If you’ve followed this column over the past couple of years, you know we are passionate about utility websites. Your website is a 24/7 employee that never calls in sick and will happily work on Christmas morning. We always recommend utilities work to get the most traffic to their website — using social media, magazines, bill inserts and such as funnels — and work to engage users while there. 

But sometimes you need to communicate something on the internet that doesn’t match up with your current website. Either the branding needs to be completely different, the audience has changed, or maybe the underlying infrastructure of your site just can’t do this task. This is where the "microsite" shines. 

A microsite is a website that is branded with your content, but it lives outside of your main utility website. Microsites have unique URLs and typically focus on specialized promotions or campaigns with a limited lifespan. Usually, they’re visually different from your main utility site, and that’s one of their strengths.

Microsites provide focus on a single subject matter. If you are one of the many electric utilities starting to offer broadband, you may want to have an awareness campaign before you roll out your new products. Having "broadbandiscoming.com" can be a lot more intriguing than your usual "utilityname.com." Likewise, if you’ve invested in a unique look for a campaign, it can be far easier to tie that design and feel into a microsite than into your existing website. 

This all sounds excellent, but microsites do have drawbacks to consider. 

For some customers, a microsite can be confusing. Your customers get accustomed to having a set web address when they interact with your utility. They become familiar with the interface and where they need to click to find what they want. It can be hard for your less technologically savvy ratepayers to understand that this new site is also owned by your utility, but is for a different purpose.

A microsite can also hurt your SEO (search engine optimization) rankings. In 2017, SEO is really a way of saying "how highly does Google rank my website?" Every utility wants to be the top website listed when someone searches "how do I pay my electric bill" or "my power is out." Google’s search algorithm changes from time to time, but it always emphasizes local companies producing great content and serving as a resource to their community. By splitting some of your content onto another site, you’re not helping your SEO ranking with your new, great content.

Both of these problems can be overcome with planning and intentional communication with your customers about why you’ve chosen to have a special, separate site. 

If you have a short-term promotion, are launching an entirely new offering, or want to just draw some attention to and generate excitement about one of your current offerings, a microsite can be a great investment and a new way to engage your customers and spread your message.

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Jared Dovers is the Chief Operating Officer of WordSouth — A Content Marketing Company, serving electric and telecommunications providers since 1996. Jared can be reached at jared@wordsouth.com.