CBS Interactive Taps nRelate For Content Discovery

• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, September 5, 2012

Every publisher wants to increase the time consumers spend on their sites. But why bother with text links when they can recommend more content with engaging graphic images? That’s the thinking behind nRelate -- and an increasing number of publisher partners. 

The latest to sign on is CBS Interactive, which on Wednesday announced plans to employ the content discovery service to more effectively target article recommendations.

According to Zack Rogers, SVP of revenue operations at CBS Interactive, the deal also “expands advertising opportunities for brands that produce content.”

Per the deal, CBS Interactive properties -- including CBSNews.com, CBSSports.com, and CNET -- are joining nRelate’s rapidly growing publisher network.

Indeed, nRelate’s network recently received nearly three million articles from About.com. That deal came about after IAC's Ask.com bought nRelate in early July (for an undisclosed sum), and soon after scooped up About.com from the New York Times Company for $300 million.

With the additional content, nRelate expects to serve upwards of 3 billion ad impressions -- up from roughly 1.2 billion presently -- by the end of the year.

“The significant growth of our network in such a short amount of time is a testament to this model’s scalability for readers, traditional publishers, and any brand looking to maximize their investment in high-quality content,” Neil Mody, founder and CEO of nRelate, said Wednesday.

All told, nRelate says its network is made up of about 50,000 publishers -- many of which are poorly trafficked blogs.

As of this summer, nRelate said its content widgets were generating an average click-through rate of 6% -- far better than average display ad CTRs of .09%.

With the additional content, nRelate expects to serve upwards of 3 billion ad impressions -- up from roughly 1.2 billion presently -- by the end of the year.