NMsitesearch.com

NMsitesearch.com, selected as the Best Regional Interactive Application in the 2007 Internet Advertising Awards Competition, is a collaborative economic development Web site for the central New Mexico region. Representing six New Mexico cities (Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Rio Rancho, Los Lunas, Belen and the Estancia Valley communities), the site was created by the Metro New Mexico Development Alliance (MNMDA), a not-for-profit trade association, to attract new businesses and help grow existing ones.

The information-rich site incorporates essential data about the region as a whole and each of its members:

·        Economic Development Department of PNM Resources, the gas and electric utility for the region

·        Albuquerque Economic Development, Inc

·        Belen Economic Development Corp.

·        Estancia Valley Economic Development Association

·        Los Lunas Economic Development Center

·        Rio Rancho Economic Development Corporation

·        Santa Fe Economic Development Inc.

Strung like pearls along the Rio Grande Valley, the Alliance communities offer opportunities, financial incentives, and a high quality of life to many businesses seeking to establish themselves or re-locate to the Southwest. The site amply illustrates why Forbes Magazine named Albuquerque number one of 200 cities nationwide as the “Best  Place For Business” in May 2006.

Interactive Property Database

One of the most popular features of the site is the searchable database of commercial property. The database, which is the only database of commercial property in New Mexico reviewed by an outside party, is updated quarterly.  It includes real estate listings for:

• Industrial and office properties of 10,000 square feet or more in Albuquerque and Rio Rancho
• Industrial and office properties of 5,000 square feet or more in all other communities
• Land parcels over 5 acres

Other Features
To help site selectors find out more about the competitive business environment and growth potential of the area, the navigation on NMsitesearch.com offers top-level access to the information they most want: community profiles, properties, workforce, industry clusters, and financial incentives. Left navigation offers sections on news, infrastructure, and quality of life.

To make it easier for users to find pertinent information quickly on the 250-page site, NMsitesearch.com uses a comprehensive search feature and drop down navigation. In fact, the site has become a de facto resource for many agencies in the area looking for up-to-date economic and business information.

Slideshows for each industry cluster provide appealing visuals and essential facts about the growth potential for the types of businesses that thrive in Metro New Mexico:

• aviation and aerospace

• bio-technology businesses

• electronics

• energy

• high-tech

• machining and light manufacturing

• digital media and film

• back office operations centers

The site also provides frequently-updated news briefs about business, technology, mergers and acquisitions, investments, and enhancements to the region’s quality of life. By signing up for RSS fees, viewers can learn when specific parts of the Web site have been updated.   

To further increase traffic from its target audience of site consultants and executives of mid-level companies, the Alliance uses a combination of newsletters, natural search, and PPC advertising.

The Alliance is dedicated to creating economic and employment opportunities, expanding existing industry, attracting new firms to central New Mexico and developing strategies that promote a positive business climate in the state.

NMsitesearch.com receives partial funding from the New Mexico Economic Development Department’s Co-op Advertising program, as well as from the local utility, PNM Resources. It is written and maintained by Watermelon Mountain Web Marketing, which also handles site promotion (www.watermelonweb.com). A second Albuquerque company, Signal Creative (www.signalcreative.com), designed and programmed the site.