Quick question for ya… How are others finding you aside from word of mouth & social media?
In order to grow, you’re going to need a well-rounded online presence and social media is just a small part of that. While social media is definitely great, a website is an extremely important part of your online presence that you don’t want to forget about!!
If you’re serious about building a profitable online business, it’s essential that you have a website.
In today’s highly competitive marketplace, having a website is one of the most important steps to making your business visible to potential customers.
Still don’t think a website is really that important?
Below are eight reasons why your business needs a website…
1. Having a website establishes credibility & builds trust with your audience
Credibility is the belief that something can be trusted or relied upon, which is determined by a someone’s ability to assess the credibility of a given situation. The first step in establishing credibility for your business is to establish trustworthiness with an effective website.
Whether you’re selling a product or a service, you need to have a website that tells the world who you are and what you do – proving that you’re a real, legitimate business.
FUN FACT:
More than 75% of people have admitted that they judge a company’s credibility by its website. This means clients are more likely to do business with you if you have a professional website that keeps them engaged, that builds an initial level of trust, and proves you are credible.
If someone sees that you have a professional-looking website with an honest-looking domain name and contact information, they will assume that your business is both ‘credible’ and ‘trustworthy’.
To establish credibility, start by asking yourself these questions:
- Who are you?
- What do you do?
- Who is your audience?
- What do they need and how can you help them?
- Do your company’s values align with the people in your audience?
2. Having a website builds brand awareness & increases visibility
When you create a website, it’s crucial to keep in mind that your main purpose is to establish awareness of your business and your company. Websites are an essential part of marketing, so if you don’t have one, you should consider getting one immediately.
A well-designed website can significantly increase your visibility and brand awareness, which ultimately helps with sales.
Your website will serve as an online ‘store front’ for your business. People will be able to find out exactly who you are, what you offer, how to contact you and so on.
You can set yourself apart from the competition by being unique, interesting and, most of all… by being honest. All of this adds up to more brand awareness for you and your business.
3. Having a website helps position you as the expert
As a business owner, you need to establish yourself as an expert in your field. This can be done through a variety of mediums, including your website.
Your website is the face of your business, and if it’s well-designed, well-written, and well-organized, it will help customers understand who you are, what you do, and why they should hire you.
The thing is, people are much more likely to do business with someone who is perceived as an expert. Your website enables you to add testimonials, case studies, blogs, etc. that helps positions you as the expert in your industry.
Quick TIP:
One of the easiest and most powerful ways to position yourself as an expert is to create a blog. A blog also helps build brand awareness and increases visibility so it’s a total win-win!
You can write about anything you want: special offers, product reviews, tips and tricks, etc.
The only thing you have to worry about is making sure what you are writing is interesting and helpful to your readers.
4. Having a website generates leads and increases sales
As a business owner, you know how important it is to capture leads, increase sales, and convert clients. A good website helps you achieve all three of these things. There’s no question that a well-designed website can increase conversions.
Websites are very important because they help you reach a large number of people quickly and effectively. They also help you get your message across.
If someone is interested in what you have to offer, a website will make it easy for them to learn more about you and to buy whatever it is you are selling.
As mentioned above, having a website will also help you to establish credibility which, in turn, will lead to more sales. It’s a natural ‘law’ of human psychology. People are much more likely to do business with someone they know, like and trust.
A properly designed website will be the foundation of a very effective lead-generating campaign. If you don’t have a website, you are missing out on the easiest, most effective way to generate leads and increase sales.
There are a TON of ways your website can help you generate leads and increase sales. Here are a few…
- Grow your list with hot leads by creating a lead magnet (freebie) and host the opt-in page on your website.
- Add multiple CTAs (calls-to-action) such as book now, buy now, sign up here, etc to help move your visitors through the customer journey.
- Instead of answering the same question for the umpteenth time over the phone or through email, use a FAQ page on your website.
I could go on but I am sure you get the idea!!
Related Post: 5 Easy Ways to Book More Clients with Your Website
5. Having a website Gives Visitors More Information
When you share your services on social media, you’re extremely limited on how much information you can share within a post. You need to be really brief and get to the point fast which means that you can’t possibly cover all the important details about your service.
To top it off, not all of your followers will even see these posts. Missed Posts = Missed Opportunities
The good news is, your website has no limits. You can go into as many details as you want, add as many testimonials as you want, and throw in more than one call-to-action.
As mentioned above, your website is the perfect place for your followers to learn more about you and your services, so the real question is: why wouldn’t you have a website for your business?
Quick TIP:
When a website gives visitors too much information, they become overwhelmed and lose interest. They feel like they’re being forced to take actions they don’t want to take. They’ll stop reading and leave.
It’s critical to make sure you are giving visitors enough information to make decisions, but not too much. That’s the key to making sure they’re going to make the right decision.
6. Having a website Makes Your Business Search Engine Friendly
Your business website is one of the most important parts of your online marketing plan. It’s the place where your company’s voice and personality come through loud and clear and where visitors go to learn more about you and how you can help them.
It’s also the platform that search engines use to crawl and index your site, which means that having a great website is a surefire way to ensure that your business will appear in search results when customers look up your company’s name.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a critical component of every website, and a strong presence on search engines can be the difference between making a sale and failing to find new customers.
If you want to rank high in search results and drive traffic to your website, you need to be sure that your website is optimized for search engines. A website that ranks well organically is invaluable to any business.
7. Having a website keeps your business open 24/7
We are living in a world where we can do business 24/7. People are using smartphones and tablets to look up local businesses while on the go and they’re checking their social media accounts on their mobile devices. When we live in a 24/7 society, a website can be your store front and your customer service center.
When you are in business, being available for your customers is key. But what happens after your typical business hours?
With a website, potential clients can find helpful information at any given time – day or night.
Just like those diners that are ‘Open All Night’, you are as well, but without the need to actually be awake for it. You will be notified of new messages, inquiries and orders, which you can then respond to, at your convenience.
8. Having a website saves you money in the long run
There are a lot of reasons why a website can be beneficial to your business:
- better customer service,
- increased brand recognition, or just
- an overall better online presence.
But one of the biggest reasons to have a website is because it is a cost-effective solution.
Remember when I said your business is never closed?? Your website is literally advertising your company 24/7 so you’re instantly saving on marketing costs!
With print material (and even social media) people glance and then usually disregard it – leaving no lasting impression.
Online marketing is more interactive – you can add and change information on your website immediately without having to re-print material and can get it out to your audience instantly.
In terms of marketing ROI, printed marketing has no way to measure its success compared to online marketing which you can measure using analytics.
With a website, it is possible to market your products and services to a much broader audience than is possible through newspaper or other print ads making it a very cost effective way to promote your business.
FINAL THOUGHTS
As you can see, there are many benefits to having a professionally designed website.
Even though social media is great, you don’t have control over any of those platforms. Meaning they could disappear at any given moment and you have no idea if people will even see your posts.
Remember how quickly MySpace and Periscope died out? And don’t forget about the time Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp were down for over 24 hours…
This is exactly why a website is your best business asset and why you absolutely need one for your business!
The next thing to do is to look at your options… You could hire a web designer or try to DIY your website.
Ready to try and DIY your website?? Then you’ll want to grab the FREE Beginner’s Guide to WordPress so you don’t miss any crucial steps along the way!!
Want to outsource your website? Then you’ll want to book a FREE, no obligation Website Success Call to learn more about how we can launch your website in as little as one day!!
Download the 5-Minute Website Guide so you can plan and launch your website with ease!
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