THE SHOALS-A company’s website is the gateway to new leads and new leads are an integral part of economic development. As more and more companies and consultants are going online first to make initial site selection decisions, websites are becoming more important than ever. When prospective companies visit a website, they see it as a reflection of the organization. Websites are a core component in marketing and visual appeal and content are critical in attracting and maintaining interest from potential clients. As industry standards evolve and trends shift, websites need to be refreshed to help a company meet its goals.
With the announcement of the Mazda Toyota Manufacturing, U.S.A., Inc. joint venture in Huntsville and the launch of the new Shoals TechSpace, the Shoals Economic Development Authority (SEDA) decided it was time for a website refresh to create appeal to the growing audience of companies seeking to locate in North Alabama. In addition to a refreshed website, SEDA launched two new web pages targeting automotive suppliers and technology related companies.
SEDA secured a web domain and began developing a web page targeting automotive suppliers in preparation for the possibility that Mazda Toyota Manufacturing, U.S.A., Inc. would select Huntsville for their new OEM plant. Within hours after Governor Ivey made the announcement that the new $1.6 billion plant would be built in Huntsville, northalabamasiteselection.com went live on SEDA’s website.
SEDA also launched shoalstechpartnership.com to assist in the efforts of attracting tech related companies to the Shoals. After extensive research, SEDA determined that the Shoals had many qualities that were advantageous to IT firms seeking to locate in a non-urban setting. The web page focuses on targeting tech related companies by providing the information that is most critical in their site selection process. The Shoals Technology Partnership is a collaboration of SEDA, the Shoals Chamber of Commerce, University of North Alabama, and Northwest Shoals Community College and was created to combine the efforts of the Shoals community to attract new tech jobs to the area. In an effort to make the Shoals even more attractive to a tech company, the Shoals TechSpace, located in Downtown Florence, has been developed to reduce the lead time to begin operations for a tech related company seeking to locate in the Shoals.
Please check out SEDA’s new refreshed website at seda-shoals.com.
Media Release/Shoals Economic Development Authority
