The summary analyzes the layout and design of the AdAge.com website. It has a clean and professional design with the logo prominently displayed in the header on all pages. The header also includes primary navigation tabs and a secondary menu. There is a secondary navigation bar that drops down as the user scrolls for easy access to sections. The featured article is highlighted on the homepage to draw attention. Related articles and keywords are included to help users navigate between content. Videos and charts are used to make information interactive. The site aims to inform readers in the advertising and marketing industries with up-to-date articles on various topics.

1. Sydnee Arnold
Web Publishing
9/15/16
My site: AdAge.com
Website Overview
ContentAnalysis:
AdvertisingAge isanall-purpose sitethatleadsthe worldingivinginformationandinsightnews
to the advertisingandmarketingcommunity.Anycatapultingnewsaboutthe in-depthworldof
marketingcanbe centeredfromAdAge.AdvertisingAge isamagazine thatreadersmay subscribe tooas
well asgettingthe latestnews.Theirclientsconsistof anarray of individualsfromthe advertisingand
marketingindustryincludingproducers,designers,andeditorsjusttoname afew. Wheneveryoufirst
enterthe site,anad immediatelypopsuptosubscribe to AdvertisingAge,showinghow theylinkthe
website immediatelytothe magazine.Allowingfortheirconsumerstobe exposedtotheirstoriesfrom
more than one medium. The firstscroll downthe page,readers are hitwithanarray of articles.The
headline of the articles are accompaniedwiththumbnail size pictures.Onthe homepagethere isnot
much textbesidesthe headlines,sothe page ismostlycoveredwiththe photos.Glancingatthe
homepage there are 17 storiesaccompaniedwiththe describingpicture,headlineandbyline forthe
article.
There are nodrop downnavigationbarssothe readermustjustclickthe tabtheywishto
investigatefurther.Undereachtabfromthe primarynavigationbar,the website justcontinueslaying
out more and more articles.Divingdeeperintoeacharticle,the onesclosertothe top are articles
droppedthatday and the furtheryouscroll downiswhere olderstories popup.Showinghow timelyAd
Age’sinformationisandhowcritical itisfor themto continue pushingdailyinterestingstoriesfortheir

2. consumers. The site offersalotof informationforconsumersthatare lookinginall differentdirections
and forpeople inthe workingprofessionof marketingandadvertising. Withinthe mainnavigationbar
there are nine distinctivetabsthatinclude Marketing,Advertising,Digital,Media,Agency,Data, BtoB,
VideoandCampaignTrail.
The Marketingtab has a plethora of articles,six pagesworthof storiespertainingtotoday’s
marketingindustryincludingstoriessuchas“How to ReinventYourBrand” andalso “ForgetYour P’s;
Mind the Four M’s of Marketing”. Afterthe Marketingtab,the Advertisingone isinthe same ballpark
justpertainingtoAdvertisingreaders.Underthissection,the authorsof the articlesexplainrecent
brandsAd’sand howtheyare eitherbenefitingthatcertaincompanyorhow theyare somehow
transformingthe market.MoststoriesexplaincertainbusinessAd’sandhow thatcertainpiece of
advertisingisaffectingtheirconsumers.Aninterestingnote regardingthe differenttabs,isthatsome
articlesandstoriesshowupinmore thanone section.Provingthatcertainstoriescanbe categorizedin
the same sectionswhichallowsthe readerstoeasilyknow thatthe particularstorymaybe geared
towardsmarketingandadvertising.
Some articlesvaryinlength,rangingfrom400 characters to 600 characters.Dependingonwhat
the story isabout depictsthe layoutof the page.There wasone article that wasreferringtonew team
membersbeingaddedtoacompanyand the page includedsmall mugshotsof the new membersand
short biographynexttotheirpicture.Anotherpositive thatthe site has,isthaton each article there isa
box off to the corner inthe sidebarthat hasrelatedarticlesmakingiteasytoshiftfromone article to
the next.Theyalsoinclude keywordsatthe bottom, so viewersmayclickonthose wordsandother
articlesthatinclude thatparticularwordare found.AdAge.comallowsforeasyaccessibilityaroundthe
page whichisdefinitelywhatmakestheirsite special andkeepstheirmembershappy.

3. Videosandchartsare part of the interactive piece thattiesthe websitetogether.The video
page has one page of videosbutthenitallowsyoutoclickunderthe ‘FeaturedVideos’toview all
videos.Itincorporatesadropdowntab as well topickwhichtype of videothe vieweriswantingto
entertainthemselveswith.The waythe site makesiteasyforusersto pickwhichvideotheywouldlike
to watch isby puttinganinterestingpulledphotofromthe videotodraw intheirattention.Italsotells
the userat the bottomexactlyhowlongthe videowill last.
It isclear that the site keepsupwithcurrenttopicsandissuesbecause there isatab directly
there to followthe interestingcampaigntrail of 2016. This page has articlesthatintegrate mapsand
charts to gettheirpointacross. Above those articles,AdAge showsasmall insert aboutwhatthe map is
aboutand whythe site isconductinginformationonthe topic.Forexample,there isanarticle referring
to swingstatesadvertisingandat the top ittalksabout how AdAge pairedup withStrata tobring its
usersintriguinginformationaboutcampaignadsandabout how that was the thirdinstallmentof this

4. particulartype of article.Belowisa picture of the expertandthe actual mapto show how itappearson
the page.

