Internet Companies
In the Digital Age DLC you can set up and run Internet companies offering online services and digital products — search engines, social networks, video-sharing platforms and more.
The types you can establish are listed in the Internet Guide, in the Information Center.
Setting up an Internet company
Build the company
Select Digital Age from the Build menu, then Internet Company.
Choose a web business type
Click the newly built company and select the type of website it will run.
Below is an Internet company running a Search Engine.
Key attributes of your Internet company
The Internet company interface shows the following.
Your website name
The name defaults to Mywebsite<number>.com. Rename it with the Rename icon at the bottom of the interface.
Overall Quality
Overall Quality is how competitive your site is. The higher it goes, the faster your monthly unique visitors and market share grow.
It is determined by two things: the site’s Features Quality and its Technology level.
Features Quality
Raise it by increasing the monthly budget for new features development with the slider.
If the site’s business model is premium content sold by subscription, Features Quality becomes Content Quality, and the features budget becomes the monthly budget for new content development.
Technology
A site’s overall Technology level rests on a specific list of technologies, which you can look up per type in the Internet Guide.
To advance one, build an R&D center and set up Tech R&D units to develop it.
Revenue information
Different types of Internet company earn in different ways. The Revenue page shows how yours is doing.
Types of Internet CompaniesMarketing
The most effective way to grow your site’s traffic is to advertise it through another media firm. Click the Marketing button to open the marketing page.
Click Link Media to choose where to advertise. That can be traditional media such as a TV network, or another Internet company running an advertising business model.
If you own other media firms, advertise through those. The cost stays inside your own group: what you spend becomes advertising revenue for the firm carrying the ad.
From here you allocate the advertising budget across each media firm you have selected.