PHOENIX — "UArizona." Does that look a little different Wildcats fans? Well, it's about to become the new norm.
The University of Arizona announced Monday it was changing the way it refers to itself in headlines and stories from "UA" to "UArizona."
Why would the university do this? Good questions. Here's the answer: search engine optimization.
SEO refers to websites optimizing their text or website to get a higher ranking or appear higher in search results on places like Google or Bing. The more searchable keywords you use the better your chance of appearing higher in searches.
For example, it's probably safe to say "Arizona" is searched a lot more than "UA," hence why the university would want to use the entire state's name.
The University of Arizona or UArizona says the name change will set it apart in searches from other entities that us the "UA" abbreviation. A quick Google search of "UA" brings back top results for Under Armour and United Airlines along with the university.
UArizona says it will start using the name change this week.