5. The map is colorcodedand easyfollow foranyone analyzingit.Below the mapisinformation
aboutthe specificstatesandchangesthathave beenmade inthemwithinthe lastfew months.AdAge
keepsitinterestingbyaddinginformationaboutthe political campaignandthatmaybroadenthe
differentvarieties of people thatcome tothe site.
The site encouragesitsuserstobecome membersandtomake that wishbecome a realitythey
onlyallownon-memberstobrowse the site forsolongbefore requiringthemtoeitherbecomea
memberorsimplylog-in.Byloggingin,usersreceive additional perksandbenefits. Forthose notwilling
to pay andjust wantto be able to browse articlesandbe able to have the powerto comment,there isa
place for people toalso“RegisterforFree”. Thisallowingaway for people whodonotwantto be
memberstostill be able tobe a part of thisunique site andkeepupwiththeirnew informationona
dailybasis.
It isclear one of theirbiggeststrengthsfornotonlytheirsite buttheirmagazine,isthe use of
original reporting. Eventhoughthe storiesvaryinlength,eachishandpickedandreadyforthe readerto
enjoy.Justlike anyarticles,some canbe brief withonlyafew paragraphswhile some needtobe
explainedfurthertogetthe pointacross. Each story devotedlyworkedonbyamemberof the staff to
have readersengrossed inwhattheyare reading. Theyare timelyarticles,new onesbeing uploaded
everyday.Thisshowinghowhardthe site worksto keeppushingoutnew informationaboutthe
industry.Theyhave articlesforthe workingprofessionalsandpeople thatmightjustbe interestedin
readingaboutnewmarketingandadvertisingaspectsthatare hittingthe scene.
The main goal of theirwebsiteistoinformthe publicabouthow varyingcompaniesare handling
and subjectingtocertainchangesregardingthisspecificindustry.Theyreachtheirgoal tremendouslyby
makingarticlesavailableandcreatingauserfriendlywebsite thatallowsthemtohave a loyal fanbase.

6. General CompanyInformation:
In the footer,there isinformationaboutthe websiteandhow itwas created.AdvertisingAge is
inthe topof the newsindustryandiswell knownall overthe globe. AdvertisingAge came tolife in1930
as it startedoff as a broadsheetnewspaperinChicago,accordingtotheirFacebookpage.The company
appearsinmany differentplatformsfrom amagazine,tothe website,toonline newsletters. JoshGolden
ispublisheralongside associate publisher,Heidi Walduskyandassistanttopublisher,MeilynA.Castello.
Underneaththattop tierfollowspositionssuchasthe Editorial sectionwithfive membersandthe four
memberswithinthe DataCenter.There are alsopeople thathandle media,research,analytics,art,
multimedia,events,sales,marketing,andadvertisingproduction.Thiscompanyhasmultiplepress
releasesregardingtheirstaff andtheyalsocome upin the newsfromtime totime.
The company hasmany differentpartnersinclude apopularsistersite namedCreativity.
Creativityislinkeddirectlyfromthe AdAge site makingiteasytofind.Creativityispartof the Ad Age
groupbut givesinformationspecificallyaboutthe creative aspectsof designinthe advertisingindustry.
Creativity’swebsite incorporatesthe latestTV commercials,printads,andbrandinformation.Aswellas
beinga part of the internet,theytooliketheirpartnerhave amagazine thatisreleasedeverymonth.
Users can evenhave directaccessto Creativityonthe homepage of AdAge whichisacentral location
and allowsCreativitytogainfollowersaswell. Sinceeachcompanyiswithineachother,theyare
referredtoeachothera lotand itis easyto getfrom website tothe next.
Anothercompanythatis in conjunctionwithAdAge isiSpot.AccordingtoAdAge,iSpotisa
companythat catalogs,tags,and measuresactivityaroundTV ads.Ad Age andiSpotwork togetherto
bringpopularads intoone place forpeople tolookat. Theycall these Adstheypick“Hot Spots”and are
shownonAd Age’swebsite andinthe cornerof the videositsays,“SponsoredbyiSpot”showingthe Ad

7. Age viewerswhere these particularadsare beingjudgedfrom.Atthe bottomof those certainpageson
the website,ittellsthe userstofindoutmore aboutthought-provokingcommercialsfromtheirsister
site Creativity.Theyall linktogetherrunninglikeamachine toboosteach otherupand gain publicity.
Ad Age is ownedbyCrainCommunicationswhichhouses55brands inNorthAmerica,Europe
and Asia.IncludingAdvertising,Automotive,Healthcare, andWorkforce solutions,Investments,
Plastic/RubberandRegional BusinessPublications.The companyiscomprisedof the Crainfamilybut
alsoencompassesnearly900 employeesandstill hasofferingsforfuture openings.Atthe heartof the
companyare core valuesthatall theirbrands,includingAdAge abidebysuchas accurate information,
integrity, andexcellence justtoname afew.
CompetingSite:
Takinga lookat compete.com,itwasclearthat Adweek.com isthe biggestcompetitionfor
AdAge.com.AdWeekhasnearlythe same featuresandoffersthe same informationasAdAge does.Ad
Weekcoversnewsandtrendsinmedia,marketing,andadvertisingthe same wayAdAge does.They

8. informthe industrywithdailyarticlesthatare uploadedeverydaywiththe same amountof timeliness.
The websitesare laidoutcompletelydifferentthoughanditisseenimmediatelyfromthe homepage.
The homepage isbusywitharticlesscatteredonthe page andseemsmore clutteredandnotas
structured.Since everythingisso modular,nothingtrulydrawsthe attentionof the user.One unique
aspectabout the homepage isthatit hasthe neweststoriesof the dayrightnexttothe Ad Weeklogoso
that itis seenalmostinstantly. Thisaspectcan eitherbe astrong or weakdesign layoutdependingon
the viewer.The contentavailable isnearlyidentical tothatof Ad Age’s,includingarticlesaboutthe exact
same topics.Eventhoughthe advertisingandmarketingindustries are large,thatstill doesnotmean
that bothof these leadingcompanieswill notcommentonthe same thing.Especiallysincetheyboth
come out withnewseveryday,nearlyall day.One example of the exactsame contentisanarticle about
the newGeicoad that features Ice T as the leadstar.

