Forget the Phone Book: Make your Internet “listing” Shine With Good Web Site Design!
Monday, February 22nd, 2010
If you wanted a cult DVD you couldn’t find in stores, are you more likely to spend a few minutes searching the Internet to order it online or drive from store to store for hours, asking salespeople disappointed? If you needed a vet for your new kitten, are you more likely to type “Vets in [Your Area]” into a search engine and read about each veterinarian online or take your chances on a one-inch ad you found in a phone book?
The Pew Internet & American Life Project (www.pewinternet.org) has found that 41% of the 70 million Americans who log on each day say that the Internet has helped make shopping easier and 81% of them research a product or service online before they buy. An estimated 4 million Americans buy a product or service online each day.
If your company doesn’t have a Web site, chances are that your competitors do, and you automatically lose the “battle” over a myriad of potential customers. If you have a Web site that’s visually unappealing or difficult to navigate, people are going to leave your site behind and head over to an attractive, easy-to-use Web site that comes up above your listing in a search engine.
It doesn’t matter if you don’t or can’t do any business online, the Internet is a more extensive phone book. Attract customers to your door with a well-designed Web site with search engine optimization so that your Web site comes up in search engine requests near the first results page. Let your potential customers know what your company does, what you charge, and where you’re located. Share some positive customer reviews.
If you’re a small business, you might benefit from a simple three-page Web site design package, with free one-year Internet hosting and a domain name, thirty free days of Web site updates if you come up with some more ideas after a few days of being online, and a completely original professional Web site design.
If you run your business completely online, a well-designed Web site with an effortless online shopping system is especially important as the Internet is your one and only place of business. If you have a store location, think of how much more business you could do by going global and selling your products online, too!