HUMMER Tops Website Ranking Again

Anthony Fontanelle
January 23, 2008

For the second consecutive time, HUMMER.com is ranked as the best website of any automakers. This is according to a recent study conducted by J.D. Power and Associates. According to The Auto Channel, the study conducted by J.D. Power is aimed at gauging the degree of helpfulness of a website to consumers.

According to the report, the study focuses on four areas of the website. These areas are appearance, sped, navigation, and information or content. As more and more consumers are making their research over the Internet before purchasing a vehicle, automakers have continued to improve their websites to further help their consumers get to know their latest models.

Steve Witten, the executive director of marketing/media research at J.D. Power and Associates, said that the General Motors marquee has an exemplary website which is user friendly. "HUMMER continues to set the standard with a Web site that satisfies shoppers through fast performance and streamlined navigation," said Witten.

"A focus on a user-friendly site that delivers robust information to shoppers both quickly and easily has put HUMMER's site in the top spot three times in the past four waves of MWES," he added. MWES stands for Manufacturer Web Site Evaluation Study. This particular study is being conducted by J.D. Power semi-annually.

Following HUMMER on the ranking is Lincoln and Kia respectively. Kia has been at the top three along with HUMMER for some time now. Lincoln on the other hand has just broken into the top three at the latest MWES.

Witten said that the way people search for certain models also changed the way automakers design their site. "Traditional point-and-click Web site navigation is changing as a growing number of shoppers use search engines to link directly to automotive manufacturer model pages rather than the home pages," said Witten.

"As a result, manufacturer vehicle model pages are beginning to contain more functionality than ever before. Lincoln's Web site, in particular, combines rich content on its model pages with fast, clear navigation," he added.

Witten also pointed out why some automakers' site did not perform very well in the rankings. "Some bottom-performing sites had robust content to offer but failed to deliver it to shoppers in a user-friendly manner, or the sites overwhelmed shoppers by showing too much content on one page," he explained. Audi, the manufacturer of Audi shocks, received the lowest marks.

"In order to successfully deliver information to shoppers, manufacturer Web sites must combine a wealth of tools and information with quickness and a clean, intuitive navigation scheme. Creating a balance of these elements is what sets top performers apart from lower-scoring sites," concluded Witten.

Source:  Amazines.com