Big4.com wants to become the focal point of the broad Big Four alumni community by offering content specific to Big Four alumni, as well as services and merchandise that would appeal to this demographic, Big4.com has focused on building a network that can be monetized effectively at a future date.

Big4.com’s Challenges

The most substantial challenge faced by Big4.com comes from its own audience. The Big Four firms already do an effective job of managing their alumni networks. Further, these firms have access to information from themselves first – detailed and confirmed information about their former employees as well as internal news that has not reached the public. These factors provide for a much richer online community. While Big4.com has broad appeal across the Big Four, it does not have the nascent information advantages of the alumni websites for Deloitte, KPMG, Ernst & Young, and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

This problem is common among small businesses. Often, we struggle to differentiate ourselves from larger competitors. Their sheer size can overshadow our differences – and competitive advantages – despite the fact that what we offer is unique and more appropriate to our audiences. Big4.com’s problems were not unusual. It needed a way to stand out, but the competition was overwhelming in its size and presence.

From a web marketing perspective, specific problems have resulted from Big4.com’s competitive environment: 1. A low number of monthly unique visitors 2. Few page views per monthly unique visitor 3. Infrequently updated content

Monthly unique visitors are the web equivalent of print circulation. Consequently, there is a direct correlation between monthly unique visitors and the ability to garner advertising revenue. With only 10,000 monthly unique visitors, Big4.com’s share of the Big Four alumni market was quite small. Big4.com needed to find ways to attract new readers.

In addition to needing to find new readers, Big4.com had the derivative challenge of needing to keep visitors on the site. The average visitor did not spend much time on the site per month. Generally, readers left after only two page views. This tendency resulted from a dearth of content, with new articles appearing only monthly.

The lack of content not only resulted in a lower level of reader engagement – it also had a search engine impact. Big4.com did not receive prominent search engine results placement, which limited the publication’s ability to attract new readers.

New Content for Big4.com’s Readers

Big4.com needed to act quickly to keep from being overlooked in a large, competitive marketplace. To rejuvenate itself, Big4.com executed a content-centered strategy. For most companies, this is an effective way to grow on the web. New content allows you to use your business expertise, putting your business knowledge to work. Also, it is less expensive than other approaches to web marketing.

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