Mar

Why Have a Website? 10 Reasons Why you Should.

Karen

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Seems to be a frequently Googled question, so I thought I would have a go at addressing it.

It’s an interesting one for anyone who is already online, since they would appear to be benefiting from all the websites that are currently online, but perhaps they are looking at the issue from a business perspective – for example, if I am someone who gets most of my customers from word of mouth, I spend no time at all in an office in front of a computer and I am already flat out busy … why have a website?

From that perspective, it is a good question.

Maybe right now you don’t need one – but it is likely that at some point in the not so distant future that you might find it beneficial.

1) Google is the new “yellow pages”. For a huge percentage of the population, the first point of call when they are looking for a product or service, is to turn to the internet and start searching.

2) Your competition have websites. So when someone is hunting for a particular business or service, in their area or city, frequently they will see at the top of the page the “local listings”, which sit next to a Google Map. If your business is not in the local listings, chances are people will think you don’t exist and go to your competition.

3) Having a website can be cheaper than printing and distributing brochures. Most websites that first went online were pretty much digital versions of marketing brochures or company profiles. They have evolved into something a lot more dynamic and interesting now, but putting up a simple website with just a few pages is faster and cheaper than printing 1,000 brochures and deciding what to do with them. Your website can be updated quickly and easily (by you if you have a good content management system) and you can change the look and feel of your business image whenever you want (without having to throw all those brochures out). If you are at a trade show or an event where you would normally hand out brochures – have some great signage on your stand and simply give out business cards with your website address for more information.

4) Your website can give you clues about your customers. Including something like “site search” on your site, can give you valuable information as to what your potential customers are looking for when they come to your site. It might be specific products or services, or it might be information. You can also install Google Analytics (free)to get a clear idea of where people are going in your site and how much time they spend on each page.

5) Your website can be making your money, even when you are busy doing other things. You may have heard of affiliate marketing – or if not, you have probably seen websites with advertisements for products and links to sites like Amazon.com. Every time someone clicks through from your site on one of those advertisements, then buys the product, you make a commission. Check out sites like Affilorama.com for more information about how to be successful at affiliate marketing.

6) Your website is a great place to experiment with new products and services. Before you commit to spending a whole heap of overhead on developing a new product or service, test it out on your website first and ask for feedback. You may get ideas that take your concept into a whole new – better, direction.

7) Having a website maximises the benefits you can get from social media. If you have set up a Twitter account and/or a Facebook account for your business, or even for yourself, having a website means you can promote different aspects of your business – new releases, events, services etc, just by linking to your site.

8 ) A website can increase the resale value of your business. If you are considering selling your business at some point in the future, having a website – and a great URL (domain name) that is relevant to the business, will add to the value of your company. If you are thinking of selling in the near future, now is the time to really get your site up and humming.

9) If you don’t have a business but you want people to know who you are – creating a site like a blog is a great place to start building your profile and online persona. It can support your job applications, serve as the base for that book you have always wanted to write, and give you a creative outlet. You can set up as many different blogs as you like, to focus on different topics – the software is free, templates are easy to use and you can choose from the hosted sites like wordpress.com or buy your own domain name and get it hosted cheaply by one of the many hosting providers around the world.

10) If you don’t a website, because you don’t know where to start, it’s time to Get With the Programme! Again, there are loads of free sites you can start out with, and millions of companies who can set up a site for you. Don’t be afraid to ask the things you don’t know … you can start out by Googling if you want. You’ll get up to speed pretty damn fast, and then there is a whole world of additional information just waiting to help you transform your site into something powerful.

Any questions? Feel free to comment below and I will answer.