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There’s no reason to say NO to bringing your small business online in 2022.
Even if you decide to set up your own website or your own social media profiles, you’ll only lose time in the worst-case scenario.
In 2021 over 5 billion users were present over the internet, and Google is averaging 40,000 searches every second.
These numbers will keep going up.
If you’re still wondering what the exact benefits of bringing your business online are, here’s a quick list:
Having your own website means that you can control the message you want to convey to your audience. You can modify your offer any time and keep testing what works best for you.
Your website could also serve as a portfolio where people can see what you’ve done in the past.
You could also present your audience who’s behind the whole brand and tell a story about how you got into the business.
Another good thing is you can be picky about what you want to show. Instagram models post only one of the 100 photos they just took… You can do the same for your business! Think twice about what you want to tell and whatnot, and it’ll let you create the “perfect” and more polished image for your brand.
We often tend to buy based on our friends’ recommendations.
Before buying your product/service, people will look for social proof - this is a natural thing.
Social proof builds trust and credibility. If you have a good customer base and 5-star reviews are constantly dropping in, whether on your website or Google Reviews, you’re going to have an easy path to winning new customers.
Back in the day, when print advertising was a much bigger thing than it is now, it was to tell how many people opened and read the actual thing and made a purchase.
Online marketing lets you target your ideal audience and monitor your campaigns/website statistics. Nowadays, having a solid landing page is more cost-effective than handing out flyers.
Still not convinced whether you should have a website if you’re just a local business?
46% of the Google searches are people looking for local businesses. Those who rank in the results are always full of leads!
Having an SEO-friendly website will bring you more customers and more visitors.
Also, using Google My Business will let you appear on the Google map whenever someone searches for a local business.
It’s still possible to find clients offline, but it’s much more complicated than being present online.
You can easily handle customer service online. With a website, you’ll keep your customers engaged and informed; having contact info on the internet makes it easier for potential customers to contact you and ask for any additional information.
If you’re a medium or big-sized business, you can hire a Virtual Assistant to handle your customer service.
Having a contact form, a booking system, or a click-to-call button will make it easier for people visiting your website to get in touch with you. This is especially important if you’re offering services, as this often requires communication directly with the business.
Having your own website can give you an immense advantage over your competition.
People are much more likely to consider you if they see a website with professional, outstanding design. With around 70% of small and medium-sized businesses investing in online presence, customizing your website to make it more recognizable and clean will give you an advantage.
Not having a website is literally leaving money on the table - when people won’t be able to find you online, they will move to your competitors.
Whether your website makes your business's main source of income, or it’s just a small bonus to your revenue - that’s up to you. For eCommerce stores, a website will make or break the earnings.
Additionally, you can monetize your website by placing ads with the help of Google AdSense or Ezoic.
You don’t have to print out flyers to tell people about your business. Organic growth is free. Having a professional website will let people find the information they need.
Try to think about your customer’s journey.
Example: if you’re looking for a plumber, there is a high chance the first thing you’re going to do is google “plumbers near me”
They’ll take a look at the first 3-5 websites that come up and compare the offer or the overall look and make the call based on what they liked the most.
You can optimize your website for SEO and include keywords that will help you rank in the searches of Google whenever someone will be looking for your services/product.
To set up your own website, you will have to hire a web developer/designer, pay for the hosting and the domain.
The cost can be anywhere between 80$ to $10,000 depending your needs. Usually, small businesses pay between $1,900-$5,000.
The costs will be lower if you’re looking to do it all by yourself.
However, this is just a one-time investment. You want to have someone to keep optimizing and maintaining your website so it actually shows up in Google search.
As for additional costs, you might consider email marketing services or social media marketing to promote your website.
If you decide to build your own website by yourself, here are a few website builders:
For most people, WordPress is going to be the most popular option - around 25% of online websites are set up on that specific platform.
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