Business Standard is one of India’s premier newspapers, known for its accurate and credible reporting. Additionally, its premium online content draws many paying subscribers to subscribe.
But rising traffic was straining their website’s performance, slowing content delivery and diminishing reader experience. To increase performance, they turned to Akamai.
Increasing digital subscriptions
Growth of digital subscriptions is an objective for many publishers. Though difficult, growth of subscriptions can be achieved using carefully planned marketing strategies such as offering free trials or personalized newsletters and social media leveraging – all excellent methods to reach new readers while building brand loyalty.
Few business publications in India can match the 45-year old Business Standard’s authority and insight when it comes to business news and analysis. But in an age when news consumption has never been more competitive than ever, competitors need not apply.
But despite these difficulties, large metropolitan newspapers are still experiencing significant subscriber increases. While this is encouraging news, publishers must remain diligent in finding ways to retain and attract subscribers while also combatting subscription fatigue through relevant content that provides value.
Reaching new readers
Business Standard has earned a stellar reputation as a premier business newspaper. Thanks to this, they have built up an ardent readership base. Additionally, Business Standard is reaching new audiences through unconventional content delivery channels; such as by partnering with prominent Indian business schools to offer free access to its content online.
Rising traffic demands were straining Business Standard website’s performance limit, forcing publisher to find a solution capable of supporting more readers while still delivering fast, dynamic content – choosing Akamai edge infrastructure as its go-to choice.
Business Standard currently publishes 12 editions across Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai Coimbatore Ahmedabad Hyderabad Pune Lucknow Bhubaneswar Kochi with readers in over 1,000 towns and cities worldwide. Owned by Business Standard Private Limited of Kotak Mahindra Bank’s, their editorial team includes specialists in corporate and financial news.
Boosting performance
The Business Standard’s premium paywall and trusted business analysis were key drawcards for new subscribers, yet its website performance had reached its limits due to high traffic volumes requiring dynamic content delivery; as a result, reader experience suffered. A premium CDN solution was necessary.
Working with Akamai, this company improved performance by offloading dynamic content to their CDN while using Akamai Download Delivery for static images and videos – giving readers a smoother online experience while expanding subscriber numbers at the same time.
Kalelkar also worked to draw in new readers with compelling, personalized content. For instance, he collaborated with India’s top business schools to offer students free access to his newspaper’s news and research archived research – in the hope of winning over future business leaders by instilling them with high-quality journalism values. Furthermore, increased performance increased visibility on search engines and aggregators that prioritize sites with fast content delivery speeds.
Increasing visibility
Few publications in India can match Business Standard’s 45 years of credibility with accurate reporting and strong loyal readership. As the world becomes more digital and social, Business Standard continues to find ways to connect with readers while convincing them to pay for its premium content.
Visibility with search engines and news aggregators is crucial to driving traffic, and these platforms favor sites with rapid content delivery and page loads. Akamai’s Dynamic Site Accelerator enables Business Standard to offload dynamic elements quickly while speeding up page loads for improved audience reach more rapidly.
Increased performance has also helped attract B-school students, who are encouraged to read the newspaper by an incentive program which gives them free access to online content from Business Standard (BS). This strategy reaches future leaders while winning them as paid subscribers; furthermore, Business Standard works closely with prominent business schools to incorporate its content into curriculums.