9. Eventhoughtheybothare relayingthe information,itisvital tosee whopostedthe article first.
Ad Age added the story on September9 while AdWeekdidnotgetitaddeduntil September12.Two
daysdoesnot seemlike alarge margin but inan industrythatneeds informationquickly,thisis
somethingthatcouldattract usersto AdAge rather thanAd Week.
Anothersimilaritysharedbetweenthe two,istheirtabat the top of the browser.Dependingon
whatpage the viewerisonwithinthe website,theybothhave theirlogosandalsothe beginningof the
selectedarticle.Usingthe Ice T article as an example again,bothtabshave theirownpersonalizedtitle
apart of it.Thismakingit easierforthe visitorsof bothsitestorememberwhicharticle theyare looking
at, evenwhennotactuallylookingatthatspecificscreen.
Both sitesinclude some of the same sectionsforexampleAdAge’stabsinclude Marketing,
Advertising,Media, Videoandsoon.AdWeek’sincludesThe Press,Television,Technology,Advertising
& Brandingand a unique tabcall AdFreakVideo.The tabsare one and the same but are underdifferent
names.Theymeanthe same thingbut eachput theirownspinonthe content. Theirarticlesare about
the same conceptsbut the designlayoutiscompletely differentfromone site tothe other.AdWeekhas

10. theirarticleslaidoutina vertical waywhile AdAgesatthe top are horizontal onthe page. Whenso
manyaspectsare similaraboutthe sites theyneedtofindaway to differentiate themselvesfromeach
otherand the easiestwaytodo that isplayingaroundwiththeirdesigns.
The large amountof similaritiesiswhatcausesAdWeektobe so competitive withAdAge.They
are competingforthe same viewersandonlyone canendup ontop withthe mostvisitorsand
popularity.AdAge mustkeepupwhattheyare doingbut continue toevolve tostayintunedwiththeir
viewers. While AdWeekmustworkhardto try and elevate whattheyhave alreadytogainextraviewers
to compete.

11. Design& Layout Analysis:
Page ElementsofDesktop:
There are page elementsthatall websitesconsistof butthe way
designerlaysitoutcan make all the difference. Designerskeepthe same types
of designbutthe wayit isimplementedmakesitspecial.Accordingtothe book
“Above the Fold”,“[Header] actsas a groundingforce forthe userby identifying
and visuallyunifyingall the pagesof the site,”(Miller,2011, pg. 35). The header
tiesthe whole website togetherandiscrucial to helpthe user.InAdAge,the
logoAdvertisingAge isthe same sleeklogoseenonall theirmagazinesallowing
theirviewerstoknow thatitis the same brand nomatter whattheymediumis.
It isblack letterswithawhite professionalbackground,same goesforthe
magazine cover. Anotherimportant aspectof the headeristhe “call to action”.
Notall websitesincorporate thisaspectbutI believe itis fundamental forthe
user.It givesthemquickaccessto importanttabssuchas “LoggingIn” and
“Becominga Member”.The Becominga Membertab isoutlinedinblue,allowing
it to popand draw the readerseyes.
Millerexplainshow the headercontainsthe mainnavigationsystemforthe
site whichonlyexpandsthe site’susability(2011,pg.35). The tabs I stated
previouslyare the tabsdirectlynexttothe logointhe header.There isalsoa
secondaryheaderthatinitiatesthe call toactiontabsbut alsootherimportant
ones.Suchas, theirsistersite Creativity,aLookBook,DataCenter,Resources,
Events,JobsandOn Campus.These tabsare importantbutnot as vital as the
tabs inthe primaryheader. There isan additional headerwithanavigationbar

12. that launchesdownthe page wheneverthe readerscrolls.Ibelieve thatisthere bestfeature onthe
homepage.Thisunique devicemakesiteasyaspie forthe readerto selecta differenttabif theywould
like,evenif theyare cleartowardsthe bottomof the page.Thisspecificheaderhasfourtabs that
include Sections,Latest,Editor’sPicksandMostPopular.Italsocontainsanotherway to Login/Become
a Member.Thisis the strongestpartof theirwebdesign because itcutsdownthe time itwouldtakes
for the readerstocomplete taskslike findinganew sectiontobrowse. Whenmostpeople are onthe
site,the informationtheywanttolookat is inthe ‘The Most PopularSection’orthe ‘Latest’.
The nextsectionisthe categorizedasthe ‘Feature’. Millerdescribesthisasthe focal point,an
area that servesasa pointof reference forthe layoutandsetsthe tone (2011, 38). To be able to setthe
tone,there needstobe a sense of hierarchyof information andthatisthe reasonwhydesignersput
theirmostimportantinformationasthe feature.The feature onAdAge’spage issimplythe newest
article that ispostedthatday. Makingit clearthat the designerswantthatto be pointof reference so
viewersknowwhatisinstore forthemwiththe rest of the content.The typographyof thisarticle has
boldand huge letteringtocatchtheireyes.

13. In the bookMillersaysthe most commontype of feature isa slideshow that previewscontent
for the site (2011, pg.38). AdAge doesnot include thatdimensionbutthere sistersite,Creativitydoes.
There are pictureswithinthe slideshow which take upa large amountof space,so it completelycatches
the focusof the viewerinapositive way.These twoexamplesshowshow twositescanchoose tomake
theirfeature the waytheywant,ratherthat be settle displayingthe contentormore visual with
pictures.

14. The sidebarhas additional informationthatisnotusuallyasimportant butit supportsthe main
content. Sometimesitisevenhardto identifywhatsectionsare apart of the sidebar. Fromthe “Above
the Fold”text,Millerexplainshowthe sidebarisusuallysoldforadvertiserstopromote theircompany
viaads (2011, pg. 46). The mainpointof the sidebaristo blendinwiththe backgroundtonot outshine
the regularcontent. The sidebarof the Ad Age site isa small sectionthathas informationregardingthe
latestnewsbutitjust showsthe headlineof the article,notapicture or by-line.Itdoesnotdirectlycatch
the reader’sattentionandthere isanad usuallyrightunderit.
The piece of designthattakesup a large amountof the homepage andthe reasonfor the
website,isthe content/body.Thispiece Millersaysiswhere usersspendmostof theirtime andthatis
whyit isimportantto breakup some of the bodytextso that the page is notso tedious(2011, pg. 42).
Ad Age breaksuptheirtextwithheadings,thiselementalsohelpssearchenginesevaluate whatisapart
of the page. The contentisthe mostimportant part to me because thatis whythe user visitsthe site,
the latestnewskeepsthemcomingback.Below inthe screenshotshowshow eachsectionwithinthe
bodyis splitup bydifferentheaders.

