Red Lobster Selects WebSideStory's On-Demand Web Analytics to Improve Marketing and E-Commerce Initiatives

Red Lobster Selects WebSideStory's On-Demand Web Analytics to Improve Marketing and E-Commerce Initiatives

Nation's No. 1 Seafood Chain Plans to Gauge the Effectiveness of Its Overboard Club Membership Program

SAN DIEGO, Jan. 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- WebSideStory (www.websidestory.com) (NASDAQ:WSSI), a leading provider of on-demand Web analytics, today announced that Red Lobster, the nation's largest seafood chain with more than 680 restaurants, has selected the company's award-winning analytics service, HBX, to improve its online marketing performance and enhance e-commerce initiatives. Red Lobster, along with the Olive Garden chain, is the flagship of Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI), the nation's leading operator of casual-dining restaurants. Red Lobster (www.redlobster.com) plans to use the HBX service to gauge the effectiveness of its membership program, increase site conversions and pinpoint online cross-sell opportunities. Red Lobster, founded in 1968 in Lakeland, Fla., sells a variety of fresh seafood products online with overnight delivery, including live Maine lobster, salmon and lobster bakes. Additionally, Red Lobster offers gift cards online and a variety of brand apparel merchandise.

"Our online strategy is increasingly important to us and we needed a world-class Web analytics tool to help us achieve our objectives," said Mike Friedman, interactive marketing manager for Red Lobster. "The HBX service addressed all of our unique online business analytics challenges and is simple and easy to use."

One of Red Lobster's core online marketing objectives is to gauge the success of its membership program, called the Overboard Club, in generating both online sales and restaurant traffic. With HBX's Active Segmentation capability, the company can examine the behavior of club members versus non-club members and see which is more likely to make a purchase, sign up for newsletters or use the restaurant locator. "We want to see exactly how much difference loyalty makes in the consumer's interaction with our brand," Friedman said. Red Lobster can use HBX reports to see which factors lead to visitors becoming members, such as what content they viewed, what navigational paths they took, and which campaigns or search engine keywords they responded to.

"Red Lobster is one of the biggest names in the restaurant industry and you can see why: They don't leave their success to chance," said Rand Schulman, chief marketing officer for WebSideStory. "Smart companies realize that the best way to gauge the effectiveness of their online channel and increase marketing and sales performance is through actionable Web analytics."

HBX is an award-winning, on-demand visitor analysis and reporting service that delivers real-time information about online visitor and customer behavior. More than 700 enterprises use HBX analytics to improve the performance of their online business initiatives in e-commerce, entertainment, publishing, financial services, travel and more. For more information, please visit http://www.hbxondemand.com/ or call 888-844-8269.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this press release that are not a description of historical

facts are forward-looking statements. You should not regard any forward- looking statement as a representation by WebSideStory that any of its plans will be achieved. Actual results may differ materially from those set forth in this release due to the risks and uncertainties inherent in WebSideStory's business including, without limitation: WebSideStory's limited experience in an emerging market with unproven business and technology models; WebSideStory's reliance on its Web analytics services for the majority of its revenue; WebSideStory's recent achievement of profitability and the risk that it may not maintain its profitability; the highly competitive markets in which WebSideStory operates that may make it difficult for the company to retain customers; the risk that WebSideStory's customers fail to renew their agreements; the risk that WebSideStory's services may become obsolete in a market with rapidly changing technology and industry standards; and other risks described in WebSideStory's Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including WebSideStory's prospectus dated September 27, 2004, and its form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2004. Do not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this news release. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement and WebSideStory undertakes no obligation to revise or update this news release to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this news release.

About WebSideStory

WebSideStory is a leading provider of on-demand Web analytics services. WebSideStory's services collect data from Web browsers, process that data and deliver reports of online behavior to our customers on demand. More than 700 enterprises currently use WebSideStory's services to understand how Internet users respond to Web site design and content, online marketing campaigns and e-commerce offerings. As a result, WebSideStory's customers can make more effective marketing decisions and improve the merchandising, sales, support and design of their Web sites. For more information, contact WebSideStory, Inc. Voice: 858 546-0040. Fax: 858.546.0480. Address: 10182 Telesis Court, 6th Floor, San Diego, CA 92121. Web site: www.WebSideStory.com. HBX is a trademark and WebSideStory is a registered trademark of WebSideStory. Other trademarks belong to their respective owners.


Source: WebSideStory, Inc.

CONTACT: Erik Bratt of WebSideStory, Inc., +1-858-546-0040 ext. 365,
ebratt@websidestory.com

Web site: http://www.redlobster.com/

Web site: http://www.hbxondemand.com/

Web site: http://www.websidestory.com/


-------
Profile: intent