You’re investing time and money in your business, so why not invest of your profits in the broader Web community. Below you’ll find # publicly traded Web, technology and software companies that would make good additions to your investment portfolio. While we’re in no way qualified to say whether these companies would actually make good investments, they are on their own noteworthy companies in their respective industries and deserve the attention of the broader investing world.

There are clearly way more Web, software and technology companies that you could invest in but consider this a starting point to opportunities outside of the obvious (Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc.).

Zix (formerly ZixIt) offers secure e-mail software and services for corporate customers. Its products enable users to transmit encrypted e-mail and documents to any address in the world; recipients who are not service subscribers can access the messages through the company's ZixMail.net portal. The company also offers an electronic prescribing service that allows physicians to use a handheld device to prescribe drugs and transmit prescriptions electronically.

Websense provides employee Internet management, Web filtering, and security software designed to help businesses monitor and improve employee productivity, control what content employees can access, and reduce network bandwidth and storage usage. Companies use the Websense Enterprise software to monitor and report employee Internet usage, block access to certain content, and set time periods for when access is available. Clients such as McDonald's and the US Army subscribe to the hosted service, which checks for compliance against a proprietary database of more than 180 million Web sites in about 90 categories.

Vocus produces software to help automate a variety of public relations tasks such as organizing media contacts, managing news collection, and analyzing public relations effectiveness. Users vary from not-for-profits and the government to corporations and public relations professionals. The company also offers a proprietary information database of over 800,000 journalists, analysts, media outlets and publicity opportunities.

Support.com (formerly SupportSoft) provides Web-based support software which identifies and repairs hardware and software problems, reducing the need for technical support staffing. The company serves consumers and small businesses, with its offerings available through its Web site and through partners such as retailers, broadband providers, and anti-virus software providers.

SourceForge produces Web sites aimed primarily at open source software developers and other technology enthusiasts. The company's Web sites include SourceForge.net (an online collaborative development site), Slashdot.org (peer-produced and -moderated technology news), Linux.com (information regarding Linux migration strategies), and Freshmeat.net (open source software directory). It also operates ThinkGeek, an online shop for apparel, books, and tech gadgets.

Rackspace provides a range of Web hosting and managed network services for businesses. It primarily offers traditional hosting services with dedicated servers, but it has expanded into cloud hosting, which lets customers utilize pooled server resources on an on-demand basis. Rackspace also provides hosted collaboration, email, and file back-up applications. The company markets its service operations under the name Fanatical Support. It has more than 50,000 enterprise customers and operates nine data centers located in the US, Hong Kong, and the UK.

Open Text hopes to enhance communication by opening the book on enterprise content management (ECM). The company develops software used to search corporate intranets, manage documents and workflows, collaborate on business projects from different locations, and handle group scheduling tasks. Open Text's offerings also include software for managing collections of cataloged information, library automation, and group scheduling, as well as vertical offerings for such industries as pharmaceutical, legal, oil and gas, financial services, and media. Customers have included Motorola, Nortel Networks, and the US Army Reserve; key strategic partners include Microsoft and Oracle.

Openwave is all for opening new lines of communication. The company, which developed much of the technology behind the wireless application protocol (WAP) standard, provides software and services that wireless operators use to give customers Internet and corporate intranet access from their mobile phones. Its applications allow service providers to offer e-mail, Web navigation, and messaging services to mobile users. Openwave also offers infrastructure software to automate tasks such as billing and service provisioning and it offers managed application services. The company's customers include Sprint and KDDI. About half of Openwave's sales come from customers outside North America.

Keynote Systems provides Internet performance management services to all manner of companies with a Web presence. Using a network of computers connected to Internet backbones in more than 200 cities worldwide, Keynote monitors the speed of such activities as conducting e-commerce transactions, downloading Web pages, or using wireless applications to help clients identify information bottlenecks. It offers qualitative research and consulting services covering online behavior, industry trends, and customer satisfaction to help clients improve the customer experience. Keynote also tests and measures the performance of mobile devices.

Kana Software provides customer relationship management (CRM) software for call centers and e-commerce Web sites. Kana's software capabilities include customer service interaction through live Web chat, e-mail, telephone, and customer self-serve portals. It also offers applications that assist with and guide agents through conversations with customers. Other key offerings include consulting, technical support, and training services. Kana Software serves companies in the telecommunications, manufacturing, financial services, and health care industries.

