Review of the Business Intelligence Website

Reviews were done using the following browsers: Mozilla Firefox (version 2.0), Internet Explorer (IE 6.0), Opera, and Eudora.

 Critical Evaluation of the Site

 Browser specific problems

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No browser specific problems were detected.

Purpose of the website

The website is an online periodical that is published every month and whose main objective is presentation of information on storage of data as well as business intelligence. The unique selling proposition (USP), and the business models are not appropriately communicated in the entry page. Moreover, it is not patently obvious to the site visitors what the company’s intention is i.e. what it expects visitors to do. Viewers access the magazine through subscription

 Finding the Site

The URL is logical as the company name precedes the.com prefix. The company name does not utilize special symbols, lengthy phrases, dashes, apostrophes or underscores. Additionally, use is made of simple, unambiguous words. In this respect therefore, it is not easy for errors to be keyed in when entering the company’s URL. A check with Dotster revealed that other relevant URLs have been registered. These include DM Review.com.net and DM Review.com.org (Dotster, 2008).

Search Engines and their positioning

The DM Review.com.com website has been submitted to the Open Source Directory (DMOZ, 2008) and other major search engines such as Google, Yahoo, Hotbot, and Lycos. The site and its entry pages do not require other viewers such as Flash and Shockwave, therefore viewers are not constrained by lack of the appropriate plugins or high firewall security settings. Moreover, this allows the site to be accurately indexed by crawlers. No frames are made use of in its entry page and the DM Review.com.com website can be very easily found by anyone who doesn’t have the company name.

Using Google, the site appears at the top of the page with company, brand, and trade names as well as product category appropriately listed. Additionally, easy links are provided that enable the user to quickly navigate to their BI, Editorial Calendar, DM Review, Contacts, and other relevant pages. Numerous other entries with similarly vital information can be found below the first entry (Google, 2008). The same situation obtains for Yahoo (Yahoo, 2008) and Lycos search (Lycos, 2008). Use of the Marketing Leap Visibility Index reported that the total number sites linking to the DM Review.com.com site are 991 (Alexa, 2008).

Search using application words reveals that the DM Review.com site is listed high. Additionally, it makes use of various key keywords set in distinct pages in order to capture more visitors. Plural and singular phrases are also made use of in a manner that helps visitors find the website easily. Misspelled, hyphenated and typographical errors are deliberately utilized so as to help capture visitors who key in the usual mis-spelt and hyphenated words as well as to help some categories of persons suffering from cognitive ailments find the site.

Contents, Links and Resources

 Hierarchical ordering of phrases was also observed, with the site having general headings (e.g. Channels) which have specific phrases (e.g. Data Integration) about the heading that are routed and discussed in separate pages, greatly helping the user find the desired information with ease. DM Review.com can also be accessed through use of three other categories: computers/software/databases/data warehousing, computers/

Online publications.

A visit to competitor sites did not reveal any significant differences in terms of the key words used by DM Review.com. Key words in the site are easily visible, projected and are ordered high up in the page. However, the site does not have a site map page. The site also makes use of many internal links with key words serving as links to the pages with the desired information.  To aid in the easy retrieval of information, DM Review.com.com utilizes a search engine which is positioned at the top left corner with advanced search capabilities. This makes up for the lack of a site map page.

The URL of the DM Review.com.com is displayed in a prominent fashion in the company’s communication such as printed magazines, business cards and letterheads. The DM Review.com.com site has traffic of 77, 786, fast speed, and an average load time of 1.7 seconds and has been online since 4th November, 1998 (Alexa, 2008).

Even though the site has copious amounts of text that is interesting, its interface is not that captivating. The graphics are rather drab with dull colors dominating and a rather amateurish attempt at animation positioned at the top of the main page. The welcome page is also crowded with textual information and some of the photos used show some pixilation. However, the DM Radio and the video at the bottom add some buzz to an otherwise dull affair.

There is an active archive of old data and white papers which can be easily accessed through quick links. RSS news feeds; industry information, and message and bulletin boards are creatively utilized and can potentially make this site an industry portal. The site also has a good amount of learning resources with numerous case studies and profiles, a Leadership Zone, information center, executive interviews and a Q and A platform featuring industry experts. It also has a product center, web seminars information and a platform for industry vendors. These resources also enhance the stature of the site as an industry portal. Printer-friendly as well as PDF versions of articles are available. Firewalls and security settings when set at maximum levels do not significantly affect the site’s display.

Navigation

The DM Review.com website is easily navigated, coherent in structure, with minimal vertical scrolling. It is not too deep as content can be retrieved using a few clicks. Moreover, the site uses widely recognized symbols and icons as navigation aids and these are used throughout the site in a consistent manner. Links are easily visible as they are set against a distinctively colored background. User cannot get lost easily as the site is not convoluted and the back buttons return the user to the previous page. There is an option for recognition of username and password and users can activate it when needed. Use of the username and password is required for one to be able to access some sections of the site.

General

The target audience would most likely rate the site as somewhat appealing. Background colors are web-safe and the site is updated frequently. Use of Word reveals that the content is legible. The News section provides the most recent information and is positioned well towards the centre where it can be seen easily and with quick links to the pages.  No grammatical, typographic or syntactical errors were detected. Additionally, it is a large site and is available in English.

Branding

The corporate logo is presented on each page and the layout is aligned with the image formed of the company using other media.

References

1. Alexa. (2008). DM Review.com – DM Review Magazine. Retrieved on 22nd August, 2008 from http://www.alexa.com/data/details/main/DM Review.com.com
2. Dotster. (2008). Search for a Great Domain. Retrieved on 22nd August, 2008 from https://secure.registerapi.com/dds4/index.php?siteid=4798&domain=DM Review.com&x=53&y=14&
3. DMOZ. (2008). Open Directory Categories. Retrieved on 22nd August, 2008 from http://search.dmoz.org/cgi-bin/search?search=DM Review.com
4. Google.(2008). DM Review. Retrieved on 22nd August, 2008 from http://www.google.co.ke/search?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&channel=s&hl=en&q=DM Review.com&btnG=Google+Search
5. Lycos. (2008). DM Review. Retrieved on 22nd August, 2008 from http://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=A0geu6Fu6rBIqvMA1KpXNyoA?p=DM Review.com&y=Search&fr=yfp-t-501&ei=UTF-8
6. Marketleap. (2008). Marketleap Search Engine Marketing Tools. Retrieved on 22nd August, 2008 from http://www.marketleap.com/publinkpop/
7. Yahoo. (2008). DM Review. Retrieved on 22nd August, 2008 from http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=DMReview.com&fr=yfp-t-501&toggle=1&cop=mss&ei=UTF-8

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