Maybe your business only operates in-person, such as a locksmith. Maybe you’ve run for years without a website, and have done just fine. Or maybe you have a website but, haven’t seen any improvements in your revenue.
In 2019, every business needs to have a website. And not just a website – an SEO enabled, well-branded site that creates a strong reputation for you online. Let these stats explain why you need a site:
- Among small businesses without a website, 58% plan to build one in 2019
- Among small business websites, 81% are mobile friendly
- By 2019, 94% small business websites will be mobile friendly
- 80% of internet users own a smartphone (Smart Insights, 2017)
- 53% of mobile website visits are abandoned if a mobile site takes longer than three seconds to load. For every one second delay in site load time, conversions fall by 12% (Google, 2018)
- In 2018, 52.2% of all worldwide online traffic was generated through mobile phones, up from 50.3% in the previous year (Statista, 2018)
- 57% of all U.S. online traffic now comes from smartphones and tablets (BrightEdge, 2018)
- 84% of website users would abandon a purchase if data was sent over an insecure connection
- 91% of customers have visited a store because of an online experience
- 37% use the Internet to find a store at least once per month
- 88% of online consumers are less likely to return to a site after a bad experience
- 85% of people think that a company’s mobile website should be as good or better than their desktop website.
- 57% of users say they won’t recommend a business with a poorly designed mobile site
Even if you don’t think they are, your potential customers want to find you online. They’re using search engines, Yelp, social media, online directories, and even blog recommendations to find businesses like yours.
If your competitor’s site shows up, but yours doesn’t, which business do you think the customer is going to visit? The stats about should prove to you that it’s not going to be yours if you don’t have an updated, mobile-friendly site.
The days of getting by without a website are over. Your website operates as your digital business card, and provides a place for customers to learn about your services, find your contact information, and find the reason to choose you over another business.
Customers want to find companies and brands that appeal to them emotionally and provide a hook that makes their decision easy. With so many businesses out there, your website can be the thing that sets you apart.
35% of small businesses feel their operation is too small to warrant a website. But do you want to be small forever? Eventually, you will need new customers, and the longer you wait, the more difficult it will be to establish a presence online.
If you’ve been waiting for the sign to get started with SEO and a website, this is the sign. Because SEO doesn’t work overnight, and if you’re in a competitive market, it can take 4-6 months for your website to start seeing results.
Don’t keep procrastinating on creating a robust, responsive website that’s search engine optimized. Do it now, so you can continue to thrive for many more years.