If your business has gotten this far without a website, you might be wondering: do I need a website for my business? What’s the point if my business is already successful without one?
The short answer is that there has never been a better or more important time to invest in a website for your business. A website offers a wide variety of benefits for small and big businesses, and most of these benefits increase in value exponentially year over year, just like the Internet itself.
Not convinced? We’ve collected eight of the biggest benefits your business shouldn’t miss even from owning a simple website.
Eight reasons why you need a website for your business.
- A website makes you look professional
84% of today’s consumers think a website makes your business more credible than companies that only have social media profiles. Your website is also the perfect place to show off any professional certifications or awards your business has. Beyond that, having your own website lets you create a branded email address (e.g. dianna@yoursite.com) which adds a level of professionalism to all of your correspondence, especially if you’ve used a personal email address to conduct business up until now. In addition, some email marketing tools no longer allow users to send emails from personal addresses. This means that if you want to take advantage of the power of email marketing, you’ll need a business email account.
- Your website can attract new customers through Google
You may be happy with the current size of your business, but every company experiences customer turnover. To encourage continued success, you need to attract new customers, and one of the best ways to do it is by making yourself more visible on Google. Social media networks are indexed on Google, and social media posts can be found with the search engine, but a website gives you access to many more tools and strategies for Search Engine Optimization (SEO). And SEO is the key to making your business appear on the front page of Google. The phrase “search engine optimization” might be intimidating, but in practice, it’s fairly simple. You enter words and phrases related to your business into a keyword research tool, figure out which ones are getting the most traffic on Google, then build your content around those phrases. As a rule, each piece of content should be focused on a different keyword, so that as your list of content grows, your site is able to rank for more keywords.
- You can clearly showcase your products and services
You can show potential customers what they’ll get when they work with you by displaying high-quality photography on your website. You can also use your website design, along with featured images, to give people a sense of what it feels like to enter your physical location. This works particularly well if your brand is closely tied to the “feel” of your location. Another thing you can do is publish important information about your products and services on your website to make sure you’re attracting the right customers. For example, if you run a restaurant, you might want to mark items on your menu that are gluten-free so people with Celiac or other conditions that make gluten dangerous know they can eat in your establishment. - You can display your best reviews and testimonials prominently on your website
Displaying your best reviews and/or testimonials prominently on your website is a great way to establish social proof. This might come in the form of personal customer testimonials. If your business has appeared in articles from newspapers or popular local blogs, you can also feature those. Publishing your best reviews on your website also serves the secondary purpose of creating a permanent archive. This means that even if third-party review sites close at some point in the future, you’ll still have access to your best reviews. - A website can encourage customers to contact you
A website is a great place to make your contact information easily available to potential customers. You can even publish your contact information in a header or footer so it appears on every single page. Modern website builders also make it easy to create a contact form, which can protect your business email from spam. - You can integrate your website with Google Maps so people can find you more easily
A website lets you embed maps directly into your content. Some businesses have a map embedded directly onto their home page, an embedded map makes it easy for people who don’t spend a lot of time in your area to find your business. This is particularly great if you host events, as they might attract people who wouldn’t otherwise spend time in the neighborhood your business is in. - Your website establishes your place in your industry
As of 2021, 71% of businesses have websites and 81% of customers research things online before they buy them. In other words, if your competitors are online and you’re not, those competitors get the first interactions with customers. Creating a website gives you a space to share what your business is about, establish your role in the industry, and connect with the customers who need you. - A website ensures your success over the long term
As of January 2021, almost 4.66 billion people (59.5% of the global population) used the Internet. In many countries, that number is much higher. Without a website, your business is invisible to these people. As we progress further into the digital era, your business will become invisible to everyone unless you invest in a website. So to stay competitive in this increasingly digital world, your business needs to get online.
So, do I need a website for my business? The final verdict
Hopefully, by now you’ve realized that the question isn’t “do I need a website for my business”, but “can I afford to not have a website in the digital era”. And the answer, if you want to continue thriving in the long term, is no. More and more, even staying afloat without a business website is impossible. Your customers are online, your competitors are online, and if you’re not there to intervene, your competitors and your customers will connect, leaving you in the lurch.
Finally, if you have any questions about launching a website for your business, please leave a comment and I will be more than excited to answer your questions!
If you’re ready to get started, please send an email to info@techserv.tech for an introductory virtual meeting.