Why Is a Website Important for Your Business?

Why Is a Website Important for Your Business?

With small businesses spending an average of 35% of their marketing budgets on digital marketing, those dollars need to be spent intelligently.

Since that figure is on average $75,000, this might be a lot to invest in a digital presence when you don’t already understand the value of having one. Knowing the answer to “Why is a website important?” should help you make a decision about your company’s digital presence.

As 84% of people trust online reviews as much as word of mouth from their friends, having a digital presence is essential. If those directories can’t find a website to connect to, customers will often go with a business that has a website.

One of the answers to the question, “Why is a website important?” is because everyone else has one. Even if you’re relying on local foot traffic, a website can still have an impact.

Here are 9 reasons why your Tuscon business needs a site.

1. It’s Like a Digital Business Card

Even for the most straightforward business, clients and customers who are new to your company will want to know more information. Since the majority of the planet is now using the web for commerce and everyday things, your website can be out there attracting clients 24/7.

You need to be in the spaces where your customers are, who already know the answer to “Why is a website important.” They know that a digital reference is the marker of a serious business in this digital era.

Giving customers information about hours, locations, services that you offer, and employee bios can make you feel accessible. The more they can learn before they contact you directly, the more likely they’ll be able to work with you.

2. Search Engines Rule the World

Most consumers begin their path to purchase with a search on a major search engine. Searches are ranked by relevance to the terms entered in the search bar, as well a many other factors.

Search engines use a tool called web crawlers to index every site on every public server on the internet. That’s how they can return tens of thousands of results in a fraction of a second. Web crawlers check for dead links, the way a site is organized and the kinds of keywords used in order to determine relevance.

When your potential clients are looking for a business with your kind of expertise, they’ll be using a search engine. You need to learn about Tucson SEO (search engine optimization) in order to look good. But a website is the first place to start.

3. Customers Search Locally

An optimized website will do more than just use the main keywords in your industry. They’ll mention that you’re in Arizona or based in Tuscon as often as organically possible.

Have you ever noticed that just searching “pizza” in your favorite search engine brings you results for pizza near you? That’s because search engines use your search history, your account with them, or any cached browser data to determine where you’re located. Search engines know that the more relevant their information is to you, the more likely you’ll be to rely on them.

A high number of local searches then result in a phone call to a business. If you’ve got a website, directories can draw that phone number from your website to autofill their directories. The more information you give to local clients, the more likely they are to do business with you.

4. Look Professional and Credible

You only get one chance to make a first impression. Most consumers judge a company now based on their perceived values. Without a website, there’s no way to let clients know what you’re about.

Consumers will base their impressions on how your site is designed, what kind of information you’re showing them, and how reputable you seem. A company with no website doesn’t have the opportunity to build that reputation. A bad reputation is better than no reputation at all.

On your website, you can host customer testimonials to describe experiences people have had with your products. You can show images of people interacting with your products and services and write about how they add to peoples’ lives.

Your website is also an opportunity for you to create a blog. Writing about your services or the paths to producing your products can let customers into your process. This builds credibility and brand authority by showing how much you know and what you do with that knowledge.

5. SEO Is Cheap and Effective

If you’re spending money to create a website, you should know that you’re actually saving money in promoting your business.

One of the answers for “Why is a website important?” is that it gives you the opportunity to market non-stop. Rather than walk around Tuscon putting up flyers and billboards, you can be in your clients’ pockets.

A strong SEO strategy will bring more traffic to your website. By taking advantage of what search engines are ranking for when they rank a site, you’ll climb the top of the local rankings, which is as good as free advertising. SEO is the biggest trend in digital marketing in many years.

Statistics show that users don’t even go to those second, third, or fourth pages of search results. By using locally relevant keywords, search terms relevant to your industry, and building a mobile-optimized website, you can get the traffic you need.

Rather than spend hundreds of thousands competing with other local businesses, run some search tests. See which companies like yours come up at the top of the results for which keywords. Start using those keywords and you’ll find yourself at the top of the list in no time.

When consumers see you at the top of the results, that’s some of the best branding you can have for a company in Tuscon.

6. Mobile Searches Love Local Businesses

Through research, Google has learned that when a user is searching from their mobile device, they’re likely to want something close by. Search for “bar near me” on Google and you’ll get the closest bars to where you are.

Eliminating irrelevant results tells you why is a website important to users on search engines. It can be vital to small businesses.

If your website is mobile optimized, it’ll look good on smartphones and tablets, the objects people search for while on the go. Have your phone number easily accessible and you’ll turn that search into a sale in a matter of seconds.

7. Websites Don’t Close

You have to sleep sometime and so does your staff. Thankfully your website doesn’t.

Lots of consumers decide that they need a service after they get home or right before they fall asleep. If you’re wondering why is a website important, it’s because it allows consumers to find your products whenever they need them.

You can provide important information that can help consumers decide whether or not to work with you. By letting your website’s visitors decide in advance of whether they want to work with you makes them feel empowered.

8. Your Competitors Have a Site

Since more than half of all small businesses have a website, you’re competing with lots of businesses who have already answered “Why is a website important?” They know that their website can bring in real sales and increase local traffic.

To stay competitive, you need to have a website. Even if you’re not selling a tech-savvy service, you need to be ready for a generation of digital natives to consume your product.

There’s an entire generation of adults who’ve lived with the internet as a fact of life. Make sure you’re ready to turn them into customers.

9. You Can Grow

If you’re looking to build a new customer base, a digital presence can help you figure out what your customers are interested in. Use your site to connect to your social media profiles and track what else your customers like and react to. Posting on your site will show you what kinds of posts they like.

This can give you lots of valuable marketing insight for free.

You can add surveys to your site connected to giveaways. This is cheaper than getting out and hiring a firm to do market research. You’ll get results that are informative and valuable for next to nothing.

Request an email address from your customers in exchange for offering deals, promotions, and first releases of products. These small offerings in exchange for targeted advertising are more important to your business than a little bit of product given away.

Your site can generate valuable leads which will turn into large profits later, answering your question of “Why is a website important?”

Still Asking “Why Is a Website Important?”

If you’re still wondering “Why is a website important?” for your business in Tuscon, you should ask other businesses and owners in your area.

They can tell you what sorts of returns they’ve seen from the relatively small investment of building a site.

To get started with your Tucson Web Design or learn about the newest approaches to digital marketing, contact us today.

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