15. The bottom of the website roundsoutthe whole site andiscalledthe Footer. Thisisusually
informationabouthowtocontact the companyand informationregardinghow the companybegan.
Thismaterial notbeingas importantasthe rest and thatis whyit isstationedatthe bottomof the page.
The footeris one aspectlike the headerthatstaysconsistentthroughoutthe websitenomatterwhat
page the userison. The footeronAd Age givesinformationabouttheirtermsof use,anaboutus
section,anda sectionaboutprivacy.Theyalsohave a linkthattakesthe userto the company that owns

16. them,CrainCommunication.Aninterestingdesignelementisthatthe secondaryheaderfromthe top,
endsup at the footerwhenthe useriscompletelyatthe bottom. Thatisa nice touchbecause usuallyin
the footerthere isno wayto access otherparts of the site withouthavingtoscroll all the wayback to
the top, once againmakingit easyonthe visitor.
The backgroundis the final partof the designlayoutandforthispiece designerscanbe as
creative astheywant butstill mustkeepin mindwhattheirtargetmarketisseeking.“Above the Fold”
saysthis aboutthe background,“Webpage backgroundsare usedinmore sophisticatedwaysto
complementthe contentof page”(Miller,2011, pg. 50). I believe thatAdAge definitelypullsthisoff by
matchingthe backgroundwiththe contentand keepingitsleekandmature.A majorityof the
backgroundiswhite buthere and there theyaddpopsof a lightblue color.Thissubtle background
matchesthe seriousnessof the contentandmatchesthe magazine aswell.
Above the Fold:
The minute site loads,the readersshouldbe interestedimmediately.This sectionisprime real
estate andit is notarizedasAbove the Fold. Millerdefinesthissectionas,“A ‘fold’ona Webpage is the
line thatdelineateswherethe browserwindow cutsoff the content.Areasabove the foldare seenby
the userwhenthe page loads” (2011, pg.28). Inthissectionliesthatmostimportantpuzzle piecesto
the whole website,includingthe header,feature areaandsome partsof the sidebar.
The viewersabove the foldsectionmaydependonavarietyof differentthings.Certainthings
such as differentbrowsers,browserplug-ins,adsandthe device used.Some adsthatare above the
headerpushthe contentdownsothat there isless showinginthe above the foldsection.Different
browsersthathave additional plug-insthatcanalsocause the screenlayouttochange.The above the
foldcan be modifiedbydifferentaspectsof the web. Forexample,AdWeekhasanad on one of their

17. pagesat the verytopthat pusheseverythingdownwhichrequiresthe usertohave toscroll immediately
whentheyenterthatpage causingan inconvenience.
The firstaspect seenisusuallythe headerandthenthe nextpartthat definitelycatchesthe eye
isthe feature piece ora large photo. Onthe homepage of AdAge,the feature sectionthatisinthe
above the foldisthe newestandmostpopulararticle fromthat day.Thisis veryappropriate formysite
to have that as the feature because usuallyviewerswanttoreadandacknowledge the freshestnews.
Ad Age actuallyutilizesthe space givenandmakessure those areasare beingusedtotheirfull potential.
The above the foldshouldbe a prime example rightawayforwhatthe viewerisabouttosee
throughoutthe whole site.Ondifferentpagesof site,the above the foldsectionchangesafractionthan
the homepage.The elementsthatstayconstantare of course the headerand navigationbar.It includes
a small sectionof the content/bodyandthenthe visitormustbeginscrollingtosee informationfurther.
It alsohas an ad but itis belowthe primaryheaderanddirectlyabove where the articlesstart.

18. The onlythinglackinginthere above the foldsectionthatisnot the home page,isthat since
theydo have adsright belowthe headeritpushesdownthe content. Whenthe contentispusheddown
youcannot see the whole title of the article causingviewerstohave toscroll pastthe picture to readthe
whole thing.The headline of the article allowsviewerstogeta glimpse of whatit’saboutwithout
clickingonthe linkif theydonot choose to.Making it crucial for the usersto see the whole headline
withouthavingtoinitiate scrolling.Inthe example below,userscansee the picture andthe start of the
title,“LaughingAll the Wayto…” but nothingpastthat.
Otherthan that part,the above the foldsectiononAdAge.comisspotontowhat it’s supposed
be and definitelydrawsthe concentrationtothe rightparts ina constructive way.
UpperLeft:
The upperleftiswhere website designersputtheirprime information.Eitherthatbe photos,
top stories,crucial information,all are locatedinthatvital area.Thisis the case because of studies
shownfromheatmappingwhichprovesthatpeople view pagesfromlefttorightdue to our nature and
waywe read.Froma site calledThe Digital MarketingGlossary,theydefine aheatmapasa visual map

