Senior Citizens Essays - Avant Browser, Portable Software, Website

Senior Citizens Note: Professor, please notify me to confirm your receipt of my final paper. Thank You. Sof?a Fern?ndez December 20, 2000 Professor Jim Coyle Internet Marketing 4555 Part 1A- Target Market Analysis Over the past few years, with the help of modern technology, people have obtained access to virtually anything they desire at the simple click of a mouse button. Now, information can be accessed through various websites without having to visit a library, go to a store, a friends or relatives home, or even travel agencies. The Internet is for all people- regardless of age, race, ethnic background, class, or religion. When it comes to marketers and which strategies will be most effective and efficient to become a successful website, every product in the market is geared towards a specific target group, regularly based on demographics. Whether it is where a person lives, their marital status, age, or occupation, marketers try to target one particular area where they feel that their product will be benefited the most and where profits will be most generated for the business. One particular area that has been expanding not only in website visitations but also in new website formations is the senior citizen age group. Now, seniors are the fastest growing audience on the Internet. What is more interesting is the fact that they put their money where their mouse is. This age groups frequent use of the Internet is absolutely amazing and unbelievable. There are hundreds and hundreds of websites designed to be most suitable or more geared for this target group. The websites are specifically designed to meet the needs of older adults about the ages of 60 and above, and grandparents. It does not steer towards a certain economic or religious class. The majority of these websites provide much information on healthcare, health issues that affect them, relationships, money, news, entertainment, and childcare. Part1B- Competitive Analysis Under the top 10 most popular sites for www.seniorcitizens.com, I chose the top four websites to analyze the areas in order to compare and contrast where www.seniorgold.com is strong and where it needs some work. The first site is called www.senior.com. Like any website, it will have many strengths and weaknesses. Allow me to discuss this websites strengths first. The page was downloaded quite easily, with no error messages to refresh the page. Overall, the designs of the pages are colorful and have very clear graphics. The text is very clear without being too wordy and misleading. The home page also has a search engine that allows the user to quickly find what he/she is looking for. In addition, it has a large variety of topics to choose from with easily accessible features. This website does contain a vertical and horizontal scroll bar on its homepage which makes the first impression for users a tedious one. It becomes very frustrating when someone has to keep scrolling up and down to search any information. The contents on the homepage of a website should be clear, brief, and concise allowing you to link to it if more information is what is desired of the user. Another weakness would include the arrangement of topics on the homepage. They begin with serious news that then descends down to tacky, irrelevant links. Although the content of the text itself is clear, it looks all jumbled up, busy, and confusing. In order to be simple, and to the point, the topics should become more condensed, including the amount of links it has. Compared to www.seniorgold.com, this website is more visually appealing to the eye. It appears to be more youthful through the use of cartoon characters and bold color schemes. The second website, www.elderweb.com, has tab links at the top of the homepage which allows the user to click on the tab which is relevant without having to search endless rows of subcategories to see which one applies to their information search. There are no distracting side links that allows the user to choose to read the information or simply click on where they wish to go on the site. Unlike www.senior.com, the page is very consecutive with the stories and features. The current headlines are brief and to the point. And, each headline gives the user