We spend a lot of time talking about Grow as Mediavine\u2019s first-party data solution for the coming decade, as Google phases out third-party cookies and the entire world shifts toward a privacy-first web.<\/p>\n
What we don\u2019t talk about enough \u2014 and publishers may not even realize \u2014 is that in addition to building up your first-party data, Grow<\/a> can help you increase your earnings today.<\/p>\n We know this because we\u2019ve seen it on Mediavine\u2019s owned and operated<\/a> site, The Hollywood Gossip, where Grow is driving more traffic and making THG more revenue right here in the third-party cookie<\/a> era.<\/p>\n Below, we\u2019ll tell you how we did it and how you can do it \u2014 complete with a cool Google Analytics Dashboard link so you can follow along at home and model this on your own site.<\/p>\n Grow is a toolkit that provides a value exchange \u2014 a series of ways for websites to encourage readers to log in and consent to the website collecting first-party data<\/a> in return for a better user experience.<\/p>\n Mediavine sees the collection of first-party data \u2014 and the ability to serve personalized ads in a cookie-less world<\/a> \u2014 as the path forward for our industry which is why we created Grow.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s the thing though: The same features which provide a superior experience and encourage audiences to log in also drive traffic and revenue. Today, tomorrow, next month and next year.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve seen it happen with The Hollywood Gossip, thanks to an aspect of Grow that might seem familiar to internet \u2014 and Netflix \u2014 users.<\/p>\n One of the coolest features of Grow is its content recommendation<\/a> feature, powered by artificial intelligence algorithms.<\/p>\n On a basic level, it\u2019s not unlike the algorithms all your beloved streaming apps use when curating \u201cRecommended For Eric\u201d content.<\/p>\n If a user logs in, they\u2019ll receive personal recommendations based on things they\u2019ve read, shared and favorited on your website.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, logged-out users will receive recommendations based on what other users have clicked on and the content they\u2019re browsing. <\/p>\n Again, think Netflix.<\/p>\n As a celebrity gossip<\/a> site in an era where there are more actors, singers and reality stars than an individual reader could possibly know, manual content recommendation just doesn\u2019t work.<\/p>\n Machine learning, however, is working freakishly well.<\/p>\n Whether you\u2019re reading about Tom Hanks, Kim Kardashian or a Z-list celebrity in air quotes, Grow instantly finds and recommends related content on THG that other users are clicking on.<\/p>\n We\u2019re seeing a 2-4% CTR (click-through rate) whenever an inline content recommendation is shown. What\u2019s more impressive is The Hollywood Gossip uses infinite scroll and auto-loads the next post, which means (currently) only the first page gets content recommendations.<\/p>\n These numbers are only going to improve as we continue to roll out new features for Grow. Even with those limitations, what does a 2-4% CTR actually mean for a publisher\u2019s traffic?<\/p>\n Combined with carousel and sidebar recommendations, social, search and bookmarks, Grow has already provided an additional 5.1% pageviews to The Hollywood Gossip since enabling Grow. <\/p>\n Although that is a lot of pageviews at THG\u2019s size \u2014 and a big improvement over other recommended content options \u2014 the most amazing part of Grow\u2019s impact is the value<\/em> of those views.<\/p>\n The increase in time on site, or session duration from Grow traffic, is how we\u2019re defining value in this case. <\/p>\n The average user on The Hollywood Gossip spends 1:45 on site, according to Google Analytics. Not bad, but users who interacted with any Grow widgets spend an average of 4:38! <\/p>\n That\u2019s an astonishing 164.25% more time on site! Either 90 Day Fiance is really that compelling or machine learning knows what it\u2019s doing.<\/p>\n But seriously, folks: Whatever your content is about, longer sessions from readers browsing that content means \u2014 you guessed it \u2014 more ads viewed and increased RPM<\/a> per session as a result.<\/p>\n When you\u2019re talking about a site earning millions per year in THG\u2019s case, that means hundreds of thousands of dollars<\/strong> in extra views. <\/p>\n But no matter the size of your audience, such robust increases in session duration and CTR can make a material difference immediately.<\/p>\n Grow doesn\u2019t have its own Dashboard (yet), but for now you can use Google Analytics to measure how your website benefits from it.<\/p>\n By default, as users interact with your website through Grow, it will automatically output Google Analytics Events. <\/p>\n Events include when users click on recommended content, as well as when they share, favorite and search your content.<\/p>\n It will also append UTM tracking codes for Bookmarks so you\u2019ll see Grow as a traffic referral source when users click through to a second pageview.<\/p>\nWhat is Grow?<\/h2>\n
![\"screenshot](\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/recommended-content-1024x590.jpg\")
<\/figure>\nContent Recommendation<\/h2>\n
![\"the](\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/grow-and-thg-2-1024x939.jpg\")
<\/figure>\nThe Hollywood Gossip Results<\/h2>\n
Measuring Grow Success<\/h2>\n
![\"dashboard](\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/analytics-growme-signup-1.png\")
<\/figure>\n![\"grow](\"https:\/\/www.mediavine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/growme-dashboard-1-1024x582-1.jpeg\")
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