19. that allowsforownersof sitestosee where andhow visitorsinteractwiththeirwebsite. Humansare
studiedandresearchesknow howpeople view theirwebpage makingthe leftextraimportant.Thiseye
trackingtechnologyprovestocompanies thatuser’sattentionisfocusedonthatspecificsectionand
alsothat webusersbrieflyskimpages forkeypoints.
In the upperleftof AdAge showsthe most recentandpopularpiece of newsforthat day like I
explainedinthe feature section. Thatisprovenbecause it isthe largestaspectonthe screenandthe
picture immediatelydrawsthe viewer’sattention.The headline isalsoinbiggertextandiscompletely
boldto take the eye fromlookingatany lesssuperior headlinesfirst.Onthismainfeature article,there
isevena short excerptthatgivesasneakpeakof whatthe article isabout that noother storyhas.
Compare Desktopto Mobile:
Smartphoneshave directlyimpactednearlyeveryindustryintoday’smarketandwebdesignisno
exception.Webdesignersmust nowmake aneffortfortheirwebsitestoadapttodifferentsizes,rather
that be a desktop,tabletormobile device.Eachjustas importantasthe otherbutit all dependsonthe
time andplace of the user.Some designerschose tomake entirelyseparate websitesforthe different
deviceswhilesome incorporateresponsive design.Wheneverthe designrespondsto eitherbe collapsed
or blownup,that isresponsive design.AdAge hasresponsive designsowhenthe screenminimizes,the
designresponds.Wheneverausershrinksthe site,thatiswhatwill show upon a tabletand whenitis
downto itssmallest formthatisexemplifyingamobile device.
Wheneverthe useractivatesthe site onatablet, theycan see the logoof the site whichis
importantforany device.The screencanalsofitthe main feature article andpartof the secondarticle
followingit.While onthe smartphone whichminimizesthe screen,the viewercanonlysee the first
article andthat is where the viewends.Bothdevicescause everyaspectonthe page to be vertical with
the tablethavingsome horizontal aspectswhile everythingonthe mobile device isrightontopof each

20. otherdue to the limitedspace.Eventhoughthe space isnotthere like the desktopthe mostcrucial
informationisstill abovethe fold. Webpage designersmustadapttothese changesandallow tostill
have theirbestinformationinthe lime lightnomatterhow bigor small the screenappears.
Ads:
Adsfor a site ultimatelyaccumulate additionalmoneyforthe companybesidesmember
payments. The interestingaspectaboutthe Adsthatare showinguponthe Ad Age site,isthat theyare
all benefitingAdAge.Theyall incorporate eithernew elementsthatAdvertisingAge isdoingorasking
viewerstosubscribe totheirmagazine.Theyalsohave ads thattalkaboutbecominga memberaswell.
Theyare drillingthe thoughtof beingamemberandsubscribingtothe userandmakingit extremely
easyfor themto complete those tasks. Theydoincorporate afew adsbut theyare all ads that somehow
tie back to AdAge.One ad that I foundisfor an eventwhichdealswiththe Mobile Marketing

21. Association.Thisadbeingextremelybeneficial forthe usersonAdAge who mostlyworkinthe
marketingindustry.
Most of the time whenthere isanad on theirpages,theyhave itintwo central locationsonthe
page. On eachpage there isusuallynomore than4 ads andno lessthanone.Most of the ads occur
directlybelowthe navigationbarandmultiple endupinthe sidebarlikethe picture below.Sometimes
theyare same ad and sometimestheyare differentfromthe other.

22. AnotherAdthat wasfoundunderthe ‘Digital’sectionof AdAge wasan ad forCrimsonHexagon.
The layoutof the ads are like the example above,there isthe addirectlyunderneaththe headerand
one inthe sidebarlocation.CrimsonHexagonalsoconnectswithAdAge because thereisgoingtobe a
conference featuringHallmarkandtheywill be givinginformationregardinghow theyare expanding
intonewholidays andhowtheyare comingup withcreative campaignstogettheirmarketexcited
aboutall holidays.Thiseventisgearedtowardsmarketingdepartmentsaswell asPublicRelations.
CrimsonHexagoniswillingtopayfor theiradspace on siteslike AdvertisingAge inhopesof them
bringingtheirlarge audience tothe conference.
Althoughtheiradsare limitedtospecifictype of ads they still follow the adguidelinesfromtheir
MediaKitwhich outlineswhattype of adstheyallow andwhere theywouldbe allowed. A mediakitis
describedas informationgiven toadvertisersregardinghow muchitisfortheirad space and how their
ad will be viewed. AdAge’smediakit tellshow adsmaylookspecificallyfordifferentdevices whichis
extremelybeneficialforcompanieslookingtobuyadspace on theirsites.Itgivesa specifictable about
whatad dimensionstheywill needtohave if theywantthe space.

23. I thinkitis wise thattheyspecifywhichtype of admaygo where,forexample withinthe table it
explainsthe creativitytype of the ad.Meaningif the ad mayinclude images,gifs,videos,orjustplain
text.Thisisimportantforadvertiserstoknow if theywanta picture inthe ad,where the bestplace forit
is.Thistable givesinformationaboutthe lengthof animationaswell if companieswouldliketheiradto
be more complex.
I believethatwhere AdAge hastheiradslocatedare prime examplesof how theystill
incorporate these necessitiesbuttheydonot letitoverpowertheirownpersonal content. Itwasan
intelligentdecisiontonothave a bannerad on the homepage butitisin otherplacesthatis more
discrete yetstill seen.Ithinkthatads onthe homepage take awayfromthe goal of the website and
drawsthe reader’sattentionawayfromthe mainpriority.AdWeekhasaplethoraof ads comparedto
Ad Age andsome pertainto the marketingandadvertisingindustryandsome donot.For example,in
theirfootertheyhave anad for Ford andit sometimesappearsinthe side aswell.

24. Traffic Analysis
MediaKit Info:
Trafficis keyinformationforpeople thatrunwebsitesbecause itisimperative toknow how
manypeople are visitingthe website.Theywanttoknow how manyunique visitorstheyhave comingto
theirsite daily. Websiteownersmayuse free software suchas Google Analyticstogetprecise
informationabouttheirusers,sessions,sessiontime,etc.Ownersare the onlypeople allowedtouse
Google Analyticsandeverythingthatisa part of it. These unique visitorsare the closestthingthat
representsahuman beingandto seeinghow manyare utilizingthe site offered. The onlyrestriction
website ownersmustbe careful of whenanalyzingtheirdataisthat sometimesthe same personmay
activate the site fromdifferentdevicesandthe software countsthatas twoseparate unique visitors.
Thiscouldchange the data receivedandmake ownersbelieve theyare gettingmore trafficthanthey
actuallyare.Most of the data is prettyaccurate but there isalwaysaspectsto lookforthat couldskew
theirinformation.
Basedoff Ad Age’smediakit,theyaverage 1.9millionunique visitorspermonth. Thatnumberis
a strong guidingpointforownerstonotice how muchtheirsite isbeinglookedat.Thisnumberof 1.9
millionisaresilientnumberandshowsjusthow muchof an impactthiswebsite hasontheirspecific
industry. Notonlyitisimportantto lookat how manyunique visitorstheyreceive onlinebutitisalso
importantto see theirdigital footprintonsocial media.Socialmediahastakenovertoday’stime and
companies/organizationsmustbe presentandvocal onmost forms.Theirsocial mediaface ishighas
well,accordingtotheirmediakittheyhave 365,000 Facebooklikeswhichisimpressiveonitsown.

