Three BIG Reasons Small Businesses Need a Professional Website
While there are many, here's what I consider the three BIG reasons why every small (and medium, and large) business needs a professional website.
Let's face it, in today’s digital world, having a professional website is no longer a luxury—it's a necessity. For businesses, a well-designed, user-friendly, and optimized website is a cornerstone of success. It provides credibility, enhances visibility, and significantly impacts revenue. Let’s explore why an expertly designed website is crucial for your business and how it can lead to tangible financial benefits, shall we?
Big Reason #1: Credibility and Trust
In an era where information is at our fingertips, the first place potential customers go to learn about a business is online. According to BrightLocal's 2023 Local Consumer Review Survey, 93% of consumers use the internet to find local businesses, with 34% searching every day (Tidio). 93 percent! That's a lot of potential clients to miss a shot at landing because you chose to skip a website. Obviously, this statistic underscores the importance of having a strong online presence, but it's more than just the ability to be found in search results.
In addition to serving as the digital face of your business, a smartly designed website also builds credibility and trust with potential customers. Without a website, your business might be perceived as less credible or even nonexistent. With a professional website, you can tell the story of who you are, what you have to offer, and why clients should choose you. To achieve this, a professional website should include the following (more on this in another blog; stay tuned):
- A welcoming homepage with an overview of services and clear value proposition.
- An about us page with information about your company's mission and values.
- Clear and detailed service and product pages.
- An informative contact page with a contact form, email, phone number, and physical address.
- Client testimonials and reviews providing social proof of your expertise.
- Blog or news section with regularly updated content related to your industry (great for SEO, too!)
- Prominent Call-to-Action (CTA) buttons on every page to facilitate conversion.
- An
SSL Certificate to protect user data and build credibility.
And of course, the website must be fully optimized based on local SEO market research and be mobile-responsive with design that adapts to different devices. Having all of these elements in your professional website communicates to consumers why they can and should rely on you for the services and products they are searching for. You ARE credible and trustworthy, so make sure your website shows it!
Big Reason #2: Visibility and Reach
Having a website improves your business’s visibility and accessibility, but as we saw above, not all websites are created equal. Now, this is where SEO comes in. A professional website designed with expert SEO (search engine optimization) is necessary for actually getting your website seen. To understand why, let's start with another statistic.
According to a report by HubSpot, 75% of users searching for services online never scroll past the first page of search results. This means that if your business is not prominently featured in search engine result pages (SERPs, like Google), you are likely missing out on a VERY significant number of potential customers.
To get on that first page of results, you must have an SEO strategy with optimized content on and off-site that best answers consumer search queries and features those searched keywords and terms.
Picture this... You paid for a gorgeous website that clearly shows your awesome services or products, has prominent CTAs throughout, etc... but it wasn't designed with a deeply researched SEO strategy. So that gorgeous website is stuck, and essentially hidden, on page 4 of the Google search results. There's a saying in the digital marketing community: "Where is the best place to hide something? On page two of search engine results." Hidden means none to little clicks, which means none to little traffic to your site. Thumbs down.
Do not skimp on this. You are investing in a website for your business, so invest wisely and include SEO to make your website actually work for you. Having a fully optimized professional website ensures that your business ranks higher in search results, making it easier for customers to find you. Isn't that the point?
Big Reason #3: Lead Generation and Revenue Growth
That brings us to the final big reason: lead generation and revenue growth. The money, honey. One of the most compelling reasons to invest in a professional, fully optimized website with expert SEO is its potential to generate leads and increase business profit. Remember, a primary goal of an SEO strategy is to improve your ranking on the SERPs. Appearing higher in search engine results doesn't just mean there's more eyes on your businesses; it means there are way more searchers actually clicking on your site and therefore converting into paying clients. Let's look at real numbers:
According to a study by Sistrix, the top three results of any search query receive over half (55.2%) of all click traffic, with most clicks going to the top result. The first result on any SERP gets 28.5% of all clicks, and the second result gets 15.7% of clicks, or about half of the first (infront). So how does this translate to more money?
Here's an (illustrative) example. Let's say HVAC companies in Smiletown, USA, are competing for leads from the search query "HVAC installation in Smiletown USA", which has 400 monthly searches.
An HVAC company that invests in expert SEO and appears in the second result spot for "HVAC installation in Smiletown USA" will receive approximately 15.7% of clicks, which equates to 62.8 leads. Now, let's be conservative and say this company can close 25% of their leads, which brings us to 12.56 new clients. (Still with me? Almost there.)
If the average value of a service contract for HVAC installation is (for simplicity) $10,000, that 12.56 new monthly client acquisition amounts to $125,600 of new monthly business. Phew. And that's just for the second spot in the SERP, with just that ONE keyword. Now, do you see the value of SEO and maximizing your SERP ranking?
Conclusion
It is clear to see that a professional website is a vital component of your business strategy. It enhances credibility, improves visibility, and drives lead generation. With the right design and optimization, your website can become a powerful tool for increasing revenue and growing your business. If you haven't yet invested in a professional, optimized website, now is the time to make it a priority. Your business’s future success could depend on it.
If you want to partner with an agency you can trust, reach out to the
Long Island Web Design and SEO professionals at Sound UP Marketing.
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