The website you got for free is probably costing you a lot of money!
The website development and management industry has grown substantially in recent years and with good reason. A lot of purchase decisions are made online. Sometimes the actual purchase happens online and sometimes it happens in a brick and mortar store, but the decision to buy often results from research that happens online. As a retail business, your website will be viewed quite often by potential consumers when they are deciding whether or not to purchase the products or services you have to offer.
Focusing on just three key areas help make sure that potential consumers buy from you based on their online research. Those three key areas are Search, Usability and Content.
- Search
- Free Websites perform very poorly in search engine results.
Your free website will probably ensure you come up for your store name and maybe a few general terms related to your business. But youāre likely missing out on a big chunk of traffic from more specific searches.
Letās say you own a pet storeā¦
Do you know how many pet related searches happened on Google last month?
3,399,620
Do you know how many searches for a pet store occurred last month?
99,540
Pet Supplies?
42,370
Pet Toys?
22,260
If you own a pet store how many people in your area did a pet related search last month? Did they find your website? What if they were looking to buy online? Does your website have a shopping cart?
Americans will spend $61 Billion dollars on their pets this year. To earn your share of that market you need to earn it! That means you will need to work to capitalize on the millions of people searching for pet related answers and products by providing the answers and products. How does a pet store ensure their share of the market?
- SEO- Make sure you are with a company that will provide strong Search Engine Optimization Services. This is an ongoing process to make sure that your business is found for its products and services in all major search engines.
- Shopping Cart- Make sure you cater to your consumer base so that they can purchase from you in the way that is most convenient for them, as your customer. Make sure your products are available for sale in-store and online.
- Usability
- Most free websites arenāt optimized for other devices.
Do you have a smartphone? Statistically speaking, the chances are that you probably do. Consider that over 90% of American Adults own cell phones and over 64% own smartphones. More Google searches happen on mobile devices than on laptops.
Your free/cheap website most likely isnāt readable on a mobile device or tablet. Not only will a potential customer not be able to learn about your business, but Google may also penalize you in their search results.
How do you correct this?
- Responsive- make sure that your website company builds you a website on a responsive platform. This means that your website responds to any sized device that it is viewed on including smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktops. Thus, no matter what device a person uses to access your information it is as easy for them as possible to learn what you do.
- Content
- Free websites are rarely kept up to date
The reason your retail business needs a website is because consumers will go to your website to find out information about your business. The question is to what extent do you provide information about your business?
The growth in sophistication and access to the internet means that consumers look to websites to tell them everything from contact information to customer reviews to information about specific products. Many of your customers will soon be expecting that they should be able to purchase your products through your website.
Free websites fall short of your customersā expectations. Free websites never answer the age old question of āWhy?ā. āWhy?ā should I do business with you?
What is the āWhy?ā in āWhy do people buy from your store?ā? Is it your selection, your prices, your expertise, your location, your community involvement, your services, your specific niche or your specialty products? Your website needs to answer this question very specifically and in good detail.
How do you correct this?
- Blog Page- The point of a blog is to let people know youāre the expert. In your community the best person to turn to for advice and information is your store. Also, consistently updated blogs let Google know that you are the right resource for information in search results.
- Product Catalog or Department Page- Have information about the products you carry and brands you sell. If you choose not to build an online product catalog at least be specific about your store departments and your major brands. That is the information that consumers are trying to find out.
- Service Pages- Customers want to know if you offer specific types of services. This includes delivery, grooming, estimates or any other number of things depending on your industry. Give them the specifics about what you can offer to meet their needs.
- Update your Information- Update your information about your events, specials or other general news.
Google has a place page for your business and it has your phone number and location. Weāve passed the days where a website mattered only for contact information. If a consumer proceeds to your website it is because they are looking for more. Donāt waste your time with a free website, it only makes you look small and like you didnāt care enough about your customerās inquiries to put your best foot forward online. Building a quality website means building value for your business.
Helpful Links and Sources-
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/217499
http://www.pewinternet.org/data-trend/mobile/cell-phone-and-smartphone-ownership-demographics/