Avis opened its first airport car hiring outlet in 1946 with a mere three cars for rental. Just more than 60 years after, it operates internationally with more than 4000 car rental locations in as many as 114 countries worldwide. The same energy and dedication to service excellence which have contributed to its success are visible in the Avis website as will be seen from the Avis website analysis review below.

The colour scheme of the website is red and white with blue and other colours imbedded in the images. One reason for its clean cut feeling is the choice of white as background. The main menu is on top of the page neatly placed underneath the Avis logo. The homepage may be a bit overwhelming at first as it contains several categories. If the user however, sticks to the navigation system it is quite easy to find your way through the site which also loads extremely fast. A cascading style sheet has been used which ensures consistency.

The main categories are:

• Latest offers where users can make use of their specials.
• Find an Avis location though the use of an image map or the search facility.
• Vehicles and services which include links to pages loaded with helpful information about Avis options, fuel guide, and vehicles etc.
• Join Avis preferred which provides users the opportunity to become a club member with special benefits.
• Business Services which includes links to pages where users can find more information about Avis Travel agencies, partners, and solutions.
• Help and contact which includes an FAQ section and the relevant contact options.

Other useful categories include:

• Quote option.
• Basket.
• Creating an account.
• Sign in.

It has been placed above the main menu. The placement choice is good since it does not distract from the main menu. Additional pages such as the terms and conditions, news, and careers at Avis are visible throughout navigation and are linked at the bottom of the page.

The site has applied graphics sparingly allowing for easy flow of information. The only animated image is to be found on the main page. The images all include Alt tags which are a must for user-friendliness and search engine optimisation. Interactivity and a personal touch lack a bit. From an Internet Marketing perspective regarding customer service, the use of one or two videos or a virtual assistant will greatly enhance the user experience at the site.

The website however, is well advanced in its use of online booking, searching, and shopping basket facilities. Any e-commerce site should include a Terms and Conditions page which is present at the Avis site. It is also one of the few websites found that displays the Copyright message. An easy to follow sitemap is excellent for search engine optimisation while the Meta tags with a comprehensive description are also beneficial for SEO.

When it comes to functionality, from a website analysis view, the website is clearly a winner. It provides the latest news, car rental options, ways to find your way through the site, making bookings and enjoying several benefits such as creation of an account and confirmation of bookings. The online quote system is user-friendly as is the subscription options. Newsletter marketing is a must to get information to the users instead of waiting for them to get to you and in this respect Avis has once again succeeded in its Internet marketing strategy.

Where it lacks multi-media applications it makes up with an up to date blog allowing for comments and to learn more about Avis through the informative posts.

The site has been online since May 1996 and has definitely made inroads in the search engine optimisation field. The website Page Rank is 6/10 and it has an Alexa traffic rank of 80 822. It could push up its ranking if it gets more incoming links from Google to match the incoming links from Yahoo which stand at 7958 at the time of website analysis (May 2, 2008). A total of 19 outgoing links were found. The links all work and lead the user to relevant content.

The Avis website competes for ranking on keywords such as rent a car, car rental, car hire uk, and more. From a website analysis perspective the images have been used to complement the content, while the general font choice makes for easy reading. If you are in the market for car hire, you will find the website to be comprehensive and easy to use. It would have been helpful if the main languages of Europe would have been available, but the choice of vehicles in each country and the quote accordingly are definitely positive features of the site. Visit the Avis website for quick location of a vehicle for hire at your location or destination.