Not that long ago, having a business website was only good for selling your products. These days? Not so much.
Think of your business website as a microcosm of the entire Internet. Year over year, the benefits you gain from it will exponentially increase. In other words, the sooner you start a website, the easier it will be to profit off it.
Now, it’s possible that your business is already successful without a website. That’s rare, but it does happen. In this case, it’s fair to wonder whether website importance is a bit overstated.
Here’s the thing: that kind of success will be less and less common as we plunge deeper into the digital age. Don’t believe us? Here are ten great reasons why your business should have a website as soon as possible.
Reach New Customers
Even if you’re happy with your current company size, every business experiences customer turnover. To ensure continued success, you need to keep attracting new customers. One way to do that is to make your business visible on Google.
If your website is well-optimized, it should rank well for a wide variety of search terms. The good news: you don’t need prior training to optimize a website. Start by taking a look at your customers’ activity and finding out where they engage on your site.
Establish Your Brand
If some of your competitors aren’t online yet, they likely will be soon. Until they do, though, you can use this opportunity to create a professional website first.
Now, what do you do in the more likely case that your competitors already have websites? In this case, you’ll want to take a close look at what they’re doing. Then, create a site that’s completely different to show why your company stands apart.
Showcase Your Products
A good website can show your customers what it’s like to enter your physical location. This is particularly helpful if your brand has close ties to how your location “feels.” Use high-quality photography and featured images to enhance this effect.
If you know how to showcase your products, attracting the right audience is far easier. For instance, if you run a restaurant, you can mark any gluten-free items on your menu. That way, people with celiac conditions will know that you’re looking out for them.
Ensure Long-Term Success
Did you know that over 60 percent of the global population uses the Internet? That’s more than 4.5 billion people, and more get online every day.
Without a site, your company will be all but invisible to these people. This is what we meant when we talked about future success. The only way to stay competitive in this day and age is to invest in a website and get online as soon as you can manage.
Integrate Google Maps
Most websites allow you to embed a Google Map into your content. To make it even more obvious, you can put the map right onto your front page.
This likely won’t influence your local sales too much, as those people already know where to find you. For people who don’t live in your area, though, this can be huge. If you host events, for example, having a Google map on your site is almost essential.
Encourage Customers to Contact You
One of your main website goals should be to make it easier for your customers to contact you. The best way to do that is to make your contact information easily available. If you put it in a footer or header, you can make it appear on every page.
Most modern site builders also allow you to create contact forms. If your business email starts getting spammed, start using contact forms to put an end to it.
Look Professional
Today’s customers tend to believe that having a website is enough to make you look like a successful business. You can build on that by using your site to show off your awards or professional certifications.
Having a website also gives you a chance to create a branded email address. This may not seem like a big deal, but it does add a level of professionalism to your correspondence. This is particularly true if you’re still using a personal email to conduct business.
Display the Best Reviews
Publishing the good reviews you get makes it easy to establish social proof. Customer testimonials are excellent for this purpose. If your business has appeared on local blogs or in newspaper articles, you can feature these snippets as well.
Posting reviews also allows you to build your little review archive. That way, a third-party review site going down won’t mean that your reviews will get lost as well.
Create Your Website in a Day
Contrary to what you might have heard, building a website isn’t all that complicated. Site builders such as Wix and Squarespace allow you to build a site without any coding knowledge.
If you use WordPress, you can finish the whole job in less than an hour. All you need to do is find a domain name, sign up for hosting, and install WordPress. Once you pick your theme and select your plugins, you’ll be ready to start posting content.
Don’t Spend a Fortune
On top of being easy, building a nice-looking website has never been more affordable. If you follow the above methods, your website may only set you back $70 per year.
WordPress in particular is 100% free, at least when it comes to the core software. Adding a nice-looking free theme and opting for cheap hosting can have you up and running at a super low cost.
More on Website Importance for Businesses
By now, you’ve likely realized that having a website shouldn’t be a question of “if,” but “when.”
The truth is, very few businesses can afford to ignore all the benefits a website can offer. If you’re serious about your company’s prospects, a website is the best investment you can make. With how easy it is to set up, there’s no excuse not to have one.
Want to know more about website importance for your business? Check out more of our SEO Digital section!
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