Soon people will be able to tour downtown Oxford from the comfort of their home or office.
The Oxford Downtown Development Authority last week authorized spending up to $7,500 on a contract with the Troy-based Virtualeyes to construct a 3-dimensional cyber tour of the DDA district complete with an interactive business directory and map.
‘It’s a proven statistic that 70 percent of people coming to your town are going to do research on the web,? said Jerry Detloff, a private consultant working for the DDA. ‘These are things we can’t afford not to be doing especially in today’s age.?
Jason T. Ryan, vice president of sales for Virtualeyes, was on hand to explain to the DDA board exactly what his company can do to help promote the downtown in the rapidly expanding universe of cyber space.
Not only does Virtualeyes build web pages and tours for DDAs and chambers of commerce, Ryan said, ‘We also build city guides that we host on our own site (www.cplanet.com).? There visitors ‘can see a tour of Detroit, Birmingham, Royal Oak? and other cities.
What Virtualeyes plans to do for Oxford’s DDA is design a 2-dimensional interactive map that works in conjunction with a 3-D model, which the company will also construct, to transport cyber tourists all over the downtown area.
One click on the 2-D map automatically takes the on-line visitor to the corresponding portion of the 3-D model which allows them to see the exterior of businesses as if they were walking down the street.
Users ‘are able to interact just like a video game,? Ryan said.
An interactive directory, containing all the businesses in the DDA district divided into various categories, will provide addresses, phone and fax numbers, plus driving directions in both written and map form.
On top of this basic package, the DDA agreed to pay for upgrades that show browsers where all the ATM machines, parking areas and available lease space is located plus offer them cyber coupons.
‘Any business that wants to extend a coupon on the website? can do so, Ryan said. Visitors can then print them out and use them for discounts and special offers.
‘The more of a presence you have, the more e-data you can provide, the better it is,? Detloff told the board.
The annual cost to renew all this is $600 for the DDA, according to the proposal.
Individual businesses can pay for specific upgrades such as having a ‘cyber-spin,? which is a ?360-degree panoramic photo? showing the inside of their store or restaurant on the web.
Menus, press releases, audio and video material and links to websites can also be added for an additional charge.
Normally, the cost to an individual business wishing to have the aforementioned upgrades would be $900 a year. But because the DDA is contracting with Virtualeyes, Ryan said they would be given a discounted price of $750 for the first year, then $500 for each year after.
For businesses that don’t have websites, the services Virtualeyes provides can basically do the same job only with a lot less effort.
‘If they don’t have a website, they can have a powerful web presence without having to go through all the hassle of building one,? Ryan said. ‘They don’t have to market it, they don’t have to maintain it, they don’t have to create content for it. They can use it to piggyback off the marketing efforts the DDA’s doing.?
Detloff said it’s a ‘real opportunity? for businesses that are ‘gun shy? when it comes to developing their own website.
For those that already have a website, Virtualeyes is offering them ‘more bang for their buck? with a link, Detloff said.
‘The two things they’re going to gain by attaching their website to two online communities ? the DDA website and cplanet.com ? (is) it’s going to help their website rank higher,? Ryan said. ‘Link popularity plays a big role in where you rank among (online) search engines. When you’re attached to a site that gets a good amount of traffic, like a chamber of commerce or DDA, your individual site, by being affliated with that site, is going to rank higher than it would than if it’s out there in cyber space all by itself with no links.?
‘So, if you’ve got a mom and pop shop that has a website and if they can attach themselves to a couple active sites that get a lot of traffic, it will help their site.?
shy? when it comes to developing their own website.
For those that already have a website, Virtualeyes is offering them ‘more bang for their buck? with a link, according to Detloff.
‘The two things they’re going to gain by attaching their website to two online communities ? the DDA website and cplanet.com ? (is) it’s going to help their website rank higher,? Ryan said. ‘Link popularity plays a big role in where you rank among (online) search engines. When you’re attached to a site that gets a good amount of traffic, like an online community like a chamber of commerce or DDA, your individual site by being affliated with that site is going to rank higher than it would than if it’s out there in cyber space all by itself with no links.?
‘So, if you’ve got a mom and pop shop that has a website and if they can attach themselves to a couple active sites that get a lot of traffic, it will help their site,? he noted.
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Cplant.com is our company’s website. not only do we build these web pages for DDAs and chamber of commerces, we also build city guides that we host on our own site
on cplanet.com can see a tour of Detroit, Birmingham, Royal Oak, etc.
‘We’ll end up building an Oxford page as well so those businesses will have exposure through the DDA site as well as the exposure they gain from being a part of our site. Double dip for the price of one.?