9 Benefits of Having a Website for Your Small Business

Are you a small business owner? Do you have a website? If not, you may be missing customers.

In today’s world, if people have a question about where to get a product or service, they grab their phone and search. If you don’t have an internet presence, you are invisible.  Keep reading to learn about the benefits of having a website.

Benefits of Having a Website

To be competitive in today’s market, it’s important to have a well-maintained website. The following are reasons why a website will benefit your small business.

1. Customers See Your Business as Credible

First impressions are everything. It only takes 1/10th of a second for someone to form an impression of you. Your website may be their first “look” at you.

You must be present for customers to even know about your business. Second, the website needs to make a favorable and memorable impact. It should easily answer questions on the customer’s mind.

For example, where are you located, when are you open, what do you sell, how can they contact you. The customer will immediately leave and go to another site if they can’t easily get answers.

Having a website that meets their needs makes your business more credible. It instills interest and confidence in your product or service.

2. Serves as a Key Active Marketing Tool

Websites give customers a “picture” of your business. You can share your story to connect with the customers. Many consumers make buying decisions based on how a company’s values align with their own.

Your website allows you to tell customers about your experience and expertise. Putting a face to the names of key employees in your company gives a personal touch. Client confidence and comfort increase when they “know” who they’re talking to.

Websites also offer an avenue for seeking new employees. You can optimize this task by having applicants to submit forms and resumes via the website.

3. Makes Your Business Visible to Potential Customers

Of the 7.8 billion people in the world, about 4.5 billion or 40% are on the internet each day. They search for information, participate in social media, conduct business, and shop.

Businesses that don’t have a website don’t have a piece on the game board. It’s vital to continuously work toward developing new customers. Any company that’s content to only work with current customers won’t survive in today’s environment.

By working to create search engine optimization (SEO) content on your site, you increase search visibility. This allows the potential of distributing your content across the globe. Your business information is now available 24/7 in all time zones.

4. Afford an Avenue to Showcase Your Work

Remember that a picture is worth a thousand words. Use the website to showcase your products, services, or body of work. Consider a portfolio page. This gives the client a clear sense of what you can do for them.

Including customer reviews shows visitors how your business has helped others. This adds credibility to your claims. People look for that star rating.

5. Web Analytics Give Immediate Feedback About Your Site’s Effectiveness

Many traditional marketing and sales efforts travel from the business into a black hole. It’s often hard to determine if the marketing strategy and cost reaped any benefit.

Websites offer real-time analytics. This can tell you how many people your marketing efforts reach. Metrics can include:

• Number of website visitors
• Number of new and repeat visitors
• Pageviews or page impressions tell you if they looked or read the page
• Bounce rates let you know how many visitors left the page before exploring it
• Average time spent on the site by visitors

With this instant feedback, you can continually tweak your site to improve your metrics.

6. Provides Customer Education

Well maintained websites provide current information to customers. This increases your return rate. If a visitor sees that your site is out of date, they probably won’t come back.

Websites enable you to teach consumers about products and information related to the product. You can also share information about company successes and awards. Don’t forget to include information about community service and responsiveness.

7. The Website Can Travel with Your Business

If you must move your physical business, the website remains in place. You can give updates regarding addresses and other contact information. The customer doesn’t have to search the internet to locate your website.

8. Establishes Your Brand Identity

Brand identity provides a concise idea of your attributes. This may be found in a logo or tag line. It makes a promise to the customer.

When customers recognize a brand name or logo, they feel confident about the product or service. Successful branding appeals to the target customer.

You can use your website to promote your brand identity. Describe your promise, personality, service, and attributes in an appealing and memorable manner.

9. Build Customer Rapport

In today’s electronic world, face-to-face interaction has decreased. This creates new challenges for establishing customer rapport.

Build customer rapport before customers even approach your business with a well-designed website. Meeting and exceeding customer expectations will increase word-of-mouth advertising.

Be active in your business’s community. This can include virtual communities. Respond to customers promptly and provide avenues to meet customer needs on demand.

Be flexible and personal with customers. This makes them feel like you care in a world that can be faceless and cold.

Why Mobile Optimization Is Important

Before the dawn of the smartphone, people searched for information on their desktops. At that time, websites were designed for the “big screen”. It’s vital to create mobile-optimized websites for use on phones, tablets, and other new media.

In today’s world, mobile traffic is outpacing desktop traffic on websites. Put your business where the customer is looking.

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In today’s business world, you have to move with the latest tech trends. This article described the benefits of having a website for your small business. If you feel like you’re behind the times, you’ve come to the right place.

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