Why Have A Website?

Many business owners ask, “Since I have a small business with a small workforce, and since we don’t sell anything online, why have a website?” They also look at social media as being a cheaper alternative. Here are a few reason on why to consider having your own online presence.

Why A Website Is Essential For Local Businesses

The following statistics show how important a website is for a local business (stats Hubspot 2022):

• 46% of searches on Google include local intent such as “…near me”, “….in Crouch End” or …in North London”
• 97% of users use search to find local businesses
• 28% of users purchased an item after a local search
• 70% of users will visit a store because of what they found online

A business website will help you capture all of this potential and help your business to grow and be profitable.

If these stats are not compelling enough, below are a few further thoughts to consider

• A website boosts your credibility, increases your visibility, and improves lead generation. Social channels allow you to create a presence quickly but with limitations – poor search performance with little SEO ability. Your own website makes you look more professional, credible and discoverable.
• It’s all yours, so you have absolute freedom about how you want it to look and what you want to promote. You can build your brand. It is a place to highlight positive reviews and answer any questions. It is also the place where you can build an email list of interested potential customers. NB email is still one of the most effective marketing tools.
• Customers might come across your brand and products via different social channels However they often want to find out more about the business. A website is the ideal way to provide further information 24/7. Social media should be a support for your website – not a replacement.
• You should have a website to avoid losing business to competitors that already have one!
• Many millions use the internet to search for products and services; without a website you are invisible to these people.
• Optimize your site for local or related searches and you can attract an audience in your area who are actively looking for your products.
• Content management systems (CMS) like WordPress, keep it easy to manage a web presence by adding fresh up to date, optimised content

Why have a website? It will provide long lasting value to your business. Unlike advertising which is an ongoing expense, content on your website is an investment; having produced quality posts and articles they will continue to rank well and drive traffic from search engines for some considerable time.