While the author does have an interesting point about how Netflix could be a bigger hub for information, is it really a "big growth opportunity"?
To create (good) content for solely information consumption would require a lot of leg work on Netflix's end, and would it really help their return? They would have to hire content creators, change dev infostructure to be both in/out of a paywall, manage the content, etc. Netflix is basically a household name already (even my grandma uses it), I don't know if ranking higher on SEO is really going to be cause of a large growth spurt.
> "Netflix needs to put all of this valuable content outside of the paywall in order to provide value..."
Netflix already provides a magnificent amount of value to customers without doing this. "Needs" is a very strong word to use in that sentence. Yes, it may help, but it doesn't "need" to happen for them to provide value. Also, maybe not doing this is the value. By making people sign up to see content, reviews, trailers, etc. it actually gives them more value. Yes you can find that information on other sites, but why give it away for free if people are already willing to pay for it?
Netflix could use the money saved from a project like this to get more and more shows/movies on their network. A bigger library of content is what will make them have more and more growth, not awareness via SEO. Awareness is something I think they already have that down pretty well.
However, I think this could come into play and be a more helpful strategy when more and more competition comes around (other than just Hulu and Amazon) against Netflix. Or when they have a more significant amount of original shows in their library.
To create (good) content for solely information consumption would require a lot of leg work on Netflix's end, and would it really help their return? They would have to hire content creators, change dev infostructure to be both in/out of a paywall, manage the content, etc. Netflix is basically a household name already (even my grandma uses it), I don't know if ranking higher on SEO is really going to be cause of a large growth spurt.
> "Netflix needs to put all of this valuable content outside of the paywall in order to provide value..."
Netflix already provides a magnificent amount of value to customers without doing this. "Needs" is a very strong word to use in that sentence. Yes, it may help, but it doesn't "need" to happen for them to provide value. Also, maybe not doing this is the value. By making people sign up to see content, reviews, trailers, etc. it actually gives them more value. Yes you can find that information on other sites, but why give it away for free if people are already willing to pay for it?
Netflix could use the money saved from a project like this to get more and more shows/movies on their network. A bigger library of content is what will make them have more and more growth, not awareness via SEO. Awareness is something I think they already have that down pretty well.
However, I think this could come into play and be a more helpful strategy when more and more competition comes around (other than just Hulu and Amazon) against Netflix. Or when they have a more significant amount of original shows in their library.