Good Evening

1. Good Evening Welcome to “Web Technology That Makes Money For You” Help Yourself to the Refreshments. Please Fill out the Questionnaires on Your Seats.

2. Web Technology That Makes Money For You • Presented by Rob Laporte of DISC, www.2DISC.com • Sponsored by: • The Valley CDC, with Aisha Munson • The Pioneer Valley Enterprise Commission, with Kate Haze • Eastworks, with Milton Howard & Will Bundy, www.eastworks.com

3. Pep Talk About the Speaker and DISC What this Seminar Will Not Cover Questions to the Audience Back to the Past A Two Minute History of the Web 1995 - 97: Web Sites That don’t Make Money This Evening’s Plan 1

4. This Evening’s Plan (cont.) • Why Some Web Sites Do and Will Make Money • Web Demographics • The Goods: Search Engine Tactics for Making Money • Other Web Marketing Tactics 2

5. This Evening’s Plan (cont.) • Case Histories • Back to the Present: Why the Free Ride is Ending . . . Maybe • Patrick Rodriguez on Good (Profitable) Web Design 3

6. Fasten Your Seat Belts • A lot of information will be packed into a little time 4

7. Back to The Future • A Look Back from the Year 200,002 5

8. Who Are You Looking At? • Rob Laporte: Background and Future 6

9. DISC • Web Technology That Works for You 7

10. Patrick Rodriguez • From Database Connectivity to Graphic Design and Everything in Between -- with Excellence 8

11. Jessie Stricchiola • Search Engine Language • Web Marketing Research • The Rest in Time 9

12. Jan Reynolds • Graphic Design for Web & Print • 20 Years Experience with Top Corporations • Many Awards 10

13. DISC: Technology That Works For You • Mark Baven, Copywriting, Manhattan style 11

14. DISC: Technology That Works For You • Rob Laporte • DISC - Web Technology that Works for You • Patrick Rodriguez, from database connectivity to graphic design and everything in between -- with savoir faire • Jessie Stricchiola, search engine language • Jan Reynolds, graphic design for web & print • Mark Baven, Copywriting, Manhattan style 12

15. What this Seminar Will not Cover • Web Related Hardware and Software • Details on How to Use the Search Engines to Find Information • Detailed Technical Matters Related to Banner Ads, Emailers and Storefronts • The Emphasis is on Search Engine Tactics That Make Money 13

16. Who Are You? 14

17. Back to the Past • A One Minute History of the Web • 1993 - 1997: Web Sites That don’t Make Money • Web Sites Made by Techies, not Marketing People 15

18. Why Web Sites Can and Will Make Money • Demographics, Demographics, Demographics • Consumer Behavior • E-Commerce 16

19. Demographics: Users • 28 to 50 Million Adult Americans on the Web Today • The Number of Internet Users Outside the US has Reached 23 Million and is Growing Annually at 70%. • Explosive Growth: Web Users Up by 30% in 4rth Q ‘97 17

20. Gender • Females Represent 38.7% of Web Users • Steady Upward Trend 18

21. Age • We Aren’t a Bunch of Skinny Teenagers: Average age is 35.1 years. 36.4% of Respondents are over 40. 19

22. Professions • Education-Related Fields (26.2%), Followed Closely by those in Computer (22.3%) and Professional (21.7%) Fields. 20

23. Education & Income • 50.1% Have Obtained at Least One Degree • The Average Income was $52,500 (US), Continuing the Downward Trend Observed over the Last Few Surveys 21

24. Habits (or Addictions?) • 87.9% of Web Users Access the Web Daily • 26.4% Use the Web more than 20 Hours per Week. • 90% of Web Users Believe the Web is “Indispensable” 22

25. Search Engines • Between 71% and 89% of Web Users use the Search Engines to Find Info, Products and Services on the Web • Other Sources of Web Addresses are Increasing 23

26. Feelings • Respondents report feeling more connected with people who share their hobbies (44.4%) and professions (32.7%) after coming online. 24

27. Objections • Across all groups of users, taking too long to download pages (i.e. "speed") is the most commonly experienced problem with the web (64.8% of respondents). 25

