Trends Report: Registration Path Redux
by Sam Harrelson
With
declines in email open rates, continuing frustrations with
the contextual market and dismal banner clicks, driving
traffic has been a formidable task for publishers.
Advertisers hungry for leads continually seek out new ways
to get the lead generation they need for their business
model.
Amazingly
enough, many advertisers are turning back to the
registration path for an avenue of lead generation. Once
written off as saturated, inefficient and wrought with
fraud, the model has benefited from the failings of other
models, continued improvements in technology to serve/post
data from the lead paths, and the impressive numbers that
some publishers can produce from the paths.
Specifically, the technological improvements have allowed
the registration path to live up to its potential of
effective lead generation. XML, fttp and even more
revolutionary modes of instant communication are allowing
advertisers to accept leads at an almost real time pace
while rejecting the leads that don’t fit the agreed upon
criteria. Most importantly, the registration path model
seems to have taken a page from the Google play-book and
cutting-edge publishers are offering automation in
lead-generating deals.
The numbers
supporting registration path leads are impressive. Sites
generating high amounts of volume are able to work on cpa’s,
which many advertisers in the space prefer. Because of
this, the setup benefits both sides of the equation.
2004 is
best summed up by the term optimization. Whether in the
search realm or in the mass amounts of consolidations
occurring in the industry, advertisers and publishers are
looking for ways to do business that stresses cost
effectiveness. 2004’s biggest surprise may be the return of
the registration path model as a top producer of leads for
advertisers and revenue for publishers.
Sam Harrelson is the Co-Editor of the Digital
Moses Confidential. He can be reached at
sam@digitalmoses.com
