The "local guide" project.
Introduction
One of the major problems with internet based sites is the issue of attracting suitable
visitors. Its been said many times before that the "Internet" offers a
level playing field. Unfortunately, many businesses have found this not to be true.
Large corporations have huge advertising budgets and resources which they can use
to drive traffic to their respective web sites. Therefore, those people saying the
internet offers a level playing field for "ALL" businesses and individuals
really need to look at the facts first.
In an attempt to pool resources, a unique project has been initiated by AAA Publishing
Group Pty Ltd which aims to overcome this "unlevel" playing field and to
generate traffic which would normally be out of reach for smaller businesses.
This particular project has been under development since March 1997. In that time,
the original concept has remained unchanged. However, the process of implemention
has changed many times to keep pace with the ever changing internet and also to take
full advantage of new technology developments. While the concept itself is very simple,
the implementation has presented some extremely technical and logistical challenges.
The challenges and technical issues have required the development of some very smart
customised software to initialise and organise both the data and data structure around
which the project is built and maintained. Without this specialised software, it
would have been impossible to even consider such an ambitious project.
What is it?
The singular purpose of the "localguide" project is to provide a directory
structure that allows an individual to use a direct URL (web address) to access a
community directory from which they can find associated sites for a specific town/suburb/place.
It needs to be stressed that the "localguide" project is not designed to
provide content as such. This is best left to the local content providers. What the
project aims to do is to make such "local" sites more accessible by using
the direct URL (web address)approach. Once a vistor becomes familiar with how the
direct URL's work, they will no longer need to waste time in Search Engines or Large
Directories trying to sift through the fragmented links just to find a specific site
that "might" fulfill their needs.
How it works!
OK, let's go through a simple example. Say you wish to visit Ulladulla on the South
Coast of New South Wales. Until now, the only real options available would be to
either do a search in one of the major search engines or visit a major directory
to find potential links that would provide the information you seek. Now, with the
'localguide' approach you can use a direct URL. So in the case of Ulladulla all we
have to do is type in www.ulladulla.localguide.com.au. This will take you directly to
a page containing "local" links which may or may not include a "community"
directory.
Now, you might think we've only done this for major cities and towns. Well, we have
in fact included every destination in Australia (within reason). A few issues have
arisen that required some slight modifications. For example, if you type in www.milton.localguide.com.au did you actually wish to visit Milton
in NSW or MIlton in Qld. Obviously, you can't visit both at the same time so we have
an intercept page that allows a visitor to pick precisely where they wish to visit.
What does it all
mean?
Now, what could the above have to offer small business or individuals alike?
For the "localguide" to function, it requires between 50,000 to 70,000
static web pages (it's likely to be more once the site is fully implemented). That's
a lot of pages. Being static pages, each can and will be registered with the major
search engines etc. The real benefit comes with the "permanent" placement
of a banner ad on every single one of these pages promoting "The Business Directory".
Something like the example as shown.
As you can see, the potential
to attract traffic is much greater because the "localguide" is aimed at
the wider community. Anyone with a listing in "The Business Directory"
has the potential to benefit from the sites promotion via the permanent banner advertisement
placed on the thousands of pages making up the "localguide".
In Summary
For the "localguide" to have any real value, visitors must be confident
that by using the site they will be able to access "local" content. For
local content to be available, we will be reliant on web site submissions from individuals
such as yourself. However, we are also in the process of developing "spidering"
software that will gather site listings as well. The purpose is simply to provide
a back-up mechanism to fill any areas that lack web site listings.
There are many other features to be associated with the "localguide" project
but these can only be fully outlined once the "localguide" site is active.
At this stage, we aim to have the first implementation of the "localguide"
up by mid 2000 (earlier if software developement progresses as planned). Currently,
we are still awaiting the final release of the new "directory" software
that will hold the details for specific towns/suburbs/places. It's for this reason
that we have a temporary site set up to allow early listings to be placed and thereby
avoiding any delay in the opening of "The Business Directory" Site and
"Redirection Service"
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