iApps v2.8 Delivers SEO and Blogging Capabilities

Announcing iAPPS V2.8 – Delivers Industry Leading SEO and Blogging Capabilities          

BURLINGTON, Mass., Sept. 30, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bridgeline Digital, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLIN), a provider in cloud-based Web Content Management, eCommerce and Marketing Automation software, announced the release of iAPPS v2.8, which includes a series of improvements principally focused on enhancing the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and social networking capabilities of iAPPS Content Manager, Bridgeline’s flagship web content management software product. The iAPPS Product Suite is an innovative SaaS solution that unifies Content Management, Analytics, eCommerce, and eMarketing capabilities - enabling users to swiftly enhance and optimize the value of their web properties.

The importance of being found online by customers and prospects is a key driver to the SEO enhancements that are part of iAPPS v2.8. Auto-generated 301 redirects put iAPPS uniquely ahead of other licensed content management systems and eliminate negative ramifications, such as diminished search engine rankings, that can result when page names within a website are changed and improperly managed. 301 redirects are the most effective and SEO friendly method to handle changes to page names. Search engines, such as Google, expect that anytime they send a user to a page on a website they have previously indexed, that page will exist. Users of search engines also expect that links within their search results will function properly. Website page names, however, sometimes change to reflect the needs and demands of the dynamic environment that businesses operate in. In these situations, URL redirection can be used to inform search engines of a page name change in order to avoid Page Not Found errors, or 404 errors. With iAPPS v2.8, a 301 redirect is automatically put in place anytime a website page name is changed within the content management system, eliminating the normally mandatory involvement of expensive technical resources, and ensuring the highest level of user satisfaction and search engine ranking.

Additionally, with automatic XML sitemap creation, iAPPS v2.8 makes one of the most standard, yet often overlooked SEO tactics a non-issue. An XML sitemap is a simple way to alert search engines to all of the pages on a website that are available, and in some cases, not available for indexing. Just like a GPS makes navigating in a car that much more effective, XML sitemaps help search engines more intelligently crawl through a website by listing all available page URLs along with additional data about each page such as how often it changes and when it was last updated. Without an XML sitemap, a website may not have all of its pages indexed and may not be ranked to its full potential. With iAPPS v2.8, all page and navigation changes or additions to a website are automatically updated in the XML sitemap, alerting search engines to index those changes and ensuring the maximum possible search ranking. And like automatic 301 redirects, all of this is done without relying on a single technical resource.

iAPPS v2.8 also includes a series of Web 2.0 enhancements such as blog creation and management, page commenting and rating, and rich media management. The blog capabilities of v2.8 now make the addition of a blog to any iAPPS-managed website a straightforward process through a simple and efficient creation tool within Content Manager. Additional features enable the easy maintenance of iAPPS blogs such as post and comment management tools, CAPTCHA functionality to ensure comments are not computer generated, a fully functional text editor, and user registration. Supplemental features help to improve site SEO and allow for faceted search of posts by topic or keyword, enhancing the user experience by enabling quick and easy location of relevant blog topics.

With the release of iAPPS v2.8, Bridgeline further extends their position as an innovation leader in integrated web application management software. Bridgeline customers benefit from a superior user experience through tighter and deeper product integration, more timely and targeted data for improved decision making, and industry leading functionality for more effective management of web content.

To learn more about the iAPPS Product Suite, visit: http://www.bridgelinedigital.com. Or call Bridgeline at 800-603-9936.

About Bridgeline Digital

Bridgeline Digital, The Digital Engagement Company™, helps customers maximize the performance of their full digital experience - from websites and intranets to online stores and campaigns. Bridgeline's Unbound (formerly iAPPS®) platform deeply integrates Web Content Management, eCommerce, eMarketing, Social Media management, and Web Analytics to help marketers deliver digital experiences that attract, engage, nurture and convert their customers across all channels. Headquartered in Burlington, Mass., Bridgeline has thousands of quality customers that range from small- and medium-sized organizations to Fortune 1000 companies. To learn more, please visit www.bridgeline.com or call (800) 603-9936.