25. AdAge
Average MonthlyUnique Visitors 1.9 million
FacebookLikes 365,000
TwitterFollowers 878,186
LinkedInFollowers 275,000
1.9 millionunique visitorsamonthisan extremelyhighnumberanditisalsoneat to see that
not onlydotheyhave a soliddigital foundationbuttheystill have alarge amountof printsubscribers.
That numbercominginat 61,898 also accordingto theirmediakit. These twoseparate numbersprove
howprevalentandcrucial itis fororganizationstohave a solidgraspon how to get people totheir
website.Nomatterhowhard printtriestheyjustcannotcompete withhow popularthe internetis.A
websitesmediakitcangive anyone accesstohow muchtrafficthe site isgettingand otherinformation
that mightbe valuable todifferentpeople.
Compete.comand Quantcast.com Info:
AdAge AdWeek
Average MonthlyUniques:
Compete.com
1,018,664 >.7 million
Average MonthlyUniques:
Quantcast.com
1.4 million .9 million

26. Compete.comandQuantcast.comcangive detailednumbersaboutuniquevisitorsandeven
more than the mediakit. These sitesare free foranyone toaccessinformationabouthow muchtraffica
site getsand givesanaccurate number.Usuallyamediakitputsthe numberhigherthanwhatit trulyis
because theyare puttingtheirbestnumberforwardtocatch the attentionof advertisers. Inthe chart
above,itgivesbetterspecificnumbersregardinghow manyunique visitorsthe site getspermonth.
Anothernumberinthe chart isthe Ad Week’s unique visitorsnumberwhichis.9million.Thisnumber
significantlylowerthanthatof AdAge showingthatour site ismore popularthanthe competition.
Visits:
These twositesmayalsoreveal tellinginformationaboutvisitsandviews.Visitsreferstothe
numberof timesthe site wasvisited.Itdoesnogoodfor a site to be up andrunningand noone know
whoall is actuallyutilizingthe information.Quantcast showsthatAdAge getsabout 2.3 millionvisitsper
monthwhile the leadingcompetitiongetsonly 1.4millionvisits. Whenauserisvisitingthe site,theyare
usuallygoingtomore than one page while theyare searchingforinformation.Whenauserisjust
viewingthe site,theymightjustbe onone page and thencontinue totheirsearchto a differentsite.
The monthlyaverage of viewsforAdAge is 3.9 millionandAdWeeksis 2.3 million.Eachdifference
betweenthe twositesisusuallybyawhoopingnumberof 1 million.ThisshowingthateventhoughAd
WeekisAd Agesmostcompetitivesite againstthem, intheseaspectstheyare still notmuch
competition.AdAge hasloyal usersthatengage inthe newsandcome back to readmore.

27. Thisgraph shows that theirvisitsandviewsisnotverysteadyinsome cases.Foraboutthree
daysthe site will have alotof trafficin thenitwill dropdrasticallyfora few daysandthenclimbhigher.
For example,onAugust5th
the site had a staggeringnumberof 95,421 visitsbutthe verynextdaythe
numberplummetedto 49,406 visits.The numberfluctuatedatonthat way inAugustbecause Ibelieve
the website wasnotupdatingtheircontentenough.LookingindepthtotheirAdvertisingnewsin
August,theyonlyhad one newarticle fromthe start of AugusttoAugust18th
. There mighthave beena
largernumberof articlesaddedindifferentsectionsbutAdvertisingisnearlythe mostpopularonthe
site andif the informationwasnotbeingupdatedata quickerpace thantheyare likelytolose users in
those days. Fromthe Marketingsection,theydidupdate more frequentlysothatmightbe where the
rise of visitscame inthe monthof Augustbut if the readerwas onlytheirforAdvertisingtheyprobably
leftdisappointedinthe lackof news.These traffictrendscangive ownersandreportersthe information

28. theyneedtokeeptheirusershappyandcomingback to readtheirnewsratherthan goingto a different
site.Itis all aboutcompetitionandAdAge workshardto keepa faithful fanbase.
From AdWeek’sperspective,theirgraphissimilartothatof AdAge.The maindifference
noticedwasthat AdWeek’sdropto lowervisitswasmore gradual thanAdAge rather than suchsharp
drop.An interestingnote isthatboth siteshadlow sessionsonthe same daymeaningthatsomething
couldhave possiblyoccurredthatdaycausingthe viewersof bothsitestonotwantto get theirhandy
news.These daysof lowpointsmostlyconsistedof August6,7, 13, 14, 20, and 21. Lookingat these
days,it isclearthat the dropshappenonthe weekendswhenpeople are usuallyoutdoingthings
aroundthe cityrather thansittingat home or workon the computer.These twocouldalsobe usedby
employersattheirjobsandthat iswhytheytendto receive alargeramountof visitsduringthe week.
These peaksandvalleysimportanttoanalyze andstudysoownersknow whenthe appropriate time is
to drop newsworthyarticlesthatare goingto gainthe most interest.

