ISSA recently launched its newly designed Web site, www.issa.com, at its ISSA/INTERCLEAN® North America convention. The site has experienced a 60 percent growth in user sessions during the last year, most of which are by distributor and end user personnel.

User Sessions Reach Record Levels
ISSA.com logged more than 1.7 million user sessions in the first 10 months of the year, up 60 percent from the same time in 2006. Those logging on are a mix of industry participants: 30 percent of average user sessions are by distributors and 33 percent are by facility service providers (FSPs).

More than 50 percent of individuals visiting the site classify themselves as corporate or maintenance management. ISSA’s global reach has been excellent and growing, with a recent average of 25 percent of ISSA.com sessions logged from outside the United States.

A video tour of the site’s new features is available at www.issa.com/tour.

The new site features improved navigation, a more dynamic interface, prominent industry-news updates, and a new Member Lounge that includes a Person-to-Person Directory, which helps ISSA members locate key contacts within a company.

One-of-a-Kind User Input
ISSA recruited a diverse group of industry leaders and frequent users of the site to a beta test.

The testing provided ISSA with real-time feedback regarding how easy or difficult the new design made common user tasks, such as finding industry contacts, looking up member benefits, registering for events, and finding educational and business resources.

“The testing was useful in providing feedback on the improved navigation and search capabilities, and helping build a more appealing and user-friendly design,” said ISSA Director of Technology Services Lori Zarling. “Of course, like any Web site, ISSA.com is a work-in-progress so we’ll be constantly fine tuning features as we work to make the site the major hub for the online cleaning community.”

Examples of the feedback received during the first few weeks of the site’s launch are:

“The site is active and dynamic,” writes Dr. Steve Spivak of the Cleaning Industry Research Institute and professor emeritus at the University of Maryland. “There are slick graphics, good color, useful information that is readily available, and fast response time on accessing items.”

Jaime Herrera of Key Quimica in Monterrey, Mexico, added, “The first impression is of a highly professional and robust organization. The new site is cleaner, logical, and friendly. I liked the new, fresher logo and the color combination.”

And Fritz Gast of P.B. Gast & Sons Co. in Grand Rapids, MI, commented, “I really like the site and the layout. It has a very fresh and crisp feel.”

Overall ratings during the beta testing, on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being highest, averaged 4.11.

Among the many examples of constructive feedback were requests for fresh content on an ongoing basis for repeat visitors, which are being addressed with daily breaking news on the home page. New ISSA Educational Quick Clips—free online videos—also are launched every other Monday. Plus, timely, informative articles by leading industry experts are regularly added to the ISSA Library section.

The introduction of online educational videos, produced by ISSA-TV, also has been a popular addition to the site, with more than 107,000 video views logged through October of this year. Many companies also have taken advantage of new video advertising and demo options available on ISSA.com, reporting positive branding results and traffic flow.  

In addition, ISSA has developed a host of creative strategies to drive more visitors to the site, ranging from webinars for FSPs and product purchasers to online search-engine advertising campaigns. Most recently, the association gave away 1,000 USB drives that automatically link the user to ISSA.com for fast access to the association’s online resources.