Posted in Driving Website Traffic	February 27, 2007

Introducing the Mequoda Print Linkage Index (PLI) – a Simple Calculation that Measures How Effectively a Publisher Uses their Print Product to Drive Website Traffic

By Kim Mateus, Editor & Publisher Mequoda Daily and Library

All publishers must have a plan for driving website traffic, whether that’s to beef up page views or to get people to purchase products, including access to a membership website.

• An Internet hub with free content attracts online traffic. Site visitors then register for, say, a free email newsletter and become part of the publisher’s email database. That can be used to sell products—including access to a membership website.
• Alternatively, a publisher can use editorial mentions in its own magazines and/or newsletters to drive traffic to its Internet hub or directly to the website’s conversion architecture, where the visitor can purchase products, including access to a membership website.

A simple calculation, which we call a “print linkage index,” will determine the percentage of editorial mentions that a publisher is devoting to driving traffic online. To determine the print linkage index:

1. Add up the number of editorial pages in an issue of the print magazine;
2. Add up the number of pages in the magazine that indicate the URL of the Internet hub; and
3. Divide the result of #1 by the result of #2.

Based on our experience with publishers, a rule of thumb for a good print linkage index is currently 50 percent or better. Some publishers, such as August Home, score 100 percent, because they include their URL on the bottom of every page of the corresponding print publication. This simple action can double or triple a publisher’s website traffic.

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