Monthly Archives: August 2012

eDirectory releases version 9.5

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

eDirectory releases version 9.5

eDirectory has released version 9.5, and with it, a significant restructuring of the base code in order to develop a more robust platform to build upon in the future.

While users won’t notice many changes in the layout or appearance of the sites in version 9.5, the eDirectory base code team, under the leadership of recently appointed Product Manager, Darren Cornwell, has made a multitude of changes in the way the code is structured.

Notably, the import tool has been completely redesigned to be a bit more effective and seemless upload process. Imports are now limited to 100mb or 100,000 lines. With only a single file able to import at a time, the system will see significant performance improvements in a shared environment.

“With the new release of 9.5, eDirectory is now considerably faster. The basecode has undergone major rewrites in various sections, there is now the addition of a new import / exporter which makes updating and retrieving data much easier, based on customer feedback. In addition to these, there are a whole host of tiny fixes and updates which serve to continue to keep eDirectory as the leader in the online directory space,” said Product Manager, Darren Cornwell.

Additionally, the blog has seen several updates to it in 9.5 You can now add banners to the blog, through an ‘Add to Blog” module in the banners section, as well as have the ability to feature and disable categories as well as add subcategories to blog categories. For SEO purposes, the sitemgr now has the ability to change settings regarding SEO on blog components.

Like the blog module, the Deals section also saw a few notable changes. Site owners can now show recent reviews on both the deals home page and deals results page and like the blog, site owners can now add banners to the deals section. Lastly you can now access traffic reports from deals section, as well as pull statistical reports.

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Case Study – American Ceramic Society’s Implementation of eDirectory to Increase Member Engagement

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It’s not too often we have the opportunity to talk about the work we do with non profits and member-based organizations. When you think of online directories and the implementation of eDirectory, you often think of local search sites, buyer’s guides, yellow page sites, dining guides or vendor/supplier directories that are focused on driving traffic and generating revenue.

While most of our users are focused on revenue and site traffic, non profit organizations use eDirectory as a way to improve member engagement. Most not for profit industry organizations, like the American Ceramic Society, have a strong editorial presence in their field, producing magazines, journals, yearly reports and other online content. The other facet to their organization is very much member focused. These organizations work to understand issues going on in their industry that may be causing their members pain, and providing the resources and tools to help advance the industry as a whole.

When I learned that the American Ceramic Society was using our software, I was interested in sitting down with their Director of IT and Web Services, Scott Freshour, to understand how eDirectory worked within their organization. I found that after developing an internal system, and working with one of our competitors, they came to us to try and develop a advertising and marketing vehicle to their members, but also, develop the foundation for a directory that would also be printed to a paper-based directory.

New Webinar, Training and Roundtable Dates Announced

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We just posted a bunch of dates for webinars we have coming up in the next four to six weeks.

Training – Free One hour group training on how to use the software. Great for new clients or those users that haven’t had a great deal of time to invest in using the software.

SEO Crash Course – SEO is a word a lot of people throw around a lot and sometimes it can be a bit intimidating. If you’re looking to learn about the basics of SEO and how to implement them into your directory site, this is a great introductory session.

How to Steer Your Site to Success – Strategies on selecting a path for your directory, where to focus your attention in the beginning and how to leverage partnerships to make your site a success in the long run

SEO Roundtable Discussion – Existing eDirectory clients can fill out a registration questionnaire to have their site evaluated live on this demo. We’ll walk through common things site owners forget when optimizing their site, as well as offer strategies on how to improve the SEO of their website.

Sign up today!