Why Small Businesses Need a Website
Today everyone goes to the Internet to search for information. Nowadays not many people search for companies in the Yellow Pages – remember them? Google has dominated Internet search for years and it doesn’t look like that will change any time soon.
Of the surveyed businesses that have websites, 83 percent said their online platforms gave them a competitive advantage over businesses without websites. It seems that in this day and age, even the smallest of businesses benefit from having a website.
Four Reasons to Have a Website For Your Small Business
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Credibility and Easier to Find
A website gives your company credibility and makes you easier to find.
Part of having credibility nowadays is having a website. Consumers expect to find a website when searching for a service and are generally turned off by companies that don’t have a web presence. The expectation is that if you have a website you must be a reputable organization. Having a website makes you easier to find. A website not only puts your business “out there” but it also gives you substance and credibility.
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Part of Marketing
Having a website should be part of marketing your business.
Every company has to spend money on communicating that they exist. Small businesses can explain themselves more completely when they have their own website. A website is more affordable nowadays and can even be less expensive than running ads online, traditional print venues or even doing mailings. Websites are easier to maintain now more than ever with Content Management Systems (CMSs) like WordPress. Having a website provides the most optimal space for your content – for you to sell your products and/or services. By providing information in the form of content (with keywords), businesses can get found and sell themselves to consumers for a reasonable cost.
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Competition
It’s tough to compete with companies that already have a website if you don’t have one.
Competition is tough these days. Most small businesses have an online presence. Those that don’t have a website simply can’t compete with the companies that do. When you have a website, you get found faster than those companies that don’t. Consumers don’t take businesses seriously if they don’t have a web presence. If you want any part of “the younger audience” then you need to be where they go… and that’s the web. To them, if a business isn’t investing in a web presence, then they don’t care to be found.
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Content Control
With your own website you have complete control over what you want to say. Plus you can incorporate keywords into your content. Websites and SEO are like peanut butter and jelly – they are just better together.
As a small business owner with a website, you have complete control over your content. Communicating what you have to offer as a business to a wider audience is an incredibly important reason to have a web presence. When you are only on Yelp or Facebook, anyone can say anything. On your own website you have the ability to emphasize what you do, how you do it and why you do it well. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) needs to be part of building out the content of a website. It’s the replacement (and more) of what the Yellow Pages used to be. A website really helps to substantiate your presence and validate who you are online (which is where the world is now). Search engines also favor websites with more web traffic, those that maintain their content and those websites that keep their website technology up-to-date.
Yes, websites cost money. But they are an investment in your business since they are part of marketing – and marketing your business is a write-off. If you want to expand your business base, having a website is one of the smartest ways to do it.
Contact ATC Web Solutions with any questions regarding having a new website built for your business.
