LITTLE ROCK — Sen. Mark Pryor on Monday helped introduce a new program sponsored by Google that gives local businesses free tools and training to create a website.
Organizers say Arkansas falls below the national average in percentage of small businesses with an online presence, an issue the Google-sponsored Arkansas Get Your Business Online initiative is aimed at correcting.
Pryor spoke at a kickoff seminar for the program at the Arkansas Arts Center, addressing dozens of small business owners in attendance who later followed along on laptops and tablets while a Google official outlined steps for developing a Web presence and using it to attract new customers.
"I think anything
we can do to help our small businesses get online and have a bigger online presence is important," Pryor said in an interview after his remarks. "In today's world, if you're going to do business, you better be online or business is going to pass you by."
Google spokesman Jamie Hill said more than 60 percent of small businesses in Arkansas are lacking any Web presencel, a "huge number" that become essentially invisible to customers on the Web. She said studies show virtually all consumers turn to the Web at some point for local goods and services.
"Online is where you want to be," Hill said. "The national average is actually 58 percent of small businesses don't have a website, so Arkansas is slightly above the national average in terms of businesses that don't have a website. But we're hoping that through Arkansas Get Your Business Online, we'll help solve that problem."
In addition to offering small businesses tools to create a website, including a free domain name and hosting for a year, the program also teaches participants about online promotion and analytics for understanding broader consumer trends.
In-person participants underwent training led by the Google representative, but the program can also be completed online. A second in-person training session is scheduled at the Arts Center beginning at 12:30 p.m. and walk-ins are welcome, Hill said.