I started this week by chauffeuring my mom and her dog to and from various medical appointments for the both of them -- in the 110 degree heat of Phoenix. Just getting from the car to the front door of any building made me feel like something was sucking out my brains. I'm still recovering, so I haven't had the time to read and think as much as I might like to, and that makes blogging hard!

Several interesting things did show up in my inbox/reader this week, though, and I want to share them with you:

Bethany Little, Director of Interactive Services, Convio, Inc.

The Autism Society of America is the oldest, largest membership organization dedicated to Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). With 190,000 members and supporters, ASA has 182 chapters around the USA and 29 international affiliated parent organizations.

Before 2007, ASA was consistently ranked first or second on Google searches for the keyword "autism". Its fundraising initiatives were paper driven, and it had launched a toll-free help line (1-800-3Autism). Chapters were launching their own Web sites at a rapid pace, and ASA was the only national group dedicated to ASD.

In 2007, major changes took place: The Centers for Disease Control announced that there was a 1 in 150 prevalence of ASD. Major media coverage in January, February and April 2007 quadrupled Web traffic, yet there was little conversion and ASA's rankings on Google's search engine had dropped to 3rd or 4th.

ASA's Director of Communications Marguerite Kirst-Colston took notice and determined the organization’s battle plan would be "Search – Convert – and Conquer."