Why A Website Is No Longer Optional For Small Businesses

January 20, 2010 by Jennifer Bourn | 1 Comment

no more yellow pagesEvery business must have a website. This is no longer negotiable. Whether you’re a solopreneur, entrepreneur, small business owner, or a global organization, a website is imperative to your success.

The yellow pages and phone books are no longer the main way consumers locate businesses. With computers, laptops, netbooks, mobile phones, and other web ready tools, the Internet has now replaced the yellow pages and most consumers now turn to the search engines to find what they need.

Consumers aren’t just searching for broad terms either. Consumers are searching for local businesses and resources just as much as global businesses.

When your target market searches for your business online, do you show up on the first page of the search engine results? If not, you really should invest in a website upgrade and work with a marketing savvy web designer who not only understands how to visually present your information, but how to market your products and services as well.

You need to show up when someone searches for you online because your target market can’t buy from you if they don’t know you exist!

At minimum, you need to have a simple, clean, well designed website with good, informative, helpful content. This will ensure that at least you have a professional presence when someone searches for you.

What I recommend, is consistently adding new and fresh content to your website. Some people through a blog update their site every day. Some once or twice a week. Some business owners only update their site once a month. Obviously the more you update the content the better, but even one update is better than zero updates.

What do you think? Agree? Disagree?

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    About the Authors: Jennifer and Brian Bourn owners of Bourn Creative, a Sacramento web design company, help established businesses build beautiful, feature-rich, custom WordPress websites and blogs, design powerful, personal brands, and help their clients learn to leverage their website and blog to attract more clients than they ever thought possible.


  • Feedback and Comments:

    1. Renee Moore

      Jan 21, 2010 at 10:26

      Hi Jennifer,
      I completely agree! i tell my clients that they need a site and that site need to collect email addresses and have content updated regularly. The standard online brochure type website just isn’t enough anymore. Thanks for this post. It was timely and relevant.

      Reply

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