A well-designed website is one of the most effective digital marketing tools available to entrepreneurs. A strong website is vital for increasing your online visibility and credibility, which is just one of the many reasons why small businesses need one.
According to a 2021 poll of over 1,200 business owners, one in every four small enterprises does not have a website. Many business owners may believe that having accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn is sufficient. However, without a website, these small businesses lack a “home base” from which to link their social networks, harming their Google search rankings.
1. Establish a professional online presence.
Instead of being the corner shop or small business down the street, having a website—especially one with an appealing web design—gives the idea that you are serious and ready to do business with all types of clients. After all, a well-designed website can lead to commercial success.
2. Establish yourself as a source of information.
If your company operates in a specialist market, having a website allows you to establish yourself as an authority in your field. Create an informative blog section and link to it from your landing page.
Potential consumers that conduct a Google search on prevalent difficulties in your sector are more likely to find you. Furthermore, after reading your blog content, people will see how beneficial you can be to them.
According to a HubSpot poll, 56 percent of consumers said a blog influenced their purchase choice. Even if the people who read your blog entries don’t become clients right away, you’ve spread the word about your company without paying a dollar on traditional advertising or marketing campaigns.
3. Own your name
Creating a website and purchasing a domain name (e.g., www.business-example.com) allows you to stake your claim to your company’s name. Furthermore, it is a quick and simple way to boost your business identification.
You can also get a unique business email address to help with branding (for example, [email protected]). Many websites hosting companies offer personalized email addresses as part of their services.
4. Improve SEO rankings
When you conduct a search on sites such as Google, Bing, or Yahoo, you will see a list of websites that are connected to your search. Many SEO (search engine optimization) strategies can be applied to your website to increase its rankings on various search engines, thereby generating free visitors and sales. Improve SEO by posting useful, new content in your website’s blog section.
5. Increase online lead generation
Increasing website views is excellent, but earning clients is even better. You can get potential leads to call, sign up, or buy a product from your firm if you have a well-optimized and mobile-friendly website. You may make your website a top salesperson for your organization.
6. Develop a mailing list
After you’ve developed your website, include a form for users to sign up for your mailing list or newsletter. This will provide you with an easily accessible database of potential clients to whom you may market. According to a 2020 survey, 78 percent of marketers viewed email to be critical to the overall performance of their organization.
7. Printing costs can be reduced.
Paper catalogs and brochures can still be useful at the point of sale, but what if the item information changes? It is more efficient to have all the necessary information on your website, where editing and revising will be considerably cheaper. A combination of print and web marketing materials will almost certainly be the most cost-effective option.
8. Reach out to internet customers
According to a 2022 survey, around 63 percent of the world’s population, or 5 billion individuals, have an internet connection.
Because most individuals have access to the internet, even a simple landing page as your business website is beneficial. Many people believe that if they cannot locate something online, it does not exist. A web presence implies the ability to reach people wherever they are. Smartphones are included:
According to 2021 research, 85 percent of American people own a smartphone.
According to Statistica, Americans would spend more than 360 billion dollars on mobile devices to purchase goods and services in 2021.
Nowadays, most websites automatically resize to fit both smartphone and desktop computer screens.
9. Share your one-of-a-kind narrative
Having a page on your website dedicated to a part such as “Company History” is a great method to humanize your company. Being a small firm can be an immediate advantage in this situation.
Do you run a family business that was founded by your mother or father? Have you been around for decades? Inform them about it and earn their trust. Having a sense of inventiveness and authenticity can be an advantage that larger corporations will struggle to emulate.
10. Use mail orders and e-commerce to create a new selling opportunity.
Consider investing in an e-commerce store or an online shopping section for your website if your company provides things that may be delivered by mail order. Some businesses will construct this section for you.
You may be able to reach a completely new set of clients who do not live in close proximity to your physical retail locations. Depending on the nature of your business, you may have potential consumers from all over the world.
