Self-selection is always an issue with research, and without an incentive or even an explicit solicitation for data, you can't be sure just what type of people are speaking up about your site. Testing the technical performance of your site using software is the second category of companies that offer data about user experience. An example in this category is WebCriteria , which sends software bots from its servers to gauge how long pages on your site take to load and how many clicks it takes to get to key areas of your site. Sure, if pages take too long to download, users will be frustrated and might go away. A lot of companies are hopping on the usability bandwagon and positioning their products as quick fixes.
New products pop up every day.
But when all is said and done, there is no substitute for systematic observation of your customers to find out where your site might be going wrong and what you're doing right. As of January 2001, Jeffrey Graham became Director at Dynamic Logic , whose flagship product, AdIndex , measures the branding effectiveness of online advertising. Jeffrey taught Internet Research at New York University and speaks frequently about topics relating to e-marketing. He also co-chairs the Research Special Interest Group for the New York New Media Association. Voice your opinion.