We’re off to a cracker year on NZS.com, launching our new look this week and breaking a milestone barrier for page views last month – we hit the one million mark!

That’s right, NZS.com breaks a million page views, keeping us up with the increasing growth that the global online world is experiencing. Throughout 2008 we averaged 850,000 page views per month but for the first month of 2009 we soared to 1,075,401 visitor page views. Reaching this milestone is a great indication of the growing importance of New Zealand search.

Despite the predicted economic downturn in 2009, online marketing commentators predict further growth of the online industry as companies increasingly look to online marketing campaigns to increase their brand awareness and create new business.

Noticed something a little different about NZS.com?

We’ve updated our look to make NZS.com easier on the eye, and more usable within your screen space.

NZS.com is now in fixed width format, making it viewable without scrolling across on a wider range of computer screens. The NZS.com design team have spent copious hours positioning the content within the directory pages to maximize the use of page space, meaning users get the most information in the clearest format possible upon page entry. This content reformat has also been keyed with a modern new font, increasing text visibility.

The result of this contributes to the overall sleek new look of the NZS.com homepage and all of the other category and feature pages. We’re determined to make New Zealand search the easiest and most efficient for you, enjoy our brand new look!

We’ve done it again! Each quarter, Hitwise award the ten highest traffic websites in each of its 160+ categories with a shield recognising each website’s success.

For the quarter January-March 2008, NZS.com has placed #5 in both the Business and Finance – Business Directories industry, and the Computers and Internet – Search Engines industry! This status is based on the market share of visits among all New Zealand websites within those industries – so we’re doing pretty well to be in the top five throughout the country in two different categories!

Is your website in the running for a Hitwise award? All you need to do is register for the awards program (which is free), you don’t need to become a Hitwise Member. It’s a great idea to find out if you rank well amongst your competitors, and strive to upstage them for the next quarter. Stay tuned for NZS.com’s placings in the April-June quarter.

Here we grow again, adding more members to the NZS.com team…

This week we welcome Dean Stirling to the role of Sales Executive. Our latest addition comes with over three years experience in B2B sales in Web and Internet marketing. Dean is passionate about the Internet and the part it has to play in companies growing their business, and is looking forward to working with the many websites within New Zealand to improve traffic to their sites.

Dean is also inspired by the outdoors – he plays golf, wakeboards, cycles, surfs and is now turning his hand to kite surfing. Along with enjoyment of outdoor recreational pursuits, Dean is an avid sports fan, with Formula One a winner and coaching his son’s rugby team a close second.

If you’re looking for a new job, browse our selection of job vacancies in New Zealand.

When it comes to New Zealand search, we’re onto it. As the home of smart search in New Zealand, NZS’ers like to stay on top of both local and international search trends, so it was a must for us to attend the inaugural New Zealand Search Engine Room Conference on Tuesday 13th November in Auckland.

The first major outing for the search engine industry in New Zealand was attended by companies from within the growing NZ search industry, as well as by many sales and marketing managers looking to get in on the rise of performance-based search advertising around the world.

Big name exhibitors
Exhibitors included Google, SLI-Systems, Netconcepts, FirstRate, Alekemi and SureFire, along with representatives from many big name brands such as Microsoft, Yahoo! and DoubleClick. Dr Grant Ryan from Eurekster was the keynote speaker who kicked off the morning sessions, with heavyweights from the search industry – Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft – completing the morning.

Competition in the NZ search market
New Zealand Google Marketing Manager, Paul Webster, will face a growing challenge in the coming year; Yahoo! Search Marketing head, Willie Pang, was adamant their introduction to the market will increase competition dramatically and help shift some of Google’s majority share (90%) of the search market in New Zealand, to Yahoo!

Liz Fraser, NZ Business Manager for MSN New Zealand, was optimistic about the new role MSN has within the New Zealand search market, announcing that the site is about to be re-launched. Liz stated that in the long-run, Microsoft see the greatest search competition solely between Microsoft and Google; this comment sparked some interest from the attendees, as she was effectively writing off the Yahoo! representative sitting next to her on the panel.

Bebo popular with young New Zealanders
A quick talk from the Australia / New Zealand manager for Bebo showed the level of influence the community site has in the 15 to 24-year-old market in New Zealand – Bebo has more traffic than TradeMe. Bebo’s new media relationship with TVNZ was touted as the first of its kind in the world, allowing Bebo access to 70% of the New Zealand Internet audience.

