Why Your Economic Development Organization Needs Its Own URL

The pandemic has transformed the way business is done everywhere. Once the world was driven (nearly completely) online, websites became even more critical. That isn’t going to change. No matter how much a community offers, a web presence can make or break the perception of an economic development organization. If directing site selectors and talent to your website means sending them to a dedicated section of your affiliated city or county website, you’re behind the curve, and now’s the time to change.

5 Reasons Every Economic Development Organization Needs Its Own URL

#1 Websites With Their Own URL Get Far More Traffic

Clean, custom, standalone URLs are more search engine-friendly. Not only do shorter URLs tend to rank higher, but when a custom URL comes up in a search, the result looks meaningful instead of random. In addition to that tremendous advantage, your control over your own site allows you to utilize more keywords.

#2 Having Your Own Domain Name Gives You More Control Over Your Brand Identity

EDOs with custom URLs aren’t limited by branding or design constraints. This creative liberty makes a huge difference. For example, look at the Pflugerville, TX, municipal website. This site could navigate more efficiently but still has the basic information the locals need. The trouble is that the website isn’t compelling enough to attract site selectors and a motivated workforce. Instead of presenting its information within the constraints of the municipal site, Pflugerville Community Development Corporation decided to create its own URL, which offers an exhaustive menu of information and dynamic content, ideal for site selectors looking to relocate or expand, or for workforce looking for greater quality of life. The site also includes captivating aerial video footage of the community. In short, having your own URL gives you more autonomy and room to innovate and expand.

#3 A Simple, Meaningful URL is More Legitimate

Not only is it easier for people to remember a unique URL, but it also looks better on all your branded materials than the long, elaborate URL from a subsection of another site. In addition, when housed under the city site, there’s just no way to include all of the data, demographics, and information that site selectors and talent are looking for. Having a separate website allows your organization to showcase relevant data and demographics, community profiles, news, incentives, available properties, quality of life, events, business success stories, and more!

#4 EDO Email Addresses Carry More Authority

In addition to being more memorable, an email address that matches your URL looks more professional and legitimate. It’s also a simple way to reinforce your branding at a glance. More importantly, email addresses that are clearly URL-specific are far less likely to look like spam to anyone you’re not in regular email contact with. Administratively, they also tend to be easier for your EDO to organize and manage internally. 

#5 Having Your Own URL Makes You Less Vulnerable to Hackers & Crashed Sites

When one website represents various organizations, there’s more vulnerability across the board because every affiliate is affected if the parent site is hacked or crashed. Golden Shovel Agency hosts and maintains all of its clients’ economic development websites. The custom-built CMS – Economic Gateway – is continuously improving and expanding to deliver best-in-class tools to clients. The platform and websites are hosted through Rackspace, a leader in high-quality hosting. Additionally, clients have peace of mind knowing that their website information is permanently backed up to prevent any loss of data.

Golden Shovel Helps Economic Development Organizations

If these five reasons your economic development organization needs its own URL aren’t enough to convince you, we can guarantee that as time passes and technology expands, that list will continue to grow.

Suppose your EDO has been putting off getting a customized, expandable, SEO-friendly site due to time constraints, budget concerns, or internal limitations in the form of expertise or staffing. In that case, Golden Shovel Agency can help you. The only clients we serve are in the economic development industry. We’ve been serving EDOs from coast to coast for years. Our expertise in the industry enables us to be supportive of your goals, sensitive to your pain points, and able to add value to your site in the areas that will bring you the best possible return on your investment. Why not request a free consultation today?