WSSI Websidestory (MM)

New Data Suggests Marketers Can Significantly Optimize Site Search Results by Focusing on the 'Popular Top' SAN DIEGO, June 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- WebSideStory, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSSI), a leading provider of on-demand digital marketing and real-time enterprise analytics solutions, today announced the results of a new study that suggests marketers can significantly improve their web site search results by focusing on the 'popular top' -- those few hundred unique search terms that comprise about half of all web site queries. In an analysis of millions of web site searches, WebSideStory found that 4 percent of all unique search queries comprised about 50 percent of all searches on a web site. For e-commerce sites, the figure dropped to just 2 percent of all unique queries, according to the April 2006 study, which examined 34 million search phrases on more than 40 major web sites using either WebSideStory Search, an award-winning site search solution, or HBX Analytics, an award-winning web analytics solution. WebSideStory supplied the data for a new Patricia Seybold Group white paper on the strategic benefits of site search. Entitled "The Other Search: Making the Most of Site Search to Optimize the Total Customer Experience," the white paper is available free of charge at http://www.websidestory.com/othersearch. "This data demonstrates that you have opportunities to influence your visitors outside of the navigation experience," writes Susan Aldrich, the report's author and a senior vice president and senior consultant at the Patricia Seybold Group. "Think about how much time you spend creating and implementing your navigational structure and about the results of that effort. This data tells us that you can get significant results by spending time on optimizing your site search results." Aldrich's paper discusses how online marketers are missing a big opportunity if they only focus on search engine marketing -- the process of acquiring traffic through pay-per-click networks such as Google or Yahoo. Once visitors arrive at a site, Aldrich says few applications are more effective at converting customers and improving the overall visitor experience than site search. "The site search box itself is a tremendous gift to you from your customers: they are telling you exactly what they want, in their own words," writes Aldrich, who also provides a five-step plan for getting the most out of customer visits. The 'Other Search' report also provides Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and other metrics from the WebSideStory Index, a compilation of e-commerce, site search and global Internet user trends. Additional site search metrics include: * Visitors who use the site search application on a web site are nearly three times as likely to convert than the average site visitor * One and two-word queries comprise 83 percent of all site searches. Among e-commerce sites, this measure rose to 91 percent * Nearly 12 percent of all site searches led to zero results. Among e-commerce sites, this figure was 8.5 percent "As our many customers know, site search is much more than a search box on your web site -- it's a highly strategic business application that can drive significant improvements in conversions, sales and customer retention rates," said Steve Kusmer, senior vice president and general manager of WebSideStory's Search & Content Solutions division. "We are pleased to collaborate with the Patricia Seybold Group on this insightful research paper." Notes to Editors: For this study, WebSideStory analyzed 34 million searches across more than 40 major customer web sites, spanning several different business models: e-commerce, media and lead generation. The study was conducted during the month of April 2006 About WebSideStory, Inc. Founded in 1996, WebSideStory, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSSI) is a leading provider of on-demand digital marketing and real-time enterprise analytics solutions that improve online marketing, sales and business operations. Its Active Marketing Suite(TM) consists of web analytics, site search, web content management, and keyword bid management. WebSideStory also provides enterprise analytics solutions through its wholly owned subsidiary, Visual Sciences, LLC, a leading provider of streaming data analysis and visualization software. WebSideStory is headquartered in San Diego, California, and has European headquarters in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. For more information, contact WebSideStory. Voice: 858.546.0040. Fax: 858.546.0480. Address: 10182 Telesis Court, 6th Floor, San Diego, CA 92121. Web site: http://www.websidestory.com/. HBX and Active Marketing Suite are trademarks and WebSideStory is a registered trademark of WebSideStory. Visual Sciences is a registered trademark of Visual Sciences, LLC. Other trademarks belong to their respective owners. Forward-Looking Statements Statements in this press release that are not a description of historical facts are forward-looking statements. You should not regard any forward-looking statement as a representation by WebSideStory that any of its plans will be achieved. Actual results may differ materially from those set forth in this release due to the risks and uncertainties inherent in WebSideStory's business, including, without limitation: WebSideStory's reliance on its web analytics services for the majority of its revenue; blocking or erasing of cookies or limitations on our ability to use cookies; WebSideStory's limited experience with digital marketing applications beyond web analytics; the risks associated with integrating the operations and products of Avivo Corporation and Visual Sciences, LLC with those of WebSideStory; privacy concerns and laws or other domestic or foreign regulations that may subject WebSideStory to litigation or limit our ability to collect and use Internet user information; WebSideStory's ability to defend itself against claims of patent infringement alleged by NetRatings, Inc.; WebSideStory's ongoing ability to protect its own intellectual property rights and to avoid violating the intellectual property rights of third parties; the highly competitive markets in which we operate that could make it difficult for WebSideStory to acquire and retain customers; the risk that WebSideStory's customers fail to renew their agreements; WebSideStory's recent achievement of profitability and the risk that it may not maintain its profitability; the risks associated with the company's indebtedness; the risk that WebSideStory's services may become obsolete in a market with rapidly changing technology and industry standards; and other risks described in WebSideStory's Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including WebSideStory's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005 and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. Do not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements which speak only as of the date of this news release. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement, and WebSideStory undertakes no obligation to revise or update this news release to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this news release. DATASOURCE: WebSideStory, Inc. CONTACT: Erik Bratt of WebSideStory, Inc., +1-858-775-0882, Web site: http://www.websidestory.com/othersearch Web site: http://www.websidestory.com/

Copyright