29. From the Compete.comgraphforAdAge.comtheyhave periodsof highpeaksandlow valleys
justlike the one fromQuantcast.com.Itis seenthattheirhighestwasinOctoberwhichshowedatotal
of 1,046,170 viewersandtheirlowestdippingintothe low 611,722 for the monthof December.The
sharp dropsinthose monthscan be due to the fact that theyare done withtheirworkby Decemberand
that iswhenmostof the employees take theirvacations.Thisindustryrunsata fasterpace thanmost
and theirworkiscomplete bythe time Christmasrollsaround.Octoberisabusymonth as theyget
readyand gearedforholidaysbecause thatiswhenalot of new Christmasadsare makingtheirwayto
the surface.Thisbeingthe explanationforthe graphon compete.com.
Demographicsof eachsite isalsonecessarytotake a lookintoso thatdesignersknow howto
designthe pagestoreach theirtargetmarket.A websitestargetmarketconsistof people thatvisittheir
site ona dailybasisandpeople thatmostlikelysubscribe tothe magazine aswell.Quantcastalsogives
informationaboutwhattypesof people are engagedinthe sites.Nottoanyone’ssurprise,AdWeekand
Ad Age demographicof the usersistrulysimilar.Theyare similarbecause the same peopleare needing

30. informationaboutthisspecificindustry.The demographicisdescribedasmostlymenages25-35 of the
Asianethnicity.Theyusuallydonothave kidsandhave an above average householdincome.This
informationhelpingAdvertisingAge have the sleekdesigntheypossesswithoutall the frillsorpopof
colorthat it wouldinhibitif the mostfrequentviewerswere females.Mentionedbeforethe homepage
of AdvertisingAge consistsof alotof white andblack lettering.Thisdesignalsobeingthe same forAd
Week,tonsof white space andthe onlycolorcomingfromthe photospresent.
Notingthe numberof visits,viewsandunique visitorscantrulyhelpwebsite ownersand
designersgeartheirworktogainingmore usersandbetterachieve the goal theyare after.Inthese
cases,the websitesare tryingtogetnewsaboutthe Marketingand Advertisingindustrytoasmany
people thatneedthe informationandallowingthemtogainknowledge aboutthese specificbusinesses.
Theirviewersmayalsobe businesses/organizationsseeinghow theiradvertisementsandmarketing
strategiesare impactingtheirconstituents. Thisprovinghow importanttheirnewsistoa varietyof
differentpeople.
Alexa.comInfo:
AdAge AdWeek
Bounce Rate % 75.30% 74.10%
Page ViewsPerVisitor 1.49 1.57
DailyTime on Site 2:23 2:22
The chart above givesinformationfromAlexa.comthatlaysoutinformationpertainingtojust
howin depththe usergoeswithinthe site.Knowingthe amountof viewsandvisitorsisimportantbutit
ismore significanttoknowaspectssuchas how manypagestheyare actuallyviewingandhow longon

31. average theyare on the site.The bounce rate refersto the percentage of viewersthatonlyvisitedone
page and thenleftthe site.The chart alsoexplainsthe average numbersof pagesthe visitorsviewedand
for howlongtheyare usuallyonthe site.Thisdatacan helpownersknow thattheyneedtoimprove on
certainelementstogetuserstostay oncertainpagesfor a longerperiodof time.
For AdAge.comtheirbounce rate isrelativelyhigh anditisway overthe average bounce rate for
newsoutletwebsites.AccordingtoConversionvodo.comthe average bounce rate fornewsandmedia
sitesshouldbe 55.56% while AdAge isnearly20% higherthanthat number.Some bounce ratestendto
be higherthese daysbecause designersare implementingatool called‘ContinuesScroll’.Continues
scroll isa tool that allowsthe homepage toessentiallygoonforeverandnot stop.Thiswould
significantlycause ahighbounce rate because viewersdonothave toleave the homepage.AdAge does
not incorporate acontinuousscroll buttheirhomepage islongerthanmost.Sothatmeansvisitorsmay
be able to receive all the informationtheyneedfromthatfirstpage.One improvementtohelptheir
bounce rate wouldbe to add videosormore interactive piecestomore of the pagesratherthan justin
the videosectiontokeepthe attentionof theirusersbetter.
AdWeek.comhasthe aroundthe same type of bounce rate that AdAge doesbut AdAge’srate
has gone up 5% recentlyandthatshowsthat theirsiscontinuallygettingworse.While AdWeek’shas
stayedprettysteadyandhas evendecreasedrecentlyshowingthattheyare makingadjustmentsto
keepvisitorsontheirsite forlongerperiodsof time.Itisclearfromthe table thatusersvisitmore pages
on theirsite thantheydofor Ad Age.SoeventhoughAdAge doestendto proceedwithgainingmore
traffic,itis proventhatAd Weekistakingmattersintotheirownhandsto achieve the goal of having
people see more of theirsite.Witheachaspectlookedatforthese twosites,more similaritieskeep
comingup justexhibitingonce againhow close these twositesare toone anotherandhow theyeach
mustinhabitdifferentthingstomake themstandoutoverthe other.

32. Traffic Conclusion:
Basedon all the trafficdata it isevidentthatthe mediakitforbothsite doesthe besttheycan
to seemaspopularas theycan to advertisersandtopeople viewingtheirsite.Thatnumberis
significantlyhigherthanall the numbers thatshowedupfromthe researchsites.Those conflicting
numbersmake itdifficulttoknowwhere exactlythe site standswithvisitors.Yetthatiswhyitis smart
to lookat otherdata as well suchas viewersandvisitors.
In the fieldof traffic,AdAge significantlyhasaton of usersincomparisontoAd Week.Even
thoughAd Age seemstogeta larger amountof business,there visitorsoverthe monthsspangoesup
and down.Since theyare a part of the same industrytheyare goingto have periodswhere theyboth
lack trafficanddo not have muchbusiness.Makingthemsimilarinthe sense of traffictrendsandwhen
theyare goingto gainthe most members. AdAge shouldrealize thateventhoughtheydohave alotof
trafficcomingthroughtheirsite then needfocusongettingtheirvisitorstostayfor longerperiodsof
time andallowingthemtogainall of the satisfactiontheycanfromthe site.
Link Analysis
Link Popularity Analysis:
No.of Referring
Domains
No.of External
Backlinks
No.of gov.
Backlinks
No.of .edu
Backlinks
AdAge.com 60, 734 4, 321, 787 83 4, 592
AdWeek.com 74,370 5,228,028 615 3,873
The popularityof a site isdeterminedbyhow manylinks linktothe site andwholinkstothe
site.Itis notjust abouthowmany butit is crucial to dive deepintowhoitisbecause quality isimportant
as well.Thisinformationissupervital tothe successof a website andthatiswhere there are so many

