Customer Success Stories

Lauren Publications

Lauren Publications is a publisher of regional parenting magazines. Their titles have become some of the premier publications in the industry, but they had not been able to invest the same care to their DallasChild.com web site. The site was difficult to use, and rife with errors. They asked Web Site Optimizers to help them improve their site so that it was worthy of their quality, and would allow them to engage and grow their customer base.

"The web is such an important part of the future of our industry," says Joy Niebes, Publisher of the company. "Our site needed some serious improvements so that it could contribute to our revenue stream significantly, but we didn't even know where to start."

WSO sprang into action. We immediately implemented more detailed analytics tracking, as well as other tools to gather input from users about what was difficult to use. With the help of the Lauren Publications team, we conducted a review of competitive sites from around the nation to get another feel for the kinds of functionality readers wanted. With the information gathered, we were able to work closely with the development team to give the site a much-needed facelift. The revised site included entirely new applications to attract readers, such as a calendar of upcoming area events, contests, online polls, printable coupons, and more. We also identified areas where the back-end CMS administration could be made much easier to use.

"Web Site Optimizers did a fabulous job for us,” says Niebes. “Their consultation and experience enabled our site to become twenty times better than it was before."

Indeed, the improvements were phenomenal. In less than a year since the launch, traffic to the site nearly tripled from that to the old site. Reader participation was also in evidence, with thousands of readers registering with the site each month to participate in contests, sign up for newletters, etc. The site won several awards from the Parenting Publications of America (now Parenting Media Association).

More importantly, the site has contributed consistently growing revenues since the redesign. With the increased traffic has come a significant increase in advertising revenue. New searchable and sortable online directories in which advertisers can buy enhanced listings have created another revenue stream. The company showcases events for which readers can register and pay for online, generating additional revenue. And the huge growth in online registrations has enabled them to sell advertising space in their weekly newsletters as well.

"The new web site has been a success all around,” says Kirk Turner, Director of Marketing & Events. “It’s engaged readers and won awards, but it’s also contributing to our bottom line. Ad space on the site is valuable, and we’re now able to automate many administrative functions such as taking registrations for upcoming events and more. WSO has certainly played a strong role in our growth in the past several years."

Want WSO to help you grow over the next year? Contact WSO today to discuss the opportunities!