Carnival, Expedia and Hotels.com Web Sites Come Out on Top
Nov 08, 10 | 1:53 am 
Keynote Competitive Research, the industry analysis group of Keynote Systems, today announced the latest winners of the Keynote Online Excellence Recognition Program that recognizes the 'best of the best' Web sites as ranked in Keynote Competitive Research studies. The three companies being recognized today are ranked based on responses from real online users that participated in the studies. Keynote hereby recognizes:
Carnival.com for achieving the best Overall Customer Experience in the 'Travel: Cruise' category; Expedia.com for achieving the best Overall Customer Experience in the 'Travel: U.S. Car Rental' category; and Hotels.com for achieving the best Overall Customer Experience in the 'Travel: U.S. Lodging' category.
The winners of Keynote Competitive Research studies are invited to participate in the company's Online Excellence Program which recognizes the "best of the best" Web sites as ranked in the studies. The rankings for the three travel studies are based on responses from up to 2,400 real users, per site, who were observed as they accomplished tasks on each of the sites studied using Keynote WebEffective, the only research tool for Web site real user experience testing that allows a company to capture a customer's complete online experience, as well as real data collected through Keynote Transaction Perspective(R) to assess the technical quality of the sites. For each study, Keynote recognizes the companies with the overall top ranking as well as those exhibiting excellence in specific categories.
"The Keynote Online Excellence Recognition Program recognizes the leading Web sites across a wide range of industries as experienced by the end user and represents the real voice of the consumer," said Chris Musto, general manager of Keynote Competitive Research at Keynote. "Carnival, Expedia and Hotels.com are all extremely well-known brands, but you don't stay on top in the rapidly changing online world without paying attention to the details, both large and small, that lead to a great overall customer experience. It is with this attention to detail in mind that we are very pleased to recognize Carnival, Expedia.com and Hotels.com as Keynote's latest 'best in class' Web sites."
'Customer Experience' Award Category
Keynote studies of 'Customer Experience' examine the online experience of prospects or customers of a Web site as they interact with each of the leading sites included in a particular vertical industry study. The customer experience component of the study details how each site performs versus competitors across key business objectives, including online adoption and customer acquisition. Each study captures more than 250+ metrics for each site--and provides competitive rankings in dozens of categories.
Keynote user experience studies employ Keynote's commercially available WebEffective(TM) product, an on-demand software platform for conducting in-depth real user experience testing which integrates the best aspects of usability, behavior and attitudinal research. Keynote's technology and methodology offers a unique view into both customer attitudes and behavior by questioning customers and examining their online behavior in real time as they interact with and accomplish assigned tasks on a site from their own home or office environment.
The studies are available for purchase from Keynote and come with extensive analysis of Brand Impact, Acquisition Impact, Online Adoption and Loyalty and the factors that drive a site's performance in these areas. Clients will receive an executive presentation, extensive back-up charts and illustrations, and online access to all clickstreams, verbatims, question responses and panel facts for all panelists at all sites for all tasks and can download and use this data in their own research.
Keynote Competitive Research produces leading industry research using the company's commercially available Web performance test and measurement products. Keynote regularly evaluates the current state of online user experience, technical quality (responsiveness & reliability) and implementation of best practices on leading Web sites across a wide variety of industries including financial services, automotive, media/entertainment portals, retail, travel and technology.
More Information
For more information about the Keynote Online Excellence Recognition Program and to register for a consultation with a Keynote representative regarding the company's methodology and ongoing industry studies view: http://keynote.com/keynote_competitive_research/online_excellence/overview
About Keynote
Keynote Systems is the global leader in solutions for continuously improving the Internet and mobile experience. Founded in 1995, Keynote provides testing, monitoring and measurement products and services for a variety of enterprises such as online portals, e-commerce sites, B2B sites, mobile operators and mobile infrastructure providers. Keynote products and services help companies improve customer experience in four areas: Web performance, mobile quality, streaming and online usability testing.
Known as The Mobile and Internet Performance Authority(TM), Keynote has a market-leading "on-demand" infrastructure of over 3,000 measurement computers and mobile devices in over 240 locations around the world. Keynote's 2,800 customers represent top Internet and mobile companies including American Express, AT&T, Disney, eBay, E*TRADE, Expedia, Google, Microsoft, SonyEricsson, T-Mobile and Vodafone.
Keynote Systems, Inc. is headquartered in San Mateo, California and can be reached at www.keynote.com or by phone in the U.S. at 1-800-KEYNOTE.
Keynote(R), DataPulse(R), CustomerScope(R), Keynote CE Rankings(R), Keynote Customer Experience Rankings(R), Perspective(R), Keynote Red Alert(R), Keynote Traffic Perspective(R), Keynote WebEffective(R), The Internet Performance Authority(R), MyKeynote(R), SIGOS(R), SITE(R), Keynote(TM), The Mobile & Internet Performance Authority(TM), Screen Sensing Technology and Keynote FlexUse(TM) are trademarks or registered trademarks of Keynote Systems, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. (C) 2010 Keynote Systems, Inc.
SOURCE: Keynote Systems, Inc.