NZS.com at the Search Engine Room Conference
As NZS.com General Manager, I was a speaker at the conference, discussing the emergence of local directories in the small New Zealand market.

We’re already anticipating next year’s event – which should offer a similarly diverse and dynamic programme combining issues such as search marketing, search engine optimisation, blogging and social search.

Our brand new weather section was launched this afternoon – now there’s no excuse for getting caught out by the weather! With all the latest New Zealand weather reports, forecasts and updates from MetService, we offer local weather information for your region. You’ll find:

• Today’s weather, updated every hour
• Weather forecasts for the next four days
• Weather reports for North and South Island regions, cities and towns
• Information on climate, sunshine hours, rainfall and average temperature

Online, up-to-the-minute weather reports mean you’ll always have the latest information on-hand, whether you’re planning a weekend escape, wondering whether to catch the bus or walk, or just hoping for summer sunshine to arrive. So, get the latest NZ weather reports, now!

I’m the newest recruit to the NZS.com team, adding five years Web development and design experience. With an excellent eye for design and top programming skills, I have played a pivotal role in the design of NZS.com’s fresh, new look.

So if you like it, love it, or just plain hate it please let us know your thoughts through our Suggestion Box.

A brand new look for NZS.com was launched this morning. We hope you like it!

The team here have been working hard in the background for a few months to bring the new look and feel to fruition. Along with the cosmetic update, the structure of the site has also had a good re-work, so you’ll find the site faster to load and easier to use across the board.

A special thanks goes to Zane, Greta and Steve who have worked so hard to bring you the next step in NZS.com’s evolution.

We’re all excited by the outlook for NZS.com as we start a new phase of development towards mapping out the entire New Zealand Web. The goal we’re driven by is the aim of providing you with the simplest and quickest way to find the website or content you’re looking for on the New Zealand Web.

If you have any feedback or suggestions about the site, we’d love to hear from you. Let us know what you think through our Suggestion Box.

It turns out we’re not the only ones who think NZS.com is tops…

Hitwise have announced that NZS.com has earned a place as a Top 10 Award winner for the quarter running from April to June 2007. Ranked against other Business Directories, we came in at #4. Not bad, eh? Winning websites are determined by the percentage of user visits received, as compared to other sites in their category, during the time period.

Hitwise are online competitive intelligence experts who offer Web geeks a feast of daily insights on the behaviour of 25 million people and 1 million websites, spanning more than 160 industries globally. Tracking Internet usage around the world, Hitwise can help website owners with online branding, search promotion and content strategies.

If you’re interested in seeing how your website measures up against others in your industry, find out more about the Hitwise Top Ten Award Program.

Kiwis in space? That’s the dream of space addict and entrepreneur, Mark Rocket, and the team at Rocket Lab.

As codirector, Rocket is right behind the developments of Rocket Lab, a private space company whose 5.5 metre sub-orbital rocket is due to be launched in September 2008. As well as this latest feather in his cap, Rocket is director and founder of NZS.com, and has a successful tourism directory and Web design company to his name.

Rocket Lab’s technical director, Peter Beck, has been hard at work developing rocket propulsion technology for more than a decade and yesterday unveiled Atea-01 (’atea’ means ’space’ in Te Reo Maori), a sub-orbital space rocket. Beck said the rocket “will be launched using systems designed to deliver high standards of environmental and public safety.” It will fly to a height of 150 kilometres and be available (at a going rate of between $50,000 and $100,000) for scientific testing and research into climate change, micro gravity and atmospheric conditions. Traveling at four times the speed of sound, the unmanned rocket will be powered by a specialised solid fuel, designed for minimal environmental impact.

What makes New Zealand such a great location for space technology development? Rocket says our clear air space and receptive regulatory environment make New Zealand the perfect location for space technology to flourish. Speaking this morning, Rocket is looking foward to a bright future. He has enjoyed “a superb response since Rocket Lab’s public launch yesterday” and is “very excited about the prospect of forming a space industry in New Zealand.”

Trevor Mallard, Minister of Economic Development, agrees. He has praised Rocket Lab’s creative vision and believes their innovative, low cost solutions will not only provide relatively affordable public access to space; they’ll also lead to the creation of an internationally respected sub-orbital space industry in New Zealand, with positive flow-on effects for our aviation and technology sectors. Mallard says Rocket Lab shows pioneering creativity, “leveraging off New Zealand’s unique geographical position and creating a specialist area of technical expertise.”

Stay tuned for further developments: Rocket claims space hotels, launch pads and space lines are all part of the private space industry’s current speedy development.