Comments on: Semantic Web – what is it, and how did we get here? http://blog.hansondodge.com/technology/2008/04/23/the-evolution-of-the-semantic-web/ A forum for Active Lifestyle Consumer marketing and technology professionals. Wed, 10 Mar 2010 03:13:56 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: James Davidson http://blog.hansondodge.com/technology/2008/04/23/the-evolution-of-the-semantic-web/comment-page-1/#comment-237 James Davidson Fri, 25 Apr 2008 12:51:22 +0000 http://blog.hansondodge.com/?p=256#comment-237 Mark your right site search is still an important tool on any website. Capturing search terms is also a great way at understand what users aren't finding on certain pages which can help you refine site structure and navigation. I'm also big fan of technology that actually keeps you from having to search in the first place. For instance most consumer product sites offer "Find a dealer" functionality. More often than not you have enter in a zip or address before it will give you any results. When we redesigned the Horizon Fitness website we decided to add two helpful features to enhance it: We implemented Google maps to plot dealer results and added Geo-Location technology which automatically orientates the map to your location. This combination resulted in an intelligent "Find a Dealer" tool which saves time and searches. Check it out at: http://www.horizonfitness.com/find_dealer.aspx Mark your right site search is still an important tool on any website. Capturing search terms is also a great way at understand what users aren’t finding on certain pages which can help you refine site structure and navigation.

I’m also big fan of technology that actually keeps you from having to search in the first place. For instance most consumer product sites offer “Find a dealer” functionality. More often than not you have enter in a zip or address before it will give you any results. When we redesigned the Horizon Fitness website we decided to add two helpful features to enhance it: We implemented Google maps to plot dealer results and added Geo-Location technology which automatically orientates the map to your location. This combination resulted in an intelligent “Find a Dealer” tool which saves time and searches. Check it out at: http://www.horizonfitness.com/find_dealer.aspx

]]> By: Mark-Milwaukee, Wisconsin http://blog.hansondodge.com/technology/2008/04/23/the-evolution-of-the-semantic-web/comment-page-1/#comment-236 Mark-Milwaukee, Wisconsin Fri, 25 Apr 2008 10:29:55 +0000 http://blog.hansondodge.com/?p=256#comment-236 I think one of the driving forces in Web 2.0 continues to be Findability. Google had it right in the development of the web as a whole, but as individual sites become larger and larger repositories of information, search will once again become the key functionality of all websites. A robust search for individual sites must do more than use static algorithms. They must change and evolve as the business learns more about what visitors to their site are seeking. Do you know what the top search terms are on your site and do you know what pages were searved up for those searches? If not, you are missing a treasure trove of information about your customers (and its free!). I think one of the driving forces in Web 2.0 continues to be Findability. Google had it right in the development of the web as a whole, but as individual sites become larger and larger repositories of information, search will once again become the key functionality of all websites.

A robust search for individual sites must do more than use static algorithms. They must change and evolve as the business learns more about what visitors to their site are seeking. Do you know what the top search terms are on your site and do you know what pages were searved up for those searches? If not, you are missing a treasure trove of information about your customers (and its free!).

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