NEWS AND NOTES Express Lane For WebSiteTraffic (NAPSA)—Whether your business is best described as being a brick, a click or a combination of the two, the challenge remains the same. What’s the best way for poten- tial customers to find out about the products or services your company offers? In Internet speak, this is often referred to as driving traffic to yoursite. One Internet company, LookSmart, has dedicated itself to solving this dilemma for online businesses. It describes its mis- sion as “helping the world find useful information quickly.” They have built a world class directory of over 2 million quality Websites. And they are continually on the lookout for more good sites to be addedto their service. Its strategy is to offer busi- nesses a service much like an online Yellow Pages. For a onetime fee, Web sites can have their site reviewed within 48 hours and listed online in the appropriate category. By listing with LookSmart, a Web site has the potential to reach up to 64 million people and 4 out of every 5 Internet users in the United States. That’s because your site will be included in the search results of leading Web properties including the Microsoft Network (MSN), Alta Vista, Excite and more. The service helps businesses generate qualified traffic and sales leads. Your site will be included on the relevant search results. So a flower shopsite, for example, will be included in the search results when someoneis looking for topics such as “flowers” or “flower shops”or “florists.” Whatbetter way to get a qualified sales lead than when someoneis already searchingfor it? An Internet directory has developed an express check-in service for Websites. In particular, the company looks for sites that are considered good quality, accurate and useful to consumers. Theservice does not accept content that contains adult material, pornography, hate, or gratuitousviolence. Since it was launched last summer, more than 30,000 small and medium sized businesses have signed up with LookSmart’s Express Submit, making it one of the fastest growing services of its kind. The service is available to businesses in all geographic areas of the U.S. andofall sizes. Businesses are said to appre- ciate the simplicity of using Express Submit. To join, simply fill out two easy forms and pay a one-time fee of $199. Many businesses are enthusiastic about the results they are achieving from this service. For example, one small busi- ness in California claims that “our orders doubled in one day.” Another business says “it was fast, simple, and professional.” To get your Web site reviewed within 48 hours, visit the Web site at www.expresslisting.com.
