A website is also important because it helps you establish credibility as a business. There are actually still quite a few small businesses that do not have a website and without one this is exactly how they will stay, small. Without a website, potential customers are going to assume that you are a small type of company that does not take their business seriously. A website will not only give you credibility but it can help to give an impression that your company is larger and more successful than it may actually be. A small business ranking ahead of a large multinational competitor in Google and gaining some of their traffic is even more important as it tends to level the playing field. Amazingly there are still a lot of businesses that do not have websites, there are different reasons for this but mostly it comes down to business owners thinking websites are too expensive. It’s surprising to learn that a website can be built for very little money.
A good website grows brand awareness online
If the internet is like a giant city and a domain name is a plot of land, your website is the house you build. If you don’t have an attractive house, nobody is going to visit. As more and more people are turning to their phones and computers to find what they’re looking for, it’s never been more important for business owners and operators to make sure the right information about their business can easily be found online. Everything a business does online produces awareness among the public. The more present your business is online, the more people know about it, and the more people that know about it, the more customers you can have. The bare minimum your website should produce is to be found for people searching from your brand name. If your business is called Joe’s Plumbing and people are looking for you on Google, you want them to find you.
Modern tools connect your business with your customers
People aren’t looking for just
products and services, they’re looking for connections. In a lot of instances,
consumers want to learn about the people behind the business they’re scoping
out. They want to get to know and trust the people before they risk giving them
money. That’s why your website must present not just your product or service,
but you and your employees, the people that make the magic happen. In 2020,
people are even connecting through tools like chatboxes and social media
integration. These new ways of communicating have created a whole new way to
interact with customers through your website. The American Marketing
Association found that having a chatbox on your website increases sales by an
average of 3x. By being available the moment visitors have questions,
salespeople are able to close sales much more often and with a closer connection
to the customer.
The right
copywriting shows visitors what they are looking for
When a visitor hits a website, they are looking for some
type of information. Web pages displaying services and portfolios show the
visitor that you have the product or service they’re looking for. Testimonials
and reviews prove that you can deliver and provide a good experience. When
visitors see this, they are comfortable taking the next step towards becoming a
customer. Here are some common bits to include on your website to get better
results:
·
Professional design with complete attention to the details
·
Headlines that speak to the pain points of your customer
·
High-quality images of people enjoying your product or
service
·
High-quality images of the people behind the business
·
Technical details about your product or service (If your
business is technical)
·
Trust badges from associations and accolades
·
Testimonials from real customers
·
Clear information about how to make a purchase
·
An easy way to contact your business and a form that works
(has been tested!)
Google
Analytics is a free way to spy on your customers
Before you get creeped out and leave, hear me out. There’s a
free tool called Google Analytics that you can plug into your website
and see what people are doing. You can see what pages they visit, how long they
stay there, and what they click on. You
can’t track individual people, but you can track them as a group and this gives
you extremely valuable insights about what your website is doing well and where
it can improve. Perhaps the most valuable thing tracking Analytics provides is feedback about your messaging and delivery. With an inside view of how
people as a whole are interacting with your website, you can make the kind of
changes that produce serious results. If you aren’t already tracking website
visitors, you are missing out on information your competition has, and that
gives them an edge. Don’t let that happen.
The right
content and messaging generates leads
At the end of the day, your website is designed to increase your profits. The fastest way to do that is to make sales, and making sales requires a steady flow of new leads. There are many ways to get people to your website, but I’m not going to go down that rabbit hole in this article. Once people are on your site, we have an arsenal of methods and techniques for getting those visitors to submit a contact form and become a lead. The more sophisticated websites provide blogs and articles that help guide visitors through the shopping process. The effects of this are two-fold. First, you provide all the information the visitor needs to make their buying decision. When they are ready to move forward, you are already there and ready to help them.
A real website allows for automation
When a visitor hits a website, they are looking for some
type of information. Web pages displaying services and portfolios show the
visitor that you have the product or service they’re looking for. Testimonials
and reviews prove that you can deliver and provide a good experience. When
visitors see this, they are comfortable taking the next step towards becoming a
customer. Here are some common bits to include on your website to get better
results:
