If you want to advertise in Sevenoaks, the question worth asking a publisher first is who actually reads it. Sevenoaks Online is read by people who are already looking for something local: which road is shut, when the bins go out, what the council decided, where to eat on Friday, who is hiring. They are here, not scattered across the country, and almost all of them arrive from a Google search for something in the district.
Ask us for the readership figures before you book and we will send them, dated and straight from Google’s own reporting, for the whole site and for the page your advert would sit on.
What readers come for, in a typical month: the planning register, local court and crime reports, the 660 homes at Broke Hill, Knole Park, then the pages of readers planning ahead: fireworks displays, Christmas fairs and markets and Father Christmas visits. That is a practical audience with something to do rather than a passing one, which is what makes it worth putting a local business in front of.
What we sell
- Sponsored feature. Your story, written properly by us from a short brief or a call, with a link to your website in it. You see it before it goes live and nothing is published until you are happy. It is labelled Sponsored, because that is the rule, and it stays on the site for good rather than scrolling away in a week, so it keeps being found long after the week it ran.
- Directory upgrade. Our business directory has more than 1,000 firms in it, built from public records. Being listed is free, and so is claiming your page to correct the address or the opening hours. What you can pay for is the upgrade: your own photos, a description you wrote, full opening hours and a link to your website.
- Job advert. On our jobs page, in front of people looking for work locally. Most vacancies here never reach a national board, which is exactly why people check.
- Family and public notices. Announcements on our notices page, for deaths, funerals, thanks, and the statutory notices a business has to place somewhere people will see.
- Newsletter sponsorship. Your message in the Tuesday email. Sponsored items sit under their own heading and never lead it. One slot an issue.
- Network campaigns. We are part of the GOB Media Group, a network of more than 120 UK local news titles, so the same campaign can run in this town or across any set of our towns, on one invoice, with one contact.
What you cannot buy
We would rather say this plainly than have you ask. Paying us buys the thing you paid for and nothing else. It does not buy a higher position in a directory list, a better review, a mention in a news story, or protection from one. You will not see a story before we publish it, you get no say in how we cover you, your competitors or a decision you are part of, and if we ever report on a business that has paid us, the story will say so. Our editorial standards page sets out how paid content is labelled and kept apart from our reporting.
What it costs
Every booking is quoted for the job, and the quote is the whole price: no agency fee, no minimum term, no contract. You get the figure before you commit to anything. If we think the thing you asked for is the wrong one, we will say so and suggest the cheaper option.
How to book
The quickest way is the booking form, which takes two minutes. Or email hello@sevenoaksonline.co.uk with three things: what you want to promote, roughly when you want it to run, and your web address. We reply the same working day with a recommendation and a quote, and nothing is booked until you say yes to it.
Frequently asked questions
How many people will see my advert in Sevenoaks Online?
We will not promise you a number of readers, because nobody honestly can. What we will do before you buy is send you the search figures for the whole site and for the page your advert would sit on, dated and from Google’s own reporting, so you can judge it for yourself.
How long does a sponsored feature stay online?
Permanently. We do not take features down after a month or put them behind anything. They are indexed like every other page here, so they carry on being found in search long after the week they ran.
Do you write the sponsored feature for me?
Yes, that is included. Most people send a few paragraphs or talk it through on the phone and we write it from that. If you would rather supply the copy, we will edit it to read like the rest of the site. Either way you approve it before it goes live.
Is a directory listing free?
Yes. Every listing was compiled from public records and cost nothing, and claiming yours to correct the details or ask for it to be removed is free as well, with no account to create. The paid version adds your photos, your own description, opening hours and a website link.
Can I pay to come top of a directory category?
No. Position in a list is never for sale, on the directory or anywhere else on the site. If it were, the list would stop being worth reading, and then the listing would stop being worth buying.
Do you advertise businesses from outside the district?
Yes, if the offer is relevant to people here. The audience is overwhelmingly local, so a national advertiser with nothing for a Sevenoaks reader will not do well, and we will tell you that rather than take the booking.
Can I run the same campaign in other towns?
Yes. The GOB Media Group network covers more than 120 UK local news titles, so you can add any number of towns to the same campaign and settle it on one invoice.