The Prevent a Litter Coalition Web site, Palc.org, saw a significant increase in traffic after only a few days as the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals' site of the week.
“On March 20 we saw 1,000 new page views. Before that we saw about 250 page views a day,” Webmaster Sara Khurody-Downs said.
The site was revamped in February with a view toward providing pet owners with useful information and more actively promoting the organization's two campaigns: the Animal Friendly License Plate program and the Stamp Out Campaign.
The Animal Friendly License Plate program promotes state legislation authorizing the sale of vanity license plates that subsidize spay-neuter programs.
The Stamp Out Campaign works for a U.S. commemorative stamp to spread awareness of pet overpopulation and the resulting homeless pet problem in America.
The new site has links to Helping.org, where visitors can donate; VolunteerMatch.org, where they can find opportunities to volunteer; and Amazon.com and Petsmart.com, where every item bought through the links results in a 5 percent to 15 percent commission for PaLC.
Visitors are encouraged to use the services and buy the products offered on these sites and to contact other animal rights organizations and legislators to further PaLC causes.
Khurody-Downs plans to start a Friends of PaLC newsletter. She currently has 1,000 e-mail addresses, mostly from the 4-year-old Stamp Out Campaign. Site visitors can sign up for the newsletter, which contains information, campaign news, an updated “wish list” and volunteer opportunities.
Although the site does not allow visitors to forward its address directly, it does have links to several e-mail providers.
Khurody-Downs said she is still too busy with content to concentrate on promoting the site, but future plans include posting information about the site on other animal welfare sites and issuing press releases to draw media attention.
