Our roster of eBusiness Index Websites have their work cut out for them in 2010. Most have aced the basic design, call to action, and investor relations tests, but are whiffing on the all important communities and social media fronts. Search is a huge challenge — and industry marketing behaviors are downright embarrassing.

Meanwhile, IBM.com and Cisco.com are gliding like swans amidst the carnage. IBM.com is bigger, but Cisco.com matches it on the usability front.

siteIQ evaluated 23 leading IT Websites to identify their key strengths and challenges.  Evaluations were conducted using the siteIQ  Best Practices Benchmark, which measures 1,232 types of content, features & capabilities, plus 119 metrics that measure usability from the visitor’s point of view.

Our latest report provides an in-depth look at these sites’ most important strength & challenges and identifies why IBM.com and Cisco.com rank as the current industry leaders.

Highlights

  • IBM.com ranks first and garners a three star rating (above average) – but Cisco.com is hot on its heels. HP.com and IBM.com provide the most content & features, but Cisco.com matches IBM.com’s usability & effectiveness.
  • Cisco.com ranks second and also garners a three star rating. Cisco.com’s claim to fame lies in its search, channel/partnership marketing, and call to action capabilities.
  • HP.com ranks third, but only achieves a two star rating (average). HP.com aces all comers in the corporate marketing, industry marketing and investor relations categories.
  • Dell.com brings up the fourth place position, and also achieves a two star rating. Dell.com’s most significant strength is (you guessed it) e-commerce and purchasing processes.
  • CA.com completes the top five, with a two star rating and solid performance in the corporate events category.

This comprehensive report includes detailed rankings & ratings for each Website in the study.

Rankings & ratings are provided for:  Website design, navigation, search, corporate marketing, product marketing, services marketing, industry marketing, channel marketing communities, ecommerce, support, & training.