BetterNetworker is the #1 social community for home business owners and network marketers. The site has over 125,000 members, 500 companies, and a site traffic ranking among the top 10,000 websites worldwide. Community members write content, build business relationships, and interact on a lively forum. BetterNetworker also provides an opportunity for visitors to join the Association of Better Networkers (ABN). ABN members receive access to exclusive training seminars, membership badges, and lead capture tools.

The leadership team of BetterNetworker wanted to invigorate the site with new features and attract new ABN members, but needed to ensure the infrastructure and code base could withstand the increased functionality and traffic. The Shimshock Group was hired to serve as system integrator for this revitalization project.

We worked closely with the CEO and CTO to identify key risks, system limitations, and areas for future enhancements. This feedback was then used to prioritize work tasks and ensure we were continuously focused on the most pressing business and user experience issues. The evolution of the BetterNetworker site was rapid and dramatic. Many existing problems were quickly eliminated, allowing us to focus on exciting new opportunities for enhancing user functionality.

Major tasks accomplished during the revitalization project include:

• Implementation of company groups, allowing users to connect, network, and share information with co-workers and interested business parties
• Creation of a streamlined registration and membership process, significantly increasing the number of site registrants and subscribers
• Design and development of a highly flexible lead capture system, allowing users to add tailored lead capture forms to every piece of content they write on the site and companies they represent
• Configuration and implementation of various server tuning techniques to maximize site performance and traffic.
• Creation of numerous informational advertising features to promote the site among community members, including user badges, content blocks, and on-site slideshow presentations.

Our work led to demonstrable increases in BetterNetworker's performance, registration, membership, traffic, and lead generation. During the course of the revitalization project we observed the following results:

• 74% improvement in site traffic rankings
• 123% increase in leads captured
• 72% increase in registered users
• 500% increase in paid subscribers
• Highest site traffic days in over two years
• 51% increase in weekly site visitors
• Developed 10 of the top 20 most visited pages

The significant improvements made to BetterNetworker.com has led to increased interest by visitors, impressive SEO gains, improved revenue, increased site uptime, and a surge in user-generated content. The site is prime for future growth and clearly outshines all other sites in the home business and network marketing industries.