WEB SITE IMPROVEMENTS: CLASSIFIEDS GO ONLINE

Looking for a new car, a new job, a new home? The Southeast Missourian is offering readers access to classified advertisements online.

Addition of classified ads is just one of several new developments on SEMissourian.com, the official website of the Southeast Missourian.

"We are thrilled to have our classifieds online," said Pat Zellmer, advertising director for the Southeast Missourian. "This is another service to our readers and an added value for anyone placing a line ad."

All classified line ads are automatically uploaded to the World Wide Web. Once there, the ads are searchable by categories. The page is designed to be easy to use, even for beginners.

"To me it's like magic," Zellmer said. "A reader seeking information on an automobile can search for that kind of automobile and information appears on the computer screen."

In addition to the Southeast Missourian classified ads, online readers will have access to regional and soon national classified ads. "By the end of the year, we should be offering our online readers 250,000 classified ads," Zellmer said. "It's not an overnight event, but it should be a real help to our readers and advertisers." Regional newspapers across the country are collaborating to bring together their databases of advertisements.

Zellmer added that local businesses have an opportunity to place display ads on the website for a nominal charge.

Databases, which include huge amounts of information and are searchable by key words, prove among the most popular aspects of the Internet, explained Joni Adams, director of the Missourian's online product.

In response to that popularity, the online staff has developed a number of other database products for Internet readers.

The new Cyber Kitchen features recipes collected through two newspaper contests. More than 200 chocolate recipes and nearly 50 meatloaf recipes are available in a searchable format.

The kitchen also includes a place to share and read favorite recipes from other online visitors and an archived Recipe of the Day.

Local food columnist Tom Harte's advice and recipes, which are published in the Southeast Missourian on Wednesday, will also appear online. Readers can e-mail recipes to Harte directly from the Cyber Kitchen.

Newspaper columns by University of Missouri-Extension nutrition specialist Judy Lueders will also be available on the Internet. And visitors will find links to the hottest recipe and food sites on the Web.

The Cyber Kitchen is sponsored locally by Schnucks. Schnucks will announce a new online service this week.

The Tipoff Magazine's extensive calendar of events in the region is accessible online. Events are searchable by date.

A new business package is also going online, featuring Southeast Missourian Business Editor Ray Owen's award-winning local business reports. His columns about local business action, changes and additions in personnel and upcoming events can be found on the newspaper's website.

Adams said the online staff plans to continue enhancing SEMissourian.com.

"We already have good traffic to the site," she said. "But we want to build more reasons for visitors to come back every day." The website averages 25,000 to 35,000 visits a week.

On the drawing boards for the next few months are searchable lists of doctors, lawyers and churches in the region. The databases will include basic information, including name, phone number, address, specialty, denomination, etc.