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Improving Your Web Site

Residents in your community will hopefully visit your Web site after they’ve seen the campaign billboards, banners and other materials or be directed to it through Earth911.org via the campaign Web site. Take advantage of this. Web sites are one of the most cost-effective marketing tools, so be sure yours is up to date and reflects the statewide campaign. Here are some tips: 

 

  1. Use our free tools – Start by downloading the campaign Web banner or button that best fits with your Web site. Unsure what materials you can use on your site? Check with your IT department first.
  2. Re-think your Web site name – Evaluate your current Web site address. Does the URL have more than one backslash? Is it hard to remember? If so, come up with an easy-to-remember name, such as YOURCITYRecycles.org. Go to DomainDirect.com or GoDaddy.com and register it for under $20 a year. Your IT department or Webmaster can show you how to link this URL to your existing home page so the change is only cosmetic. Now you have a user-friendly URL to promote in all your communication materials.
  3. Do a quick evaluation of your Web site – Spend a few minutes looking at the main page of your Web site as if you are unfamiliar with your recycling program. Do you immediately see how you can recycle? What can be recycled? How to get a bin or cart? Where the drop-off locations are? If not, make simple changes to include that information on your home page. Click here for a list of things to look for on your Web site.
  4. Make your Web site relevant – Think about the most popular questions you get from residents. What information are they looking for? Now see if the answers are easily and quickly accessible on your site. If not, consider adding links to the information or, better yet, the actual information right on your home page.
  5. Promote the local impact of recycling – Since you’ll be tracking your program’s tonnage and participation on a frequent basis using Re-TRAC, make sure to post that data to your Web site and other communication materials as fun facts or in some other easily digestible way. Show visitors that their recycling is making a difference.  For example, “Last month, Atlanta residents recycled enough paper to build a three-foot-high wall of paper from Atlanta to Savannah.” Check out this calculator to calculate some fun facts of your own.
  6. Make it two-way – Look for ways to make your Web site more interactive. People are demanding a more conversational experience online, and your site should be no exception. Check out the campaign Web site to see what we mean! While this may sound expensive, it can be as easy as providing an e-mail address for feedback or creating a “sign up!” feature where users provide an e-mail address and you send out a short e-mail newsletter every time you have news (but not too often!).
  7. Link from your community’s home page – Most residents are going to go to your overall city Web site first for information. See if you will be able to include a link to your recycling page from the main city/county home page or include a banner or button from the campaign.

Here are some examples of communities with effective Web sites:

San Francisco
Largo, FL
North Carolina
Minnesota
San José, CA


Don’t forget to check out the campaign Web site, YouGottaBeKidding.org. This site serves as the public face of the statewide campaign. Feel free to include a link to this site on your Web site as well.