engine optimisation or page ranking, as a lot of users will put the word ‘free’ in their search boxes. It should probably be noted that the Times is a very established company, and the revenue will come from their loyal and regular audience, not new and fresh users. The process of charging consumers to read online content is probably nothing to do with website effectiveness, or to drive traffic online, but more a display of brand self confidence, and an alternative revenue stream.

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