An Alternative to Internet Addiction

We at HitTail haven't been blogging as much as we used to, perhaps because we too have fallen victim to the always-on 24/7 culture that has been simultaneously enabling yet paralyzing so many savvy Internet users. Although I do not personally use Twitter or Friendfeed, it is becoming an addiction to some like Robert Scoble. While he was the one mentioned on TechCrunch, I know others who use the service far too much to be healthy. I, for one, am happy just to post occasional updates and link to articles on Facebook. Yet I can tell even that small distraction has reduced the normal amount that I should be blogging.

Of course, we designed HitTail to be a little addictive, since it is one of the few truly real-time (dare I say, useful?) services. We love data, and the ability to access it via the Internet at any time. But we also know it can be addicting and paralyzing to sort through endless reports. That's why we simplified analytics to just a few screens and combined it with a To Do list that you check off as you go, enabling you to act on that intelligence. And then we took it one step further, allowing an alternative way to get your keyword suggestions by RSS or Email so you don't have to constantly log on to the site.

We feel it's important that business tools adapt to our lives, rather than the other way around. So this holiday season, I hope everyone takes their eyes off the screen for a few minutes this time of year and enjoys the rest of what life has to offer. Don't worry. When you want to get your latest Internet info, you can still get it sent to your other addiction -- be it iPhone, Crackberry, G1, Treo, or Xperia.

The Gold Coast Discovers HitTail

Today, there was a major mention of HitTail in the Ventura County Star. Be sure to read the whole thing, but here's an excerpt: Fred Simanek, chief executive officer of MyNextDeal.com in Thousand Oaks, uses both for his commercial real estate Web site.

Simanek said an important part of launching a new site is driving traffic to it. He found a product called HitTail, which gives Web site owners, whether casual bloggers or large businesses, a piece of code that tracks how people find their Web site.

It uses that information what keywords people used in which search engines to create a report for the site operator. That allows a business to incorporate the search terms into its Web site content so people using similar keyword searches in the future can find the company more easily.

It even creates a "to do" list.

Gaining intelligence

Simanek said he liked that it was so simple to use.

"Who doesn't want to have a to do list telling you, Here's some improvements you can make on your site,'" he said.

Simanek said he checks the report every day.