33. toolsthat helpownersfigure outthisinformation. Itisclearfromthe chart that AdWeekhasa higher
amountof referringdomains,external backlinksandnumberof governmentbacklinks. Referring
domainsexemplifieshowmanylinks eachdomain isgeneratingwhilebacklinksreferstothe actual
external linkcreated. Althoughtheirnumbers are higher,the qualityof the domainslinkedtoAdAge are
superiortothose linkedtoAdWeek. A few examplesof those linkedtoAdAge include Meredeth.com
and Poyner.com.Theirreferringdomainsinclude theirsistersite,Creativitywhobringsinamajorityof
theirexternal viewers.Anothersite thataccomplishesthisisasite calledmarcusgrahamproject.org
whose missionistotrainand expose ethnicallydiverseindividualsinthe media,advertisingand
marketingindustry.Thisprovingitis astrong referringlinkbecause the domainisbringinginindividuals
whowant to learnmore abouteverythingAdAge hastooffer.AdAge alsohas a higheramountof
educationreferringdomainsandthatisimportantbecause linksfromeducationsitescannotbe
manipulated.
Ad Weekobviouslyhashighnumbersinthe categoryof popularitybutthere mustbe a reason
whytheirnumbersare largerhere but theystill getlesstraffic.Ibelievealotof thathas to do withthe
specificdomainsthattheyare linkedto.Theydonothave exposure thatthe AdAge’sdoand that iswhy
there trafficisstill lacking.Theystill have agreatamount of linkslinkingtotheirsite whichisa positive
aspectof theirwebpage.Theyjustneedtomatch theirqualitywithquantitytobecome anevenbigger
competitorforAdAge.
Social MediaShare Tool Analysis:
AdAge.com AdWeek.com
FacebookShare Tools yes yes
TwitterShare Tools yes yes
Google PlusShare Tools yes yes

34. OtherShare Tools LinkedIn LinkedIn
Social mediashare toolsare a great wayto share contentandthisalsohelpssitesgetextralinks.
These share toolsare usuallykeptonthe pageswitharticlesbecause thatisthe mainaspectthat the
viewerswouldwanttoshare.Eachsite usesTwitter,Facebook,Google PlusandLinkedIn;theyboth
usedLinkedInbecause theyare businesssites.Bothshare toolsmove downthe page asthe viewer
scrollssothat it accessiblyreadywheneverthe userwantstoshare.Below the picturesprove the fact
that where everyouare on the site,the share toolsare there.
Whenyouhoveroverthe iconit thentellsyouhow manysharesitcurrentlyhasfor that specific
site. Uponclickingonthe share toolsinAdAge,the viewermustimmediatelysignintotheirsite tobe

35. able to accessthistool.Whichmakessense because the visitormustbe apart of these social media
networkstoshare content.Whensomeone wishestoshare the textonTwitteritshowsthe viewerwhat
the tweetwouldlooklike exactly.
On AdWeekit alreadyshowshow manysharesthe article alreadyhas because the numberis
locatedrightnexttothe iconmakingitmore visible.Otherthanthataspectthe same thingsoccur when
the visitorwishestoshare fromAdWeekas well.The userispromptedtologinwitheverysite and
wheneverTwitterisused,thissite alsoputsthe title of article alongwiththe tweet.Thisproving
anotherwayof howthese sightsare similartoeachother.
Some improvementsforbothsiteswouldbe topossiblyaddthe picture plusthe title of the
article whenitissharedon sites.Thiswouldallow the followersof thatusertobe interestedwhenthey
see the picture as well asthe headline.Imagesare keytodrawingattentionandthatisone elementthat
theirshare toolscan inhabit.

36. PopularityConclusions:
In the popularityaspect,Iwouldsaythatboth are extremelypopularjustbasedoff how much
theylinktoand howmuch linksbackto them.Basedoff the articlesIexamined,AdWeek’scontent
constantlyhadmore shareson theirarticlesthenAdAge did,thisshowing how theyhave higher
backlinksthanAdAge.Each elementlike backlinksandtrafficall tie intoeachotherandare crucial to a
pagessuccess.Popularityisamajorkeyin receivingmore viewerstosite butthe domainsmusthave a
source of qualityorthe numberof linkswill notmatter.Qualityiseverythingwhenitcomesto
popularityandgainingtrafficfromthese links,whichAdAge doessignificantlybetterthanAdWeekin
that aspect.
Success Conclusions:
Measuringsuccessfactorsof a site will letthe owner,designer,editorandeveryone whoputs
the page togetherjusthowtheirwebpage affectstheirviewers.Inoverall successAdAge ismore
influential thanAdWeekandthere are a few reasonsforthis.The numberone reasonI believe people
enjoythissite somuchis because itgetsthe pointacross and the userscan immediatelyaccesswhat
theyare lookingforquicklyandefficiently.We live inasocietythatisat such a fast pace and that ishow
webpagesshouldbe ran,userfriendlyandeasytonavigate forquickresults.IbelieveAdAge pays
attentiontovisitorsatisfactionbymakingthe processof findinginformationontheirsite easyand
comfortable.Thisiswhytheyare rankedhigheronsitescomparedtoAd Weekbecause theirlarge
amountof trafficanddependable users.AdWeekhasastrong followingaswell butitjustnotup to the
standardsof AdAge justyetbut if theykeepinnovatingtheirsite theycouldbegintogive AdAge a run
for theirmoney.Atthismomentintime AdAge.comhasadesirable designlayoutandtimelycontent
that will keeptheiruserscomingtotheirsite daily.

37. Citation:
Miller,Brian.(2011). Above the Fold:Understandingthe principlesof successful websitedesign.
Louisville,KY:CrescentHill Books.