A bakery owner creates a brilliant business website when she starts her business and then finds that she’s really getting a lot of business from Facebook instead. She lets her website fall by the wayside because, well, who looks at it anyway?
Five years into her business, she moves from Indiana to Wisconsin and continues her bakery business in the new location. She gets a call one day for an order, they talk all the details, and the person decides they want to forego the delivery fee and will pick up their cake. They confirm the pickup time, and she sends her address the morning of pickup. The person reads the address and says, “Wait, I thought you were in Indiana?”
Oops.
It turns out, they had found her website through a Google search. It directed them to the outdated website. You know the one… she thought no one ever looked at anymore.
Have you let your website fall off your radar?
It’s easy to do if you are not an online business. But if it is still active, it is still searchable. So even if Facebook or your other social media accounts are your main traffic drivers, your website still matters and it needs your attention. Just like good swag changes with time, so do websites.
But is it time to update your website? It could be if you’ve ignored it for some time or
You Need to Update Your Website If…
Here are several reasons you need to update your small business website right now:
Your website may not be filled with the right information. Besides optimizing your Google search, a good website is a source of information for your clients and patrons. Fill your website with all the important information (and make sure you update it with any location changes!). Ask your family and friends to check out the website and see what information they would find useful. Are your hours listed? Do you update it with upcoming events? Are there directions to your store? Do you have an FAQ section? Should you stipulate you only accept cash? Look at your business website from an outside perspective and fill it with information your future visitors will need.
It’s not mobile-friendly. If you don’t have a mobile-optimized website, it will frustrate your website visitors. You don’t want to miss out on people who may be traveling through town, on their phone and looking for something to do. If they can’t figure out what your business is from your website, they most likely will pass you by. Google also devalues sites now that aren’t mobile-friendly.
Your branding is out of date. Social media is limited in design style. You set the tone and vibe with your website. Social media is pretty limiting and you have no control over the layout. Nor do you own what’s on the site. The site could shut down tomorrow and you could lose everything on there. With your website, you can change anything you want to and make it unique to you and your business. Plus, you own the content so you needn’t worry about someone else shutting down your site like they could your page or profile.
You use your website as an electronic brochure. Websites are getting more advanced and can (likely) do more than you think. If you are still using your website simply as a static e-brochure and have not checked out new website plug-ins, now is the time to do so. With the right platform and plug-ins, you can include as much information and as many categories as you need, including ways for people to purchase merchandise right from your website.
Finally, why care at all? Why not simply check to make sure the contact info is correct and not worry about?
Because not everyone is on social media. You cannot rely on Facebook alone. You need a website, you need social media, you need reviews. Ensuring that you are reaching all of your potential customers means offering up all different types of marketing.
Spend time with your website on a regular basis. Even if you aren’t an online small business, websites are not going anywhere anytime soon. You don’t want an outdated site with incorrect information to cost you business. It is better to have more platforms and spend a little extra time making sure they are all updated rather than have a website fail like our small bakery owner.
You need to focus on all your platforms, including your website, if you want to increase your online presence, optimize your Googleability, and create an easy experience for your customers.
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