SODP Dispatch - 12 September 2024

Foreign Affairs Magazine: Taking a Niche Product and Punching Above Its Weight

By Vahe Arabian

Foreign Affairs Magazine is a 100-year-old publication launched in 1922 by the Council of Foreign Relations. It is a relatively small magazine brand with a circulation of around 225,000. However, its subscriber base is mighty and includes Congress members, world leaders, and other policymakers.

The publication’s CRO Stephanie Solomon shared the publication’s approach to content, and reader engagement and retention.

🛠️ Progress Planner plugin

The co-founders of Yoast have launched a plugin that helps users plan tasks, defeat procrastination, and remove distractions, making it easier to achieve success. This plugin simplifies managing critical tasks like maintaining website health, publishing posts, and updating content.
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🖼️ Python script for image SEO
The AI-powered Image Renamer script simplifies the process of organizing and cataloguing large collections of images. This script automates the process, applying clear, descriptive filenames that are both user-friendly and optimized for searchability.
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By Vahe Arabian

➡️ Optimizing your tech stack

Using too many plugins and add-ons can cause a website to bloat, eventually impacting performance.

So how can publishers go about planning their tech stack for maximum efficiency and performance? Aslam Multani, Co-Founder and CTO at Multidots, and John Levitt, formerly General Manager of Parse.ly, shared the following tips during one of our events.

These are pointers for publishers to keep in mind at the planning stage:

• Needs assessment: Be clear about the problem you are looking to solve, and the outcomes you expect when expanding your tech stack.

• Unintended consequences: Keep in mind that adding new plugins or integrations can also have unexpected unintended consequences and benefits. For instance, a monetization solution can impact editorial workflows and/or end user experience in both positive and negative ways. Be as clear about these potential impacts as possible to avoid surprises later on.

• Collecting baseline data: Baselines are important for measuring progress. Baseline data includes metrics such as active engagement time, search traffic, recirculation rate, conversion rate, etc. Start collecting baseline data from the planning stage itself rather than waiting till the launch or integration of the proposed change to the website. This helps with getting a clearer picture of the before and after situations.

• Research: This includes taking in the opinions of all the related stakeholders involved – end users, readers, customers, etc. The advantage here is that it highlights the areas on which the proposed project will have an impact.

• Set goals and outcomes: Set measurable goals before the start of the project. While doing this, it is vital to understand that not all outcomes will move up or increase in a desired direction. For instance, a change implemented to improve page speed may have no change on newsletter signups. It is still important to set down this “no change” goal at the outset to ensure that even if newsletter signups are not increasing, they’re not being negatively impacted either.

Internet replaces TV as UK’s most popular news source for first time | The Guardian

71% of UK adults consume online news – the first time websites and apps have moved in front of TV, as marking a “generational shift in the balance of news media”. 52% of UK adults use social media for news, up from 47% in 2023. The most popular social media platforms for news are Facebook, followed by YouTube, Instagram and X.
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Recovery uncertain: Google’s Danny Sullivan on algorithm impacts |  Search Engine Land

Publishers impacted by recent Google algorithm updates might never fully recover to previous traffic levels. That’s one thing that stood out in a newly published interview with Google Search Liasion Danny Sullivan, conducted by Barry Schwartz.
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ESPN’s AI-generated sports recaps are already missing the point | The Verge

This weekend, ESPN began publishing AI-generated recaps of women’s soccer games, with more sports to come. It’s using Microsoft AI to write each story, with humans only involved in reviewing each recap for “quality and accuracy.”
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Google Expands Video Structured Data Options With New Property | Search Engine Journal

Google adds 'ineligibleRegion' property to video structured data, allowing publishers to specify regions where videos shouldn't appear in search results.
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Texas Tribune to launch network of local newsrooms throughout state | Axios

The Tribune is one of the most successful local media startups in recent history. Its track record makes it uniquely equipped to help other local newsrooms grow, Tribune CEO Sonal Shah told Axios in an interview.
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