iWon.com Ranked 1st Among Search and Portal Sites in User Satisfaction; In Recent NPD Survey, iWon.com Topped the Charts in 12 of 21 Categories in User Satisfaction and Loyalty

Business Wire, July 12, 2000

Business Editors and High-Tech Writers

IRVINGTON, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 12, 2000

iWon.com, one of the fastest growing websites in Internet history, has been ranked 1st in User Satisfaction in the Search and Portal Site Tracking Study conducted by The NPD Group, a leading independent provider of marketing information on consumer purchasing and behavior in the U.S. and around the world. A newcomer to the long running study, the nine-month old iWon.com ranked either No. 1 or No. 2 in 20 of the 21 attributes used to determine user satisfaction for a website.

The NPD Tracking Study asks a representative sample of visitors to major search and portal sites to rate the sites on 21 key attributes as to their level of user satisfaction. More than 27,000 surveys were completed by users regarding the following participants; Yahoo!, AOL, Excite, Lycos, MSN, Netscape, Alta Vista, Ask Jeeves, Google, The GO Network, GoTo, WebCrawler, HotBot, and iWon. This study has been conducted every quarter since 1997.

The Results

iWon ranked either No. 1 or No. 2 in 20 of the 21 attributes examined, making iWon the clear winner in the user satisfaction category.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
iWon ranks 1st in the                 iWon ranks 2nd in the
following categories:                 following categories:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Site delivers the most             -- Search results are
   up to date information                relevant and accurate
----------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Information delivered is           -- Site is easy to use
   well organized                        and navigate
----------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Site offers other services         -- Site delivers comprehensive
   besides search                        results
----------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Allows me to personalize the       -- Overall site content
   site to my interests and needs        meets my needs
----------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Site looks appealing               -- Site delivers a good time for
                                         my value spent
----------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Site is fun to use                 -- Pages load quickly when
                                         accessed
----------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Site makes me feel part of a       --  Site is reliable -- little to
   community                              no downtime
----------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Site has ads that are relevant     -- Site has online customer
   to me                                 service capabilities
----------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Site has interesting contests
   and surveys
----------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Site makes it easy to buy things
   over the Internet
----------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Site has a good reputation
----------------------------------------------------------------------
-- Site has security controls
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Additional findings include:

-- No. 1 - Loyalty Rating -- Eighty-one percent of iWon users

indicate that they have bookmarked the site, a rating

higher than any other site polled.

-- No. 2 - Personalized Web Page -- Forty-six percent of iWon

users have personalized their My iWon page, second by a

percentage point.

-- No. 2 - User Rating -- Forty-three percent of the iWon

users surveyed use the site more often than any other

search and portal site. Seventy-nine percent of users

surveyed have visited the site during four or more of

their last five online sessions.

-- No. 2 - Recommended to a Friend -- Ninety-one percent of

iWon users have or plan to recommend iWon to a friend.

"Being named No. 1 in User Satisfaction by the NPD Group, is a tremendous accomplishment for our organization," said Bill Daugherty, Founder and co-CEO, iWon. "We've been working incredibly hard to make iWon a great site and it's nice to see these efforts recognized."

About the Study

The NPD Search and Portal Site Tracking Study was conducted during the second quarter 2000 using the NPD Online Research SiteSelect methodology, which selects a randomized sample of visitors to a client's web site and invites them to complete a survey through an ad banner invitation. For this study, ad banners were placed in general rotation on each of the participating sites. More than 27,000 site visitors completed the survey.

About iWon

Launched only nine months ago, iWon currently attracts one out of every nine people who visit the Web from work, and one out of every ten people who visit the web from home (Media Metrix, May). iWon has also been ranked No. 1 in User Satisfaction among the leading search engines and portal sites (NPD Search and Portal Tracking Study). iWon.com provides users with world-class content and functionality with leading partners such as Associated Press, CBS, CBS MarketWatch, Inktomi, the Industry Standard, CBS MarketWatch, RealNames, Reuters, CBS Sportsline, Sun Micro Systems, TheStreet.com, Travelocity, and WeatherNews Inc.