1 in 3 small businesses doesn’t have a website. When people’s automatic reaction to finding just about anything now is to head to Google, not having a website is not an option.
One of the biggest reasons business owners site for not having a website is that it’s too expensive. But with lost cost and no-code solutions like Wix and Squarespace growing in popularity, anyone can create a functional and aesthetic website for under $200 a year.
Since cost is no longer a barrier, let’s look at seven reasons every small business needs a website.
As soon as you have an online presence, you’re opening up new possibilities for your business. A website enables people worldwide to discover your business and is an excellent tool for attracting and converting leads (or potential customers).
Your website will be full of keywords relating to your business and its services, which means when someone searches those terms, your website will appear in the search results. If your service business operates at a local level, keywords relating to your location, e.g., swim lessons in Seattle, will help you show up in local searches too.
Additionally, if you offer gated content on your website (like this), you can also use your site to capture contact information you can then feed into your email marketing sequence to convert leads into customers.
In an ideal world, you wouldn’t have to pay to advertise your business because it would advertise itself. Having a website helps make this possible, and can drastically reduce your advertising costs.
Your website is a hub of information about your business and an excellent source of organic traffic. Organic should always be your business's primary traffic source because it’s free and isn’t affected by ever-changing ad policies. To boost your website’s organic traffic, you need to apply search engine optimization (or SEO) best practices.
Related: How to Increase Organic Website Traffic for In-Home Service Businesses
70% of customers want to book service appointments online. But regardless of whether you have online booking options or not (you really should), having a website makes it easier for customers to book with your business because they can find the information they need in one place. This information includes
Your website is an extension of your customer service team that saves the real people answering the phone and email hours on customer service-related inquiries. Why? Because a website allows you to create pages that answer customers' (or potential customers) most commonly asked questions.
Every small business’s website should have the following pages/information
If you had a choice between business A with no online presence, bar a neglected Google Business Profile, or business B, with a fully built-out website full of glowing customer reviews, information on services, pricing, service areas, hours of operation, and an online booking option that lets you schedule your own appointment at a time that suits you, which would you pick?
Creating a website for your service business makes your business not only look professional but like a legitimate business that isn’t going to scam customers out of their money! If you don't want to create your own website, you can use a website development services provider to build a high quality website for your service business.
98% of consumers read a review before buying from a company. In addition to your Google Business Profile, a company website is a great place to display customer reviews and testimonials for your small business.
Reviews give a business credibility and are a form of “social proof,” a psychological phenomenon that essentially means if someone sees that others are buying and loving your services, they’ll want to buy from you, too, so they don’t miss out.
Consider your website another way to capture more sales, and sprinkle customer reviews throughout your site so as a potential customer browses through your service pages, they continually see how much your customers love them.
Related: How to collect client reviews for your small business & why you need to
It’s not just new and potential customers who will benefit from your website; it also makes life easier for your existing customers. Having a website makes it easier for your current customers to find your business again and, in turn, rebook, becoming repeat customers (the best kind of customer!).
We’ve only just scratched the surface of the many benefits creating a website can offer your small business. But hopefully, you can see the value a website provides and now know that you don’t need a big budget or expert coding skills to create one! Using the customizable templates and drag-and-drop elements from a DIY website builder, such as Experro, you can build the perfect website for your business quickly and easily.
Check out our blog for more articles on how to optimize and grow your small business.
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