28. Consumer Behavior& E-Commerce The Web is Becoming more Mainstream, as surfers reflect the general population. 26

29. What Kinds of Businesses Can Profit Most from a Web Site? • All Can Get Some Benefit • More info is a link away from a business card, Yellow Page listing, newspaper ad, radio or TV ad, etc. • Don’t have to print and mail expensive paper brochures • Intranets, Extranets 27

30. What Kind of Businesses Can Profit Most from a Web Site? • Businesses that Sell Internationally, Nationally, or Regionally (Not Locally) • Niche Marketers (Products with Special Key Words) • It’s a Numbers Game: 1 Sale per American City or Massachusetts Town Could Make You Wealthy. 28

31. What is a Search Engine? Search Engines Vs. Directories What are the Present Search Engines? Which Ones Matter Most? The Search Engines 29

32. Yahoo (Altavista to Hotbot) Excite (AolNetFind, WebCrawler) Infoseek (Search.com) Lycos (NetGuide) Altavista WebCrawler Hotbot Northernlight Looksmart Hundreds of lesser Engines & Directories What are the Present Search Engines?

33. Which Ones Matter Most? From: www.searchenginewatch.com/reports/relevant.html 31

34. Domain Names Lace Your Text with Key Words & Phrases HTML Titles Density of Keywords Put Most Important Text on Top Don’t Put Key Words in Graphic Form Links within Your Site Header Sizes File Names Meta-Tags Alt Tags Frames Can Be Lethal Register with all of the Search Engines Check Your Ranking The Goods: Search Engine Tactics for Making Money (Take Notes Here!) 32

35. Case Histories: DISC’s Customers • Perstorp Compounds, Inc • www.perstrip.com • American English Programs of New England www.crocker.com/~eflworld • Global School of Investigation • www.pvteye.com • BarnesandNoble.com 33

36. Perstorp Compounds, Inc.www.perstrip.com; www.thermosets.com 34

37. American English Programs of New England. Www.teflcertificate.com 35

38. Global School of Investigations • www.pvteye.com 36

39. Barnes & Noble Books • www.BarnesandNoble.com 37

40. Reciprocal Links Banner Ads On-line Yellow Pages Emailers Newsletters Other Web Marketing Tactics

41. Back to the Present: Why the Free Ride is Ending • It’s Too Good to Be True -- For Much Longer. You have 1 to 2 years left. • Increasing Competition on the Web • More Specialists Like Me (but still very few presently) • The Cable TV Metaphor • Databases and Hidden Pages • Critical Mass, Uncritical Masses 39

42. Good (Profitable) Web Design • Consistency with Existing Marketing • Delivery of Value • delivery of product/service • customer experience 40

43. Good (Profitable) Web Design • Navigation scheme is crucial • re-format your content for the Web • readily available anchor points • visual indication of content structure • visual indication of user location, always with access to anchor points 41

44. What to Look for in a Web Designer / Consultant (in Addition to Good Writing and Graphic Design) • Strong Marketing Background • Voracious Reader / Researcher • Knows and Keeps up with Search Engine Tactics and Web Marketing • Focuses on Your Return on Investment in Your Web Site • Can Provide a Comprehensive Web Marketing Plan 42

45. What to Do: Take Action Now • Implement Search Engine Tactics Immediately • Ask your Web Designer to Learn It and Do It • Call DISC: (413) 584-6500 43

46. A Few Good Links • www.cc.gatech.edu/gvu User Surveys - excellent, non-partisan statistics • www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Internet/Statistics_and_Demographics -- more stats • www.iab.net -- the Internet Advertising Bureau; promotes the web, but good information. • www.wilsonweb.com -- about e-commerce, extensive lists of articles from various top sources. • www.webpromote.com 44

47. A Few Good Links • www.searchenginewatch.com - THE best page on search engines. • www.nua.ie -- EXCELLENT web marketing source, esp. for international issues. 45

48. Good Night Thank You for Attending “Web Web Technology That Makes Money for You” Help Yourself to the Refreshments. Please Fill out the Questionnaires on Your Seats.