Hoover's Online Announces 20,000th Subscription

Posted on March 31, 1998

Hoover's, Inc., a provider of company information on the Internet, announced that it has surpassed 20,000 individual subscribers to its flagship Web site, Hoover's Online, after reaching a benchmark 15,000 subscribers just six weeks ago and 10,000 in late October.

"To those who think Web users aren't willing to pay for information, Hoover's Online is evidence to the contrary," Patrick Spain, Hoover's CEO, said. "This milestone translates not only to more subscription dollars, but also to greater advertising revenues. But it's not just about traffic, it's about building an audience of targeted, business-minded individuals who recognize and are willing to pay for quality information that will help them make decisions. Traffic without audience is worthless."

Spain attributes the subscription growth to the site's strategic combination of free and paid company information. He also credits Hoover's continuous efforts to expand the number of companies included in its collection, citing another recent milestone -- the addition of 300 new Hoover's Company Profiles, bringing the total to 3,000.

For free, viewers can access Hoover's Company Capsules on over 12,000 public and private companies worldwide -- searchable by company name, ticker symbol or keyword. Capsules include a company description, address and phone numbers, key officers, top competitors, a link to the company's website, basic financial information, links to stock quotes and charts, news stories, annual reports, and employment opportunities.

Hoover's Online subscribers, who pay $12.95/month or $124.95/year for a personal subscription, can access 3,000 Hoover's Company Profiles, including company strategy, history, products and services, and competitors, as well as up to 10 years of in-depth financial information on more than 8,500 companies. Subscribers can search for companies by industry, location, annual sales and/or company type. Subscribers also receive access to real-time SEC documents.