UNITEL strengthens its digital positioning with its new digital strategy
UNITEL has implemented a change in its digital strategy, where website redesign, CMS migration with Protecmedia, and vertical portals have been key decisions for its success.
UNITEL is the most-watched television channel in Bolivia, with nearly 50% market share. Its website noticias.unitel.bo is the country's most popular news website in terms of user volume and visits.
In 2021, Rubén Darío Rivero joined the team as the head of digital business during a strategic repositioning phase. At that point, UNITEL had a small digital newsroom.
Today, the Digital Unit is strengthened with different profiles: digital business management, web content editing, journalists, social media, development, data, sales and creativity.
What does UNITEL's new digital strategy consist of?
By strengthening the digital team, professionalizing it, and improving the brand's positioning on Google, UNITEL has consolidated itself as a news channel beyond its television presence.
To achieve this, they followed the recommendations of a professional audit, which led them to change their CMS to enable the entire team to independently manage web content. With the switch to Protecmedia, they not only became self-sufficient but also gained technical support and agility.
They modified their web domain from unitel.tv to unitel.bo, redesigned their website, and created the subdomain noticias.unitel.bo. All of these changes refreshed their image and helped position them not only as a TV channel but also as a news outlet.
The creation of the subdomain noticias.unitel.bo worked well for their Google ranking, so they decided to replicate this strategy with verticals to strengthen SEO and traffic through keywords related to their licenses, such as Masterchef, Disney, and more.
They also identified which types of content attract the most traffic. They have detected, for example, that sports content is one of the most visited, which is why ATodoDeporte.bo, a sports news vertical, has been developed to reinforce the positioning of the keywords “sport/football”.
Why did they choose Iter, the CMS by Protecmedia?
Once they defined their strategy, they consulted with various media organizations to evaluate different options before implementing specific actions. This led them to Ecuavisa, which uses Iter, the CMS by Protecmedia. After evaluating its features and compatibility with their strategy, they contacted Protecmedia and set the plan in motion.
“Protecmedia provides the ideal technology, support, and training for our team to become self-sufficient in making changes. The new strategy required our team to handle everything independently without the need for technical expertise.” - Rubén Darío Rivero, Head of Digital Business, UNITEL
)They encountered difficulties in making modifications to their website with their previous CMS provider. Every request incurred costs and waiting time
It was not possible to implement quick solutions to urgent problems (support was based on a ticketing system)
Their Google ranking solely positioned them as a TV channel, not a news channel
“We are very pleased with the support we have received. The teams handling our account are always proactive. Their team accompanies us and helps us find the best solutions.” - Rubén Darío Rivero, Head of Digital Business, UNITEL
Change the CMS to a more flexible one
Enable the UNITEL team to independently manage the website
Position UNITEL as a news channel on Google
Improve web performance and traffic indicators
“We were Unitel.tv, so Google always saw us as a television channel, not a news channel.” - Rubén Darío Rivero, Head of Digital Business, UNITEL
Changed the domain from unitel.tv to unitel.bo
Website redesign
Created the subdomain noticias.unitel.bo
Created subdomains based on license keywords (Masterchef, Disney) and sections with high traffic volume (football, rural channel)
Protecmedia provided training to the UNITEL team for autonomous website changes
“A significant portion of our team is new. They have recently joined, and many profiles were not familiar with the media industry until now. That’s why the support from Protecmedia has been crucial.” - Rubén Darío Rivero, Head of Digital Business, UNITEL
New and more flexible CMS (Iter)
Self-sufficient team in website management
Fast and efficient technical support. 24/7 on-call team
Google searches for UNITEL now correspond to current news, not just their TV programming
Improved web metrics for their verticals: SEO ranking, loading speed, and page views
“Moving to Protecmedia was a significant step for us because we can achieve the advancements we envisioned on our own. We have Protecmedia’s support when we want to make quick changes, and we can also proceed independently at our own pace.” - Rubén Darío Rivero, Head of Digital Business, UNITEL