Lionbridge Technologies wants to be king of the jungle at bridging the language gap. The company offers translation, or localization, of software, user manuals, Web content, and other materials, preparing them for international use by tailoring them to individual languages and cultures. The firm also supplies human interpreters to government agencies and businesses. Additionally Lionbridge provides testing services: Under its VeriTest brand, the company checks Web sites, software, and hardware to ensure their quality. Microsoft accounts for about 20% of sales, and other clients have included Google, Volvo, and Nikon.

Liquidity Services (LSI) is an online auction firm providing manufacturers, retailers, and corporations with an electronic business-to-business marketplace to dispose of, liquidate, and track goods in the reverse supply chain. About 1 million buyers are registered for the firm's online marketplaces, through which they can bid for wholesale, surplus, and salvage assets like retail customer returns, overstock products, and end-of-life goods. LSI also offers valuation, appraisal, inventory, marketing, sale, and logistical management of assets; warehousing and inspection of inventory; and transaction support such as payment collection and dispute mediation.

iMergent helps you cast a wide net for Internet shoppers. The company provides software and e-commerce services that enable small businesses to establish online storefronts. Its software helps merchants to create and maintain their e-commerce site and process orders. The company promotes seminars around the country to sell its products to aspiring e-commerce mavens. iMergent also offers related services such as consulting, creative design, transaction processing, data warehousing, and help desk support.

GigaMedia develops and licenses online gaming software, provides application consulting and development services, and operates an online gaming service. Its software portfolio includes gaming management tools used to provide online games, monitor user behavior, and manage transactions. The company's online entertainment includes casual games such as poker and mahjong, as well as online role-playing games. GigaMedia's development and consulting services range from infrastructure design to transaction processing and customer support. The company continues to operate its legacy business, providing broadband Internet service.

Digital River helps keep the e-commerce flowing. The company provides technology and services that enable its clients to sell their products on the Web without building an e-commerce platform from the ground up. Using its own proprietary server technology, Digital River offers Web development and hosting, transaction processing, fulfillment, and fraud screening services to more than 40,000 customers operating online retail and distribution businesses. It also provides its customers with Web traffic data that allows them to better market their online presence. Security software client Symantec accounted for 24% of total sales in 2008. Digital River has been growing through a steady stream of acquisitions.

Citrix Systems is taking connectivity to the next level. The company provides access infrastructure products that enable PCs, IP phones, and other devices to remotely and securely access applications across wired and wireless networks, freeing customers from facing the difficult task of installing and updating software on each piece of hardware. Its product line includes application virtualization software, VPN appliances, and password management tools, with most applications capable of being deployed in both Windows and UNIX-based computing environments. The company also offers online managed services for meetings and presentations, technical support, and remote desktop access.

BroadVision gives companies a peek into the world of customer self-service. The company provides software applications that enable businesses to offer their customers personalized self-service via the Internet. BroadVision's software suite includes applications for integrating business processes with self-service operations; managing the sales process, including lead generation, execution, and customer service; connecting customers to personalized online views of content; and managing content from creation through distribution.

Since today is Affiliate Wednesday here at Website Magazine, we thought we’d profile some of the newest advertisers on ShareaSale and Commission Junction. If you’re an affiliate network and would like to have your advertisers featured in this newsletter, please contact us at editors@websitemagazine.com.

Shareasale

Keep on Truckin’ with KOT Apparel: Promote official T-Shirts featuring the exclusive work of pioneer cartoon artist Robert Crumb. Offers 10% commissions, bonuses and periodic sales contests. Featuring Crumb’s best-known characters that launched the underground “comix” movement, and adding new genre-specific illustrations throughout the year, this site is perfect for clothing, gift and humor affiliate marketers.

Easter gifts from The PaperDoll Store: Start earning 10% commissions on every order of invitations, holiday cards, stationery and much more, with average orders of nearly $150. A perfect fit for affiliate marketers such as photographers, wedding planners, party planners, parenting bloggers and children’s retailers. Offers monthly affiliate promotions and product data feed for enhanced marketing capabilities.

Spring cleaning with TheHardwareCity.com: Join forces with an online retailer with over 45,000 products for consumers’ home, garden, painting, electrical, automotive and construction needs. Commissions are 8% per sale on the full product line, with average order values of $70. Features a full line of Green products, classic favorites and everything else from the trendy to the unique.

Get in the Game with C & I Collectables: Earn 25% commissions on every sale from a leading sports memorabilia retailer, in business since 1990. Comprehensive inventory includes trading cards, framed photos and plaques from every major sport, as well as numerous non-sports items ideal for a variety of affiliate partners. Average orders are between $50-$75, with many loyal customers buying multiple times.

Unique Items from HolyLanDirect: Convert sales of a growing collection of Catholic gifts, Christian jewelry, Holy Land gifts, Byzantine icons, Dead Sea cosmetics, anointing oils and other gifts delivered directly from Israel. Affiliate program benefits include 20% commission on all sales, bonuses and 365 days cookie duration. This high-quality, unique collection of more than 300 products is a great fit for partners reaching out to the vast Catholic and Christian market.

Commission Junction

Web Hosting/Servers at CoreCommerce: Here’s one for the business-to-business affiliates. E-commerce hosting solution CoreCommerce is offering affiliates earnings three times the sale price on a 120-day cookie. A 15-day free trial is available, acting as a good incentive.

Gourmet Goods from Mackenzieltd.com: A modest 4% affiliate payout is offered. Couple that with an average $120 order size and 5% conversion rate and a 45-day cookie, and there is an opportunity for some low-pressure sales. 

Vacation at CityPass: Promote a simple way to vacation in North America as a CityPass affiliate. CityPass is a ticket booklet containing an actual admission ticket to attractions in New York, Atlanta, Houston, Chicago, Hollywood and others. A 6% commission is standard and the referral period is 60 days. Performance incentives are available. 

Jewelry at Père de Temps: Promote this collection of mechanical hand-assembled jeweled watches and earn a commission rate of 12% (average order value is $450). The referral period for this program is 90 days, presenting affiliates a good opportunity in the often long sales cycle of the jewelry industry.

Shoes From Teva: Partner up with the premier brand in outdoor sports sandals. With a 45-day referral period and an 8% commission, some creative content development could certainly generate some response.

Real Time Search (RTS) like Google Suggest can be loads of fun, but it’s main purpose is fourfold:

1. Quicker searching
2. Catch a mistakes in spelling by providing common spellings
3. Provide relevant pages quickly and
4. Repeat your previous favorite searches

A fifth one would be to provide entertainment, but it’s all about making search faster. When you start typing common searched terms start popping up. Bing and Yahoo also join in by providing their own RTS ideas. All three use their own algorithm to provide suggestions, but one thing they all pay attention to is what people are searching for.

Real Time Search for Popular Keywords

Real Time Search can also be a resource for popular terms to optimize for in your city. What are people looking for? Houses? computers? Puppies? Burritos? Add your city to generic terms that your business would be associated with and see if it pops up as a phrase in the suggested search terms.

If it does, it means people are looking for it. If people are looking for it, it’s time to consider how you can harness that for your SEO strategy. If it doesn’t, don’t worry, you have discovered a niche to call your own.

Real Time Search to Measure Branding

I had the opportunity to be on the ground floor of a marketing campaign for a local plumbing company. The initial SEO brought the website to page 5 and they opted to put money into radio and print. At this time, the company name did not come up in Real Time Searches at all. That was understandable. No one knew the company existed. After a week of radio and print advertising, the real time search result of its name appeared. People were searching for it, the analytics proved it as well. Put your own business name and see if people are searching for you or if they are talking about you.

The SEO possibility

Real Time Search can help you spot what people are looking for. Play around with your keywords in Google Suggest and see what pops up.  You might spot some missing opportunities that an adjustment to your website can benefit from.

Check out The Adventures of SEO Boy: Heroic Feats of Search Engine Optimization at http://www.seoboy.com/. Copyright © 2008-2009 Hanapin Marketing, LLC.

Automattic (the developers behind WordPress) have released VaultPress and it may just amount to the best security and backup solution for WordPress available.

According to the formal announcement from Matt Mullenweg, "The vision of VaultPress is to ensure that blogs and sites under its care are always completely secure, regardless of what happens. Today, this means every bit of content will be safe, from plugins and themes to the smallest comment or post revision, with WordPress-aware, real-time, multi-cloud backups. This is some of the most advanced technology I’ve seen interact with WordPress."

Keep in mind that this is much more than just a plugin to create backups. The product aims to guard your site again dangerous and fraudulent activity through real-time and continuous monitoring – even updating fixes automatically. Interested users can sign up for VaultPress in private beta.

The Yahoo Publisher Network (YPN) notified its publishers that the program will cease to operate starting April 30, 2010. The program seemed to be in full swing back in 2007 but has since fallen out of sight – perhaps thanks to the introduction of the APT platform.

In the email notification to publishers, Yahoo! suggested using advertising network Chitika, a well respected contextual network which happens to syndicates Yahoo! Content Match and Sponsored Search ads. Chitika has set up a special process for YPNO beta publishers to participate in its platform.

Should you still be using YPN, expect the final payments for the month ending April 30, 2010 to publishers no later than May 31, 2010. All publishers eligible for 1099s for the 2010 tax year will have those mailed by January 31, 2011.

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