I sometimes hear from local business owners who don’t feel like they need to invest in a website. For the last few weeks, I’ve been talking about how to optimize websites to get the best results for online interaction and customer conversions. 

So in light of those wondering if a website will actually benefit their businesses, I’m pivoting back to some basic questions about the essential online elements of a business: Do you think your business’s web presence makes a difference in your success? How do you rank the importance of having a website and maintaining it?

Even though you might think you don’t need a website to make money, having a good one will give your business an exponential advantage… if you plan to establish it for the long haul.

Also Read: 3 Ways to Optimize Your Website and Google My Business to Drive Leads

Why Shouldn’t I Just Use Social Media?

If you have a storefront, customers often experience their first interaction with your business when they step through the front door of your website… before they ever cross the threshold of your brick-and-mortar location. More often than not, customers check out businesses online before they visit because they want to know basic information about your location, the products and services you offer, your hours of operation, and the atmosphere of your store. These first impressions (or the lack of them) make a huge difference!

If you run your business in multiple places, are mobile, or entirely online, I couldn’t overstate the importance of having an up-to-date, attractive website. In fact, this could make or break you.

Trust me: Your competitors already have websites, and you will lose business to them if you don’t make the effort to get in this game.

While your social media presence can be incredibly helpful in getting the word out about your business, it doesn’t make up for the lack of a good website, either. Small businesses often don’t have time to stay on top of creating regular marketing content on their facebook or instagram pages, which is how current followers and new customers find your business and promotions. 

Plus, social media algorithms change all the time, even without notice. You have no real guarantee that your unpaid (or even paid) posts will end up on potential customers’ screens, or that you’ll get interactions from your followers. 

You also have zero control over changes to social media platforms. If that company’s servers shut down, or they decide to change their support of business pages, or they one day decide to close the platform completely… this could mean bad news for your online customer reach!

You don’t own that social media page. If you rely on it and the unexpected happens, you suddenly have no access to the followers you’ve built up there– as long as you have no other way of reaching them online.

You may remember how Facebook and Instagram servers recently went down for the better part of a day. Worldwide, no one could sign in for hours. No one could access business information. Anybody looking found themselves out of luck!

On your website, you have total control over the way it looks, how it functions for customers, what information gets displayed, and when you want to change it.

Keep in mind that people tend to use Google more than Facebook or other social media to find businesses. You get to control the SEO of your website and you have the option to make it show up as a top result in local searches.

If you haven’t been convinced, yet, let me share with you three important reasons having a website will greatly benefit your businesses growth and revenue.

Also Read: Make Your Brand Famous in Your Location

3 Reasons to Prioritize a Website

Check out these reasons for investing in a website:

  • Credibility and Control

Customers know that a professional website takes an investment of time and money from a committed business owner. When your website looks great and provides the information they need, customers know they can trust you to deliver a quality product and service.

Managing a website yourself has become incredibly easy, too. With website platforms like WordPress and Wix available, you need little training or technical skills to maintain your site.

You own your website, so you can claim the responsibility for its finely-tuned features. You get to make the rules. Adjust it as you need to when you want to improve your rank in a list of search results. Design the look you want. Include choice testimonials and reviews. Explore those endless possibilities, and enjoy all the benefits!

  • Improve Revenue and Beat the Competition 

A vast majority of Google users search for businesses local to them, whether they live nearby or want to know about places to go while on vacation. You want to take advantage of this organically-occuring perk for local businesses! Why not capitalize on that wide-open opportunity to attract these customers from the start?

With smart website optimization, you even can potentially outrank larger competition. If you’re looking for help with this, keep reading.

  • Potential for E-Commerce

If you don’t already sell products online but think you’d like to, your best bet for successful e-commerce will come from having your own website. With online sales exploding like never before, websites have more potential and more crucial importance for small businesses. Don’t limit your options by refusing to take advantage of the benefits of having your own website.

We build websites with SEO in mind and each business gets a completely custom-designed, premium website. If you want to learn more about our services or want help setting up a fantastic website, reach out to us today!

Further Reading: How to Improve SEO Stats with a Blog—And Watch Customers Flood In

 

Photos Courtesy of Georgia de Lotz and Mike Petrucci 

Hawaii SEO & Web Design Blog

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