Catálogo de Investigaciones 2017-2018

CATÁLOGO DE INVESTIGACIONES | AÑO ACADÉMICO 2017-2018 17 Analyzing Website Homepage Content of The Leading Universities In South Florida And The Effect On Website Traffic And Visibility This research analyzes the content, both textual and graphical, of the homepages of the leading universities in South Florida, and the visibility and traffic based of each one of the homepages. The results are highlighted using the different tests performed to compare the techniques ten specific Higher Education Institutions of South Florida are using to promote themselves online, specifically the content used on their homepages. Marketing for HEIs has not been studied thoroughly, even less in South Florida. Because of HEI’s development in organizational structures and innovative programs, it is imperative to investigate what they are doing to differentiate themselves from each other, particularly their homepage, what has become their “virtual face”. The tests performed examined the website’s design, words, images, icons, and the visibility and traffic for each of the homepages while comparing the institutions’ population to determine which institution was being most effective with their digital media strategies. It was found, that the websites keep a similar design with differences in fonts and colors; that the focus of the pages are the students (current and prospective); the icons are not a key part of the universities’ homepages; and, FIU and University of Miami are the HEIs in South Florida making effective and optimal use of their digital marketing strategies. The rest of the universities must analyze the techniques they are using, how they can improve content and keywords, obtain a better ranking in online searches, and therefore, improve the visibility and traffic of their homepage. anamarie torres cintrón maestría en administración de empresas con especialidad en mercadeo mentor: dr. ricardo r. fuentes ramírez universities colleges marketing homepages promotion