Why Having A Small Business Website Is Absolutely Essential

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you probably realize that most internet users search online for local products and services.  While you certainly can have an internet presence without having a website, I wouldn’t recommend it.

You may be wondering if having a small business website is really that important.  In a word, yes. You probably already understand why an internet presence is essential for your business.  What about a website? Having a business website in an important component in your total internet marketing strategy.

Can A Small Business Website Help You Attract More Customers?

If you already have a small business website then you’re off to a good start.  However, there’s a lot more that needs to be done to make sure your site attains high search engine rankings.  For now, let’s just focus on the importance of a website.

Let’s have a look at how much business you could be missing by not having a high ranking small business website.

We can use the Google Adwords Keyword Tool to help us.  This tool gives us a rough estimate of the number of searches done each month for a particular keyword phrase.

I live in Southwest Florida so let’s see how many people search for the term, “Naples hair salon”.  At present, Google is estimating that there are 1600 searches done for this term each month.

If you owned a hair salon in Naples, Florida and you were on the first page of Google, it stands to reason that you’d get a portion of the business from those 1600 searches.

Let’s take a look at how many searches are performed for the term, “Ft. Myers pizza.”  At the time of this writing there are 6600 searches for this term, each month.  Wow, that’s a lot of hungry people!

Obviously, this is really popular keyword search phrase.  So if you were in the pizza business in Ft. Myers, Florida you can see that being on the first page of Google could be really lucrative for your business!

Not all business types will get this many searches.  For instance, the term “Naples Cosmetic Surgeon” currently only receives 140 searches per month.  That may not seem like much but if you were a plastic surgeon with a high ranking website, imagine how this kind of traffic could effect your bottom line.  Most cosmetic surgery procedures cost between $2500 – $10,000 .  If you picked up just two extra clients per month from that pool 140 queries, imagine how that would impact your yearly income.  This could mean an extra $50,000 – $200,000 of income per year!

Your Small Business Website Can Be A Traffic Magnet

Having a website is just one component of your total internet marketing strategy.  You’re going to have to do some serious work to get listed on the first page of Google otherwise, no one will find you.  A small business website is like having a round-the-clock sales team and if you don’t have one  you’re missing the big picture!

A business without a small business website is like a salesperson without a business card.  Your website represents your business and your values and also functions as your main hub where you can drive traffic from many other sources.  Once you drive traffic to your site, you need to provide a good deal of high quality information for your visitors. Make sure to update your site regularly to keep them coming back for more. Lastly, create an offer that compels your visitors to take action.

A small business website shows that you mean business and helps you attract business, plain and simple.

Tagged with: first page of Google • internet marketing strategy • small business website

Filed under: Small Business Marketing

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