Chamber to offer business owners Web site seminar

As the use of the Internet continues to grow in the business world, so does the need for business owners to learn more about effective uses for their business' Web site.

To help area business owners learn more about the important role that Web sites play in a business' marketing plan, the Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce is planning to conduct the "Web Savvy Sandwich Seminar," a training session scheduled to take place from noon to 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 14, in the training room at Citizens Bank, N.A., 200 S. Main St.

"We like to provide extra benefits to our members and the community at-large," FSACC President and CEO Vicki Pritchett said. "These (seminars) will allow us to give back to our small businesses who are the heart of this area, and lets us help out in some fashion."

The Web site development training session is the first program in the quarterly "Build Your Business" workshop series organized for chamber members and local business owners by the FSACC Board of Directors during its most recent strategic planning session, FSACC Business Development Division Chairman Bryan Holt said.

"We want to do things for our membership that will provide the most value to them," Holt said. "These training seminars will give them access to learn things outside their area of expertise at a reasonable cost."

The Aug. 14 seminar will provide attendees with some tips and tricks that can be used to improve and enhance a particular business' operations through the use of a Web site, such as how to increase a Web site's page rank on Internet search engines, and how to add a counter that will, on a regular basis, track the number of people who visit the site.

"For some business owners, maybe their Web sites aren't as effective as they want them to be, or maybe they're on a budget or don't have the time to improve them," Pritchett said. "This seminar will teach them little tips and tricks that will help them get Web sites to do more for them."

The seminar will be beneficial for business owners who already maintain a Web site, and for those people who are seeking to create a Web site for the first time, Holt said.

"Lots of businesses have some kind of presence on the Web," he said. "I think the main message with this (seminar) is that it is something for our members that will help them grow their business, if that's what they want to do."

Matt Blatchley, a representative of the Southeast Kansas Education Service Center at Greenbush, will teach the seminar and is scheduled to speak about three primary Web site trends that are happening in today's business world, Pritchett said.

Following the Web site seminar this month, chamber officials plan to continue providing training sessions and seminars targeted at small businesses. Future FSACC-sponsored programs, which will be conducted periodically, will feature a variety of different topics relevant to businesses, such as marketing, customer service, bookkeeping, and many others, Holt said.

The cost to attend the Aug. 14 seminar is $15 for each chamber member, and $20 for each prospective member. Those people who are interested in attending should make reservations by Friday. Lunch will be provided at the event.

For more information about attending the seminar, visit the chamber office at 231 E. Wall St., or call the chamber at (620) 223-3566.