Having a website should be at the top of the checklist when starting a small business, or any business for that matter. However, unless you are willing to devote a significant amount of your time in caring for and updating your site, creating a website just so you can tick it off the list is useless and could actually send customers in the direction of your competitors.
While an increasing amount of small businesses do have an online presence, they often fail to keep its content fresh and engaging, update new product or service offerings or if using a content management system like WordPress, keeping it up to date with plugins and security updates. These are all essential elements and tasks that are involved in the general upkeep of any website.
Also, because many sites are not properly construct i.e. templates etc they don’t always appear in searches. It is not uncommon for a site to not list basic information such as trading hours, location or contact details. People like to see a local number or address to confirm it’s a local business.
A big mistake these days is using Flash. Flash features are often distraction, take a while to load and they are not viewable on tablets like the iPad. In a website, it is important to use images that are relevant to your business which show people what you are about. Tagging and labelling the images with keywords also plays part in search engine optimisation aka SEO.
SEO is a multi-featured skill and is often a full time job in itself. However, there are things you can do to assist the process for example, making sure images are labelled and each page is clearly tagged with relevant keywords.
Social media is another area businesses need to keep up with. Facebook and Twitter are really great marketing tools if known how to use correctly. These platforms allow you to communicate directly to your customers and to build relationships by offering news and specials. The number of these platforms is growing rapidly giving business owners something else to try and keep up with for example Instagram, Pinterest and Vine.
The internet may be key to survival in today’s economy, but with so many features to keep up with it’s no wonder small businesses are struggling to maintain their presence. If this sounds like you, if you are struggling to be seen or noticed online it might be a good idea to invest in some help. It might be the best decision you ever make for your business!
Contact SGD now for a chat about how we could help your business thrive in the digital world rebecca@sgd.net.au
