Innovations in Foreign Direct Investment Attraction

6. Access to resources and tools for investors: The NFIA website has a section on 

resources and tools which is clearly accessible and provides downloads of all docu-

ments relevant to investors.

Guidelines for IPAs from LAC

For IPAs from LAC to develop a best practice website, the following guidelines should 

be taken into consideration:

1. The website should provide targeted content to suit the audience/reader;

2. Use unique and descriptive keywords when preparing the website to grab attention 

of web visitors and search strings;

3. Use images and infographics – people process visual information 60,000 faster 

than written information;

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4. Keep things short and sweet – visitors stay on a page an average of 15 seconds;

5. The inward investment website should be highly visible, not hidden away in a 

wider ministry, economic development or commercial department website. ‘Invest 

in location X’ is the most used URL for inward investment websites; 

6. Sponsor search engine ad words that can raise awareness significantly; 

7. The website design should at a minimum cover: 

   

a. Information on the home country

   

b. IPA services

   

c. Economic overview of the location

   

d. Sectoral and business opportunities

   

e. Investor network (for investor development)

   

f. News and publications

   

g. Incentives

   

h. Contacts

   

i. Inquiry form

8. Advanced inward investment website features may also include:

  

a. Searchable, interactive “Investment Map” using Geographic Information 

Service (GIS) Mapping to show existing investors and location advisors in the coun-

try/region

   

b. Real estate database of sites and properties

   

c. Partner database of suppliers and business partners

   

d. GIS mapping to analyze different location and site options

   

e. Live Chat feature

9. Web stats should be tracked frequently (e.g. monthly), including the number of 

unique visitors, areas of the website visited, time spent on each page, downloads 

made, country of origin of visitors, number of inquiries made through the website. 

IPAs should also consider using advanced website lead generation technologies to 

capture information on specific companies and individuals using the website; and

10. The results of website inquiries should be tracked, including number of enquiries, 

qualified leads, active cases, investment successes and conversion rates.

According to Development Counsellors International, best practices to make sure 

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the inward investment website is at the top of its game include:

10