In this episode, Vahe Arabian and Jeremy Fremont review TechCrunch, focusing on its subscription product and revenue streams. They discuss the recent news of TechCrunch shutting down its subscription offering and explore the reasons behind this decision. The co-hosts analyze TechCrunch’s website design, user experience, and SEO issues.
They highlight the unique navigation bar on the left-hand side of the homepage and the consistency in article structure and ease of use. The host also mentions the slower loading time of the TechCrunch logo and some errors with advertisements on the page. They discuss the importance of revenue diversification and the need for publishers to focus on multiple revenue streams.
The podcast then delves into TechCrunch’s traffic and rankings, noting a drop in organic traffic and potential reasons for this decline. They discuss technical issues with schema markup and URL structure, which may have affected search engine visibility. The host emphasizes the importance of optimizing schema for paywall SEO and maintaining consistent URL structures.
Moving on to mobile optimization, the host praises TechCrunch’s mobile menu design and the option to subscribe to different newsletter segments. They suggest improvements for the footer layout and the color of the subscribe button to enhance user experience and conversion rates.
The podcast concludes with the host advising publishers to stay proactive and learn from the revenue models and strategies of larger players like TechCrunch. They emphasize the value of partnerships and the need to provide value to both the audience and sponsors. The host encourages listeners to be open to pivoting and making necessary adjustments to their own businesses.
