By Gwen Green (gagreen@ualr.edu)
Feb. 16, 2010
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - As more people shop online and use the Internet to find products and services, small businesses need to optimize their Web sites or risk missing out on traffic and sales. The Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center teaches small businesses how to optimize their sites so they will rank high in Google and other search engines.
Upon request, the center analyzes the Web sites of small businesses at no charge and provides detailed reports that explain in plain language how to optimize each page. The analysis covers a site's title, keywords, page descriptions, content, links, navigation and more.
A well-optimized site not only increases visitors but also increases sales by attracting customers who are actively searching for a specific product or service to purchase. Due to the low cost of search engine optimization and the associated increased sales, most small businesses enjoy a high return-on-investment for even modest optimization efforts.
Businesses that don't sell their products or services online can still benefit from an optimized site. Optimization is an inexpensive marketing tactic that can help businesses acquire new customers. For example, consumers frequently search for a specific type of business in a particular geographic area. When a business optimizes its pages with geographic identifiers like "Arkansas" or a specific city plus a keyword about the business, then it mirrors the search terms and should rank higher in Google and other search results. A business's use of social media can also improve its search engine rankings.
For more information about ASBTDC's Web site optimization services, call (501) 683-7700.
The ASBTDC offers small business training, consulting and market research through a statewide network of seven offices and is a partnership of the U.S. Small Business Administration, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock's College of Business and other institutions of higher education.
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