Thursday July 12, 2012

Revamped look for 701Pages

By NEVASH NAIR
nevashnair@thestar.com.my

ONE of Malaysia’s leading online directory companies, 701Panduan Sdn Bhd, will be launching a new look for its website 701Pages today.

The website’s new look, which went live just over a month ago, provides a better user-interface experience and is friendly to first-time visitors.

“We want to build a strong online community within 701Pages with the new review section. This will enable users to talk about their experience at a particular restaurant or spa.

“If an advertiser on 701Pages receives encouraging reviews from users, it will help boost sales for them which is good for us,” said 701Panduan general manager Lee Siang Teck.

Establishing connections: Lee says he wants to build a strong online community within 701 Pages with the new review section.

He added negative criticism should be taken as constructive feedback by business owners to improve on their services.

Despite revamping the look and feel of the website, package prices for advertisers will remain the same. Lee explained that the enhanced features will persuade more peer reviews on the website and create a community environment which is expected to increase traffic.

“A good example would be Trip Advisor. It is based on community reviews and the website has grown from strength to strength globally,” said Lee.

701Panduan will be running offline ad campaigns to entice new campaigners to join 701Pages.

“The company will be promoting its new look through print ads, radio campaigns and out-of-home advertising (billboards, transportation). Besides this, a Facebook contest will be launched today in conjunction with the launch,” he added.

Besides being a helpful online directory for Malaysians, 701Pages is also an alternative reading portal that features the latest gadget reviews and snippets, a travel section, an automotive section and an education section.

Lee explained that when the new look was introduced to its 1.4 million visitors (monthly average), there was a slight dip in traffic as many were not familiar with the refreshed interface. However, the website has gained momentum and traffic has been increasing ever since. The company is aiming to raise this to 1.9 million to two million hits a month. With a team of 40 looking into the daily operations of the company the company also plans to introduce a mobile app in the near future.

“We plan to introduce the mobile app by the fourth quarter of this year as we foresee the smartphone market in Malaysia recording continuous growth,” said Lee.

Traffic to 701Pages is 90% local but this has not stopped advertisers from engaging with overseas customers.

“Our travel section targets foreigners, mostly Singaporeans who will be coming to Malaysia for business trips and vacations,” added Lee.

Lee is confident the company is moving in the right direction to reap the benefits of its efforts.