WSSI Websidestory (MM)

'Active Browsing' Integrates One of Web 2.0's Premier Applications to Help E-Tailers Improve the Customer Experience, Shorten Conversion Cycle SAN DIEGO, Oct. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- WebSideStory, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSSI), a leading provider of digital marketing and analytics solutions, today announced the industry's first commercially available Ajax-enabled site search solution. This capability, called Active Browsing, is an extended service of WebSideStory Search and enables any e-commerce site to integrate one of Web 2.0's enabling technologies, Ajax (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML), into their product search results. The result is greatly enhanced speed and interactivity, and an improved customer shopping experience in which shoppers are able to engage in "clickless browsing" -- the ability to preview additional product facets and "more like this" categories just by rolling their mouse over specific search results. Last year, The Gap received industry wide attention for spending a reported $10 million to deliver this same type of "quick look" product functionality to its web site as part of a major Ajax-enabled redesign. Active Browsing is available from WebSideStory at a fraction of this cost and can deliver value for any online business model. Active Browsing is currently live on Jockey.com. "When you make online shopping faster, easier, you create a more persuasive experience, that leads to better conversions and more loyal customers," said Bryan Eisenberg, the co-founder of Future Now, Inc., a New York City marketing firm, and the author of two New York Times best-selling business books, Call to Action and Waiting For Your Cat to Bark? "Active Browsing is demonstrably better than virtually every e-tailer's current offering." Active Browsing works by transforming site search into a highly interactive application that accesses server data optimally, and allows for user interface innovations such as "bubbles" that overlay the page to provide more information and navigation choices. This enables visitors to speed through product search results and related facets -- color, size, gender, etc. -- without having to reload the page every time. Active Browsing lays the foundation for additional product capabilities that will take site search to whole new levels of interactivity, including more intuitive interaction conventions and user interfaces. Advanced Ajax implementations at travel sites like Kayak.com are credited with having positive impacts on both user experience and market share. Hitwise, an online competitive service, recently reported that Kayak.com's market share has surged in the last six months -- an increase that one travel industry analyst attributed to the use of Ajax. Google Maps is another popular example of Ajax in action. "Active Browsing is incredible," said Susan Aldrich, a senior vice president at Patricia Seybold Group and one of the top site search analysts in the industry. "With many e-commerce sites, I almost get motion sickness having to click back and forth between different products and facets. Not with Active Browsing. It enables you to get key merchandising information while staying focused and engaged on the product. I think it's fair to say that a majority of shoppers will be clamoring for this type of experience within the next year. With Active Browsing, WebSideStory adds yet another valuable innovation to its solutions." In April, WebSideStory launched WebSideStory Search 4.0 with Active Ranking, the first site solution to drive site search results based on the full spectrum of web analytics data. With Active Browsing, WebSideStory expands its industry leading Web 2.0 capabilities, which also include the tracking of Web 2.0 content and applications -- such as Ajax, RSS feeds, podcasts and streaming video -- with HBX Analytics, an award-winning on-demand web analytics service. "We are pleased to bring another industry first to the market, for the benefit of our customers," said Steve Kusmer, senior vice president and general manager of WebSideStory's search and content solutions unit. "Active Browsing is truly the next generation of site search, where you are moving from a static, click-heavy search experience to a highly interactive one." For more information about Active Browsing and WebSideStory Search, please visit http://www.websidestory.com/ About WebSideStory, Inc. Founded in 1996, WebSideStory, Inc. is a leading provider of digital marketing and analytics solutions that improve online marketing, sales and business operations. Its WebSideStory suite of digital marketing applications consists of web analytics, site search, web content management, and keyword bid management. WebSideStory also provides enterprise analytics solutions through its wholly owned subsidiary, Visual Sciences, LLC, a leading provider of streaming data analysis and visualization software. WebSideStory is headquartered in San Diego, California, and has European headquarters in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. For more information, contact WebSideStory. Voice: 858.546.0040. Fax: 858.546.0480. Address: 10182 Telesis Court, 6th Floor, San Diego, CA 92121. Web site: http://www.websidestory.com/. WebSideStory and HBX are among the trademarks or registered trademarks owned by WebSideStory, Inc. Visual Sciences is a registered trademark of Visual Sciences, LLC. Other trademarks belong to their respective owners. Forward-Looking Statements Statements in this press release that are not a description of historical facts are forward-looking statements. You should not regard any forward-looking statement as a representation by WebSideStory that any of its plans will be achieved. Actual results may differ materially from those set forth in this release due to the risks and uncertainties inherent in WebSideStory's business, including, without limitation: WebSideStory's reliance on its web analytics services for the majority of its revenue; blocking or erasing of cookies or limitations on our ability to use cookies; WebSideStory's limited experience with digital marketing applications beyond web analytics; the risks associated with integrating the operations and products of Avivo Corporation and Visual Sciences, LLC with those of WebSideStory; privacy concerns and laws or other domestic or foreign regulations that may subject WebSideStory to litigation or limit our ability to collect and use Internet user information; WebSideStory's ability to defend itself against claims of patent infringement alleged by NetRatings, Inc.; WebSideStory's ongoing ability to protect its own intellectual property rights and to avoid violating the intellectual property rights of third parties; the highly competitive markets in which we operate that could make it difficult for WebSideStory to acquire and retain customers; the risk that WebSideStory's customers fail to renew their agreements; the risks associated with the company's indebtedness; the risk that WebSideStory's services may become obsolete in a market with rapidly changing technology and industry standards; and other risks described in WebSideStory's Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including WebSideStory's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005 and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. Do not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements which speak only as of the date of this news release. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement, and WebSideStory undertakes no obligation to revise or update this news release to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this news release. DATASOURCE: WebSideStory, Inc. CONTACT: Erik Bratt of WebSideStory, Inc., +1-858-546-0040, ext. 365, Web site: http://www.websidestory.com/

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