The Internet has grown into an important, widely used source of information for HVACR contractors, andThe NewsWeb site (www.achrnews.com) has grown along with it.

Complementing the print magazine, the Web site provides immediate access to all current articles as well as all archived articles back to 1999. In addition, various enhancements have also been made to provide added value to News readers. The latest enhancement, How-To Corner, will be introduced in the coming weeks to provide even more technical content to Web visitors.

By The Numbers

Back in January 2000,The NewsWeb site received 65,782 hits, according to WebTrends statistics. As of January 2005, the site is now averaging over 2.5 million hits per month. Page views per month currently average about 1.4 million. Visits now average about 150,000 a month, with approximately 70,000 unique visitors.

As these numbers indicate, there is consistent high interest in gaining HVACR information via the Web and specifically through the pages of The News site.

Value-Added Features

Besides the full content of the print magazine, the Web site has incorporated additional content and features of interest to readers. The Extra Edition page provides Web-exclusive articles for subscribers in three areas our reader surveys show are most important: service and maintenance, technical, and business management. New articles are provided every two weeks and they are also archived on this page under their respective categories.

Career Center was launched together with HVAC Agent to provide an online resource for both HVACR job seekers and employers. Through HVAC Agent, the Career Center provides a network of companies who, by banding together, have gained the economies of scale to enable nationwide job listings for employers at a cost-effective price, and nationwide searches for job seekers for free.

To tackle the need for training, the Learning Center was introduced. Through Ruth King's HVACChannel.tv, the Learning Center supplies televised training over the Internet, at the user's convenience and with any speed connection. Programs may be viewed at regularly scheduled times, on demand as needed, or through the program library.

The New How-To Corner

The How-To Corner, which will be introduced at the 2005 Air-Conditioning, Heating, Refrigerating Exposition (AHR Expo), is a section whereNewsadvertisers will provide exclusive how-to technical articles to aid our contractor readers.

These articles will provide installation tips, service information, troubleshooting guidelines, and other relevant information. And the articles will be generic, not manufacturer-specific, to provide maximum value for contractors, technicians, and installers.

This will be an area where manufacturers can assist in educating and training today's workforce and where contractors can find more technical and business information to help grow their HVACR businesses. This section will be inaugurated with several sample articles, then transition to advertiser-contributed articles.

The How-To Corner is the next step in the evolution of The News Web site. It's designed to be a win-win for advertisers and readers for the mutual benefit of the industry.

Publication date: 01/24/2005