Just Being Online Is Not Enough

Many small businesses think that if they have a website then they can check the box in terms of their online presence and go back to running their actual business.

But, as we like to say, websites are not set and forget.  If you do not maintain them, they won’t produce the results you expected.

Website Design

When was the last time you looked at your website through unbiased eyes?  Or at all?  It might surprise you to know that:

• 75% of web users judge a company’s credibility based on their site design.
• 93% of small business websites don’t look good on a smartphone.
• 60% of small businesses don’t have a mobile friendly website.

Is your site design over three years old?  Have you looked at your site on your cell phone lately? Maybe it’s time for a website redesign.

Website Content

You need to keep your business details up to date, not only on your website but also in Google Business and your social media pages.  Basic stuff, yet:

• 49% of small business websites don’t have a phone number on their home page.
• 93% don’t display an email address anywhere on their site.
• 85% of small businesses have incorrect information online.
• 95% of people searching for a local business have found incorrect information online.

64% of small business owners find that updating their website is a major challenge. If that is you then you might need to get some training, hire someone to maintain content for you, or change platforms so you can update your content more easily.

Organic Search

If someone is looking for your business using your business name, you need to be at the very top of the search results because:

• 61% of all clicks go to the top 3 search results.
• 75% of search engine users don’t scroll past the first page of results.

So go check.  Not just Google but also Bing.  Not just desktop but also phone.  Can you find you?  If not then you have some SEO work to do.

Social

While the following statistics only look at two social media platforms, it is probably safe to assume they correlate to others:

• 91% of small business websites don’t have a Facebook link.
• 94% of small business websites don’t have a Twitter link.

Yet surprisingly, 60% of small business owners say they spend more time on marketing per week than they did two years ago! So what are they doing and where are they doing it?

Bottom line is that you need a proper social media strategy in place to effectively make use of your time.

Analytics

If it cannot be measured, it cannot be known.  While that is not true of absolutely everything it is largely true for Websites. Yet 75% of small businesses don’t use website analytics. Not even using Google Analytics, which is free, is just rookie mistake that no small business can afford to make. Can you say “bounce rate”?

If you thought “that’s me” in relation to any of the above, maybe you should reach out to us for a free consultation.

Source:  Statistics were collated from a variety of sources courtesy of hibu.