The View London website boasts more than 1.4 million unique visits every month and
as such the website analysis will focus on what makes it such a popular website and how Internet marketing
techniques are employed to ensure new and return visits. Website design and SEO as part of Internet
marketing will thus also be examined as well as interactivity, content, and general features.
View London as part of 2View Group provides a wide range of guides, tips, and general
information about London. The View London website which was established in 2000 and has thus already shown
that it is here to stay has become one of the most esteemed information sources about London. The View
London website is also one of the most up to date online resources and with several thousands of reviews
already done about the entertainment life in London, is a website well worth visiting. The resource is free
and whether you are a Londoner, backpacker, jetsetter or general tourist looking for information about commuting,
dining and clubbing, the View London website should be your first stop online.
The website offers several entertainment categories including that of dining, movies, clubs,
what’s on, theatre and tickets etc. In addition to the focus channelled to specific categories the View
London website also offers its users weekly newsletters which provide small bits of information on pubs,
movies, and restaurants.
The site is made accessible through the following features:
- Site or venue search options displayed at the top.
- CSS menu on top and on the left side of the page.
- Anchored text links that accompany short introductions.
- Use of TITLE tags and thus a logical flow from headings to sub-headings.
- Home link displayed.
- You are here features.
- Several ways to find venues.
- Maps.
- Several site tools.
- Help features.
A site map lacks and many of the images don’t have ALT tags. Although these images may
only be for decorative purposes, it will be helpful to know what images don’t display if the image viewing
capabilities of a browser are disabled.
Distribution of content and viral Internet marketing methods employed:
- Send to a friend option
- Printing option
- Newsletter
- User reviews
Interactivity is promoted through the blog and through user reviews. Feedback opportunities
are however, limited and if forums, chatrooms, and social networking opportunities are expanded, the View
London website may very well become the new hotspot for Londoners. The site also includes a number of useful
links. All the links work and are relevant to the site.
It is quite refreshing to find a website to be without hundreds of banners and videos. The
View London website keeps its focus and users will not get lost through navigating layer after layer. Navigation
is straightforward and by avoiding the overuse of images, the website does well in keeping the user interested
and helping him or her to locate information quickly.
The standard features associated with good layout and website design are present and
include:
- Relevant notices such as copyright, privacy and terms & conditions.
- Comprehensive contact page which even includes a map.
- No side-scrolling required.
- No frames used.
- Pages load fast.
- Coherent colour scheme.
- Large chunks of text broken up for easier reading.
- Standard web font sizes used.
- Advertisements are clearly marked.
- Logo is displayed.
- Image links have alternative text links.
Users don’t have to be concerned with plugins and software downloads as the website design
has been kept simple ensuring a neat look. No cluttering and no annoying ad pop-ups! The View London website
analysis revealed an easy to use comprehensive guide about what’s going on in London. Even though it includes
several functionality features such as weather update and easy location of venues, the website has not lost focus.
When it comes to SEO or search engine optimisation, the above is also essential. Too many
websites become so complicated that even a search engine spider will find it difficult to index the site. This
is not the case with the View London website which includes enough wording, excellent keyword usage, title tags,
and headings. The site map will also ensure easy indexing as will the complete usage of the Meta tags. The website
does well in Internet marketing as can be seen from its current visits a day. At the time of the website analysis
it had around 300 000 back links from Google and 320 000 from AltaVista. This is important to ensure good ranking.
The View London website is also listed at DMOZ and Yahoo! Directory. If you live in London then visiting the
website will mean no more phone calls or standing in line to book tickets. The convenience is now available
online.