11. Gather customer information
You may have already calculated the typical foot traffic at your physical location. A small business website, on the other hand, gives you a sense of your company’s broader reach through digital insights. If you have multiple websites dedicated to the items or services you offer, you may utilize web visitor statistics to determine which is receiving the most attention.
You can also conduct online polls or surveys to determine which items and services are most appealing to clients.
12. Make product information and customer service easily accessible.
You can provide as much detail on items and services as you desire by working with your staff and product distributors. Email forms and contact information can assist a small firm in developing a more professional-looking customer care system.
Even semi-automated chatbots can be hosted on a website and fulfill the same critical role as an operator on a major corporation’s 1-800 customer support phone number. As a result, your customers can now contact you at any moment.
13. Provide value to customers
Your employees can spend less time discussing the fundamentals of a product or service with interested customers. If a customer isn’t at your business, you can direct them to your website if they have any further inquiries. Customers that want to “kick the tires” before making a purchase will be able to perform as much research on your offers as they wish.
14. Create a virtual showroom to showcase all of your products.
If you run a business with limited floor space for your items, your website can help. You have nearly infinite space to list all of your products in as much detail as you desire, and potential consumers can learn more about them at any moment.
Working with manufacturers and distributors allows you to offer high-quality photo galleries for products. Furthermore, your virtual showroom can be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
15. Increase brand awareness
Put your website address on all of your existing promotional materials, such as business cards, brochures, and so on. You might notice an uptick in sales. Even if someone who picks up a piece of product literature does not intend to buy it right away, you may have planted a seed.
When a customer is ready to make a purchase, your website resources are simply available. Your website is most likely where they will now begin their serious product research. When you combine traditional promotional materials with the additional resource of your website, your company is more likely to be “stuck” in the minds of clients.
16. Assist with employee training
If you’ve taken the time to create a website with thorough information about products and services, you now have an internal information resource. Send new hires to specific web pages where they can learn about the things they will be selling.
17. Encourage repeat business by remaining “findable” at all times.
Prospective clients may misplace business cards and brochures. A bookmark on a customer’s web browser, on the other hand, can remain in their search history. This “perseverance” can also help with word-of-mouth recommendations.
18. Recruit new employees
On your company’s website, including a “Careers” or “Job Opportunities” section. You will be able to attract potential job candidates rather than wasting time and money on recruiting staff or posting job postings on job portals.
19. Create a simple digital presence
Unlike in the early days of the internet, you do not need to understand computer code or HTML to create a visually appealing website. Modern web design companies are a “one-stop-shop” that can handle all technical requirements for small enterprises on a restricted budget.
Most offer a variety of customizable templates from which to develop your brand identity. Creating a website is today incredibly simple—and inexpensive.
20. Promote your physical locations
Although it may appear paradoxical, having a website may assist increase foot traffic at your physical locations. Having basic information on your websites, such as store locations, addresses, hours of operation, and phone numbers, generates a digital footprint that search engines will pick up on.
When someone searches for your store online, they are more likely to be presented with search results that include your store’s information. This is especially true for potential clients who use smartphones. Even if they are on the road, they can look up your company, get your address, and instantly enter it into their GPS.
21. Obtain quicker referrals
What is the first thing a former client and a friend of theirs will likely try to do if your company comes up in a conversation? They will conduct a web search for the company. They are more likely to locate you quickly once your business website is up and running, thanks to your online presence and brand identification.
22. Demonstrate authority by displaying awards, reviews, and testimonials.
Has your company received any industry recognition? Do your employees have professional certifications? Make certain that these are mentioned on your website.
Take advantage of your satisfied consumers. Positive customer reviews and testimonials can be used straight on your website. To help you get started, we’ve produced a selection of templates for encouraging consumers to post reviews.
Furthermore, it may be beneficial to build a specific web page area to present a “portfolio” of your work (with photos, if applicable). Creating a groundswell of positive reviews that are easily accessible on your company’s website is another approach to set yourself apart from competitors.
