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Case Studies >> The Hoops Report
Challenge
The Hoops Report is a national college basketball website that provides free college basketball news and information to fans. By visiting The Hoops Report, readers can view articles, bracketology, RPI (Ratings Percentage Index), rankings, NBA Mock Draft and much more. The purpose of The Hoops Report is to serve as a tool for college basketball fans that wish to find valuable information on the sport updated on a daily basis. The goal for The Hoops Report is to become a nationally recognized household name when it comes to an online destination for college basketball fans. The company was created in September 2007 and once the outline was developed a website needed to be created. The Hoops Report turned to IRDS to create and manage the website.
IRDS created a website for The Hoops Report that was a mirror image of the way it was outlined on paper. The website is easy to navigate and easy to administer. A logo was created and is laid out along the top of the website along with links, a search bar and a scroll with the latest headlines. In the middle of the homepage is the main story with a large headline, a preview of the article and a large photo. Below are links to the most recent articles, advertisements and more valuable information towards the bottom of the homepage. Along the left side of the site are links to various sections of the website, team rankings, an advertisement and links to other websites.
Solution
IRDS simplified the admin section of the website for The Hoops Report. When an administrator logs into a special section of the website, they can easily upload files and articles and they are updated on the appropriate section of the website. The ease of updating the website is perhaps the best part of IRDS's management of The Hoops Report. The website can be updated and maintained with a click of the mouse at any minute of the day.
Impact
Upon creating the website, IRDS embedded dozens of appropriate keywords or meta tags into the site to optimize where The Hoops Report would show up in internet search results. In about six months from when the site was launched, The Hoops Report had a Google Page Rank of 4, as did the Bracketology section of the site. In less than two years, The Hoops Report now shows up on the first page of Google search results when the word "bracketology" is searched. For the search term "2010 NBA Mock Draft," The Hoops Report appears on the second page of Google search results.
With the terrific design and functionality of the website, The Hoops Report has been recognized around the internet as one of the leading national college basketball websites. The Hoops Report had record days in June 2009 and December 2009, reaching over 200,000 hits on particular days during those months.