Being an entrepreneur and running your own business is not an easy task. Your to-do-list is never-ending. But this should not be an excuse to ignore certain things that you think can be delayed. One of which is having online visibility - which begins with your website.
Having a strong online position which is suitably professional (or quirky as your business demands) gives your customers the right impression that you are in business and propels greater motivation to want to engage more with your business. With this in mind, consider these three reasons why having a strong website is important.
Never Judge A Book By Its Cover? Everyone Does!
Let's face it, first impressions count.
An impression of your website may induce consumers to make judgements and decisions about whether they will even visit your store, restaurant or office. If they believe your website does not reflect the kind of experience that they are looking for from a business like yours, they are likely to dismiss you entirely.
Photo by Charles Deluvio on Unsplash
Window Shopping From The Bed.
Spending the weekends traversing Orchard Road isn't the only way people check out stores and other small businesses nowadays - especially when 2020 changed shopping behaviours. Being connected through mobile and desktops, customers are constantly seeking where they plan to make their next purchases online first.
87% of consumers begin their shopping experience with product searches. When people want to learn something or purchase a product or service, they turn to the internet and search engines. On average, Google processes over 40,000 search queries every second. For business, this highlights the importance of establishing a strong presence in search engine results, and it starts with an SEO-optimised website for strong visibility.
And the journey doesn't end there. From a Google search, your consumers may proceed to visit online review sites for more snooping around before they buy and "check-in" via Facebook for more social validation.
Make sure your business is well represented on search engines by first and foremost, by having a website presence.
Beyond having your URL address available, be sure your physical address, phone number and email are easily visible. Social media links would be excellent too. But only include these if you are actually active on social media.
Don't Lose The Money On The Table.
It is clear that if you don't have a website, you are missing out on opportunities for new customers to identify who you are and if entice them to spend money with you. If you don't have a website, your chance of ending up in customer online searches is significantly lower
Caveat - if you have a bad website it is better to have no website. While no website equals missed opportunities, a bad website can actually be worse since it literally makes your business look bad.
With so many template-based websites available, such as WordPress, Squarespace and Shopify, for you to customize for your business, there's no excuse for your website to look sloppy and unprofessional.
If you can't proudly promote the website you have currently, take it down. A poorly designed website is far worse than no website. Both are bad for business.
Whether you are a solopreneur or have a team of 100 employees, your website should appear as if you have a team dedicated exclusively to keeping your online presence strong and noteworthy. The key here is "appear" versus actually having someone updating your website every day. For most small businesses, this is simply not necessary. Start by having a professional, polished looking website that functions easily and offers customers easy navigation, high-quality images, clear content and an overall experience that engages them enough to want to do business with you.
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