News services provide everything from weather reports to reports on political news, and a variety of news services offer free or fee-based links to their sites. Making these links available to your customers gives your clients one more reason to visit your site. Such links also may increase your Web site traffic and generate additional sales. The more information and options your site offers and the better it meets the needs of your clients, the greater their satisfaction. A satisfied customer usually will become a repeat customer, will provide word-of-mouth advertising, and will validate the design and purpose of your Web site.

A news service can link your site to hundreds of databases, and the name brand recognition of these databases can enhance your site’s reputation as a provider of reliable, accurate, and beneficial information. The logo of a well-known news service also may add credibility and prestige to your site and your company.

A news service also can be an important means of educating and informing your customers and clients. News often is updated automatically, thereby making the latest news available to your customers.

Of course, you and your employees should use the news services, too. With just a few clicks of the mouse, you can get up-to-the-minute business reports that help you make informed decisions. You can watch the development of industry trends, keep an eye on the stock market, and monitor the progress of your competition. Utilizing a news service might be cheaper than hiring a consultant to show you how to increase your profits or to improve customer relations. Chances are that consultant might offer advice based on information gleaned from news services already available to you.

Depending on the type of news service you select, the cost and time involved may be negligible. Most of the details of acquiring and installing a link from your home page to a news service can be handled online.

7am.com has a variety of news tickers for your web site. News categories that are currently available include Top News, World News, USA News, and Technology News. All free tickers come with a small piece of advertising. Subscription-based services offer news without advertisement. Set-up fees are $75; monthly fees range from $50 to $95 per month.

The Screaming Media Alliance program ScreamingMedia.com provides customizable content to your server, rather than code that is added to your Web site. The advantage is the appearance of a seamlessly integrated news service on your Web site. Monthly subscription fees are approximately $500.

Reuters offers a variety of news information for your Web site with sources from the Reuters network. Targeted News, Online News, Investor News, Multi-Media News, Audio, Video, and Photos are just a few of the categories available to Web site operators. Fees vary, depending on which service(s) are completed. Customers are charged service and installation fees, at a minimum.

Focused, up-to-the-minute information can also be delivered to your Web site. For instance, DayInvestor.com provides a free stock ticker to your site. If your target audience is interested in the latest stock information, you may consider adding this capability to your site.

At first glance, you might think that a free link would be best for your business. A fee-based news service, however, may offer more specific information that better fits the needs of your business and your clients. Cost alone should not be the determining factor when choosing a news service.

Links to news services also can generate supplemental income for your site. Some fee-based news services offer an associate, or affiliate, program that pays a royalty based on income generated by customers from your site. Usually, the news service handles all registration and billing details. Your Web site will not be responsible for these tasks or for customer support.

Most news services ask you to sign a written agreement before they supply a link to your Web site. Usually, these contracts are for a specified period of time and allow either party to terminate the agreement with advance notice. The contracts may renew automatically, so make sure you evaluate the news service’s value to your site before the cancellation period. If you are displeased with the results, you may want to contract with a different service.

The agreements also specify how you may use the data you obtain from a news service. Usually, this material is copyrighted. Although you or your clients sometimes are allowed to copy it for personal use, making and distributing multiple copies of copyrighted material is prohibited.

Some people assume that all information found on the Internet is free. Not so --copyrights still apply. Many sites, however, will allow businesses to reprint or re-post a limited amount of copyrighted material if permission is requested in writing and if the copyright owner provides written authorization of such use.

Researching the News Services

Most of the research and effort required to add a news service to your home page can be done online. Search the Internet to locate some of the many news services available, and explore their sites to determine which ones suit your needs. You will find some services provide general news, while others cover specific subjects.

Probably you will spend more time researching the hundreds of news services available than you will installing the link on your site. Many news services list sites that carry their links. You can go to those sites and check the operation of the link. You also can contact site owners to find out if they are satisfied with the news service and the operation of the link.

Most sites provide subscription information, and you can usually download the contract for service. Read the contract carefully before signing. Each news service will have different terms. Some are free; some charge a monthly fee. Some charge according to the number of users, while others base charges on the number and types of documents used.

Once you become a subscriber, the news services provide the code needed to create HTML links to their sites, and the address to download any logos, making installation a breeze.

Some news services do, however, specify the size and placement of the logo on your Web site. MSNBC, for example, requires that the logo appear alone, not as a part of any other logo. The size and position of the MSNBC logo must make it obvious that the site is not owned by MSNBC.