We've added a new article recommendation system to Eurogamer
UPDATE: We're listening, and we've made a few tweaks.
UPDATE 16th December 2016: Hello dear readers! We've kept a close eye on the feedback to our new article recommendation system and I'd like to update you on a few tweaks we're making to the way it works.
First off, we noted that some of you felt there were too many recommendations popping up in each article, so in the short term we've reduced the frequency to one per article. You should see this taking effect now.
We've also tweaked the placement of the recommendations so they are only inserted between two text paragraphs and not set against images and videos in a weird way.
Our tech team is looking at relevance. We've noticed not all of the recommendations are relevant to the article they're inserted into, and we'd like to tune the system better. One of the ways we're doing that is to look at trying to make sure news stories that had an initial spike of popularity but have since tailed off will also tail off in the recommendations.
And we're discussing how better to frame the recommendations. "You may also like" is perhaps not the best signal that we're pointing you to another Eurogamer article that's of relevance. So we're thinking about using a different phrase, and whether or not we can use multiple phrases to keep things feeling fresh.
That's it for now! We'll continue to work to improve the article recommendation system, but I wanted to thank you for the comments received already. And if you want to get in touch, here's my email: wes@eurogamer.net.
ORIGINAL STORY 14th December 2016: Hello dear readers! This is a note from the editor, except not really. Oli is off on parental leave, which means I have the conn. It also means I have the pleasure of announcing our new article recommendation system, added today to Eurogamer.
Our super smart tech team has developed a system designed to recommend related articles to Eurogamer readers. You'll see these recommendations pop up inside articles from now on.
The recommendations are determined by a combination of factors, including what's currently popular, what's published recently and stuff that's similar to the article you're reading.
The recommendations are inserted into articles either as plain text links or full image/headline/description widgets. The shorter the article, the fewer you'll see. The longer, the more. Here's how it looks:
So, why are we doing this? Well, we'd like to better highlight some of our work that might otherwise be missed. We're proud of the articles and videos we produce, whether it's a deep dive into why ancient Egypt spent 3000 years playing a game nobody else liked, an exclusive report on the Nintendo Switch or a video game-themed cooking video series, and we reckon much of it is still worth reading and watching months and even years after it's published. Given we get a lot of new readers from search and social media, we'd like to give this stuff more time to shine. Hopefully you'll find it relevant!
That's it! Please do let us know what you think in the comments, as we're keen to get your feedback. We will of course continue to work to improve the recommendation system, and much of that work will be based on what we observe now it's live.
As always, my email's open: wes@eurogamer.net.