ARAcontent Now Preferred Provider of Lifestyle Articles for 1up! Media Web Sites

MINNEAPOLIS, March 11 /PRNewswire/ -- ARAcontent, a leading provider of feature articles to Web sites and newspapers across the country, has reached an agreement with 1up! to become the preferred provider of lifestyle article content for the 1up! network of newspaper and other media Web sites.

1up! provides the Web site infrastructure and content management software for more than 650 small and medium-sized news organizations in the U.S. and overseas. Under the agreement, ARAnet will provide high-quality, feature articles for media Web sites using the services of 1up!. ARAcontent is a product of marketing services firm ARAnet.

According to ARAnet vice president David Olson, "This agreement expands Web distribution of our client-sponsored feature articles significantly, and helps drive the SEO value of our articles."

Olson says the deal accelerates ARAcontent's ability to provide its customers with measurable backlinks and other connections to their Web sites and landing pages.  ARAcontent generates content for its clients in 24 categories, including home improvement, real estate, health, family living, and home and garden.  

Early this year, ARAnet fielded a survey with nationally-known research firm Opinion Research Corporation to determine media influence on consumer buying decisions.

Olson says, "The data from this new study reinforces our previous research findings that consumers are increasingly relying on Web resources, including newspaper Web sites, as they decide what and where to buy. In particular, people aged 18 to 34 and those with incomes of $75,000 and more are using online resources significantly more than the national average when making buying decisions."

Based in Kokomo, Ind., 1up! works with its customers to manage their locally generated content, and will now provide easy access to ARAcontent articles to supplement the local content.

"Quality content is critically important to the sites that are part of our network," says 1up! CEO J. David McChesney. "Our clients can use these ARAcontent articles without additional cost and can leverage them to attract readers and generate advertising revenue."  

Olson pointed out that the ARAcontent articles will help small newspapers increase revenue opportunities from their Web sites by selling local Web ads to complement the ARAcontent articles sponsored by national brands.

Olson says, "For example, a lawn care tips article sponsored by a national lawn mower manufacturer will result in the opportunity for a small newspaper to sell an ad for its Web site to a local lawn mower dealer and tie it to the national content."

1up! has been providing Internet solutions for newspapers and other publications since 1998.  As a leading new media CMS and online services provider for hundreds of publications, 1up! also provides programming, advertising sales, ecommerce, production and infrastructure solutions for its customers.

ARAnet is a leading media company with two products to help its clients reach and win new customers, Adfusion and ARAcontent. Adfusion is an article-based cost per click advertising platform. It is one of the nation's most dynamic online advertising networks, currently delivering billions of impressions monthly through a network of premium publishing partners. ARAcontent generates feature article placements online and in print that build awareness of and sales for its clients' products and services. To learn more, visit www.ARAnetOnline.com or www.Adfusion.com.

SOURCE ARAnet