The Independent
The Independent Increases Audience Engagement and Revenue with Taboola Mid-Article Content Recommendations
The Independent Increases Audience Engagement and Revenue with Taboola Mid-Article Content Recommendations
- 43% Increase in CTR on editorial content
- 14% Increase in Taboola ad revenue
Company
The Independent is a leading UK and US premium digital news brand, regularly attracting more than 63 million browsers across the globe.
Challenge
Increase the efficiency of its website real estate, optimizing content recommendation units to drive audience engagement and revenue.
Solution
Implement Taboola’s suite of innovative audience solutions, including AI-powered mid-article content recommendations, to improve user experience and interaction.
Results
The Independent achieved a 43% increase in CTR on its own content and a 14% increase in ad revenue generated by Taboola.
Introduction
The Independent is the UK’s largest quality digital news brand and a top 10 news brand in the US. Its award-winning journalism is read by 26.5 million UK browsers monthly. Globally, the publisher regularly attracts more than 63 million visitors. It has grown a huge, global readership of independently minded individuals, who value its trusted voice and commitment to positive change.
The Independent Maximizes Mid-Article Real Estate with Taboola’s Suite of Innovative Audience Solutions
The Independent was looking to increase the efficiency of its website’s mid article real estate and optimize editorial recommendation units to improve both engagement and revenue.
The publisher had already achieved success with Taboola’s suite of innovative audience engagement solutions. As a leading content recommendation platform, Taboola helps more than 9,000 premium publishers connect with a network of 18,000 advertisers and 600 million daily active users, delivering personalized experiences that increase engagement and revenue.
The Independent had implemented Taboola’s Homepage For You solution to personalize its homepage with curated, AI-powered editorial recommendations. The news brand had also used Taboola’s organic recirculation algorithm below article within Taboola Feed in order to promote its own content to on-site users.
To continue making the most of its on-site real estate, The Independent needed an innovative solution that would further improve user engagement and unlock new monetization opportunities.
The Independent Drives 43% Increase in Editorial Content CTR
Taboola helped The Independent boost revenue and engagement without increasing ad real estate on the site. They worked hand-in-hand with the publisher to convert two existing mid-article units of editorial content into high-performing hybrids of sponsored content and editorial content.
Powered by Taboola’s advanced predictive engine, this new Taboola unit delivered personalized content recommendations to each user based on their interests and context. Consequently, The Independent was able to enhance user experiences and tailor content to its unique audience without overcrowding article pages with additional ad space.
After implementing Taboola’s innovative solution The Independent saw a 43% increase in clickthrough rate (CTR) on its editorial content. The custom mid-article units also contributed to a 14% increase in Taboola ad revenue for The Independent, adding revenue incrementality that did not previously exist, helping the publisher achieve its overall goals.
Taboola continues to work with The Independent to access and activate forward-thinking engagement and monetization tools for today’s digital publishers.
“In this next phase of our strategic partnership with Taboola, we were able to introduce a new engagement and monetization component to our site without adding more real estate to the page. By implementing Taboola’s AI-powered mid-article content recommendations, we achieved a significant increase in clicks on editorial content and on-site engagement."
- Andrew Morley, Chief Revenue Officer, The Independent