As early as twenty years ago, it used to be enough to take out an ad in the paper, jaw to your rotary club, and commission a flashy sign to get word about your small business out there. Web design and internet marketing were a new frontier seemingly broached only at great cost and expertize by military men, self avowed nerds, and people who knew what “in DOS” meant.
Why You Need A Web Presence
Today, things are radically different. In 2011, $1.1 trillion of all retail sales were categorized as “web-influenced.” Nowadays 61% of global Internet users research products online, and as a result of this changing shopping trend, almost every serious business, even locally owned mom and pop shops, have a web page to accompany their business card. But don’t fret, oh technically challenged-the good news is that ease has come with ubiquity. You no longer have to know how to write code to modernize your business and dive into the exciting world of web design. There are hundreds of templates available pre-coded as well as professionals who have made the web design business their business, whether you want custom wordpress development services, design services, or a full blown domain and website from the ground up. With just a few photographs and a few loading screens, your antique store, loose tea shop, nursery–you name it, can be online in no time.
How To Set Yourself Apart
However, site launch is only half the web design battle. It’s all well and good to have a dot com address–but it will be one of millions out there, and one of thousands no doubt advertizing the same thing. Many business owners wonder how to set themselves apart from the madding crowd–and naturally, there’s a technique to that too. One strategy is to commission blog writing services as part of an SEO, or Search Engine Optimization plan. SEO plans aim to increase site traffic by making the algorithms of popular search engines like Google and Bing work for your company, mainly via a target keyword density in the blog content.
Another way to go would be via social media plans, or plans of action that utilize sites like facebook and twitter. This may seem frivolous, as these sites have more of a reputation for extraneous statuses and “tweets” about what so-and-so ate for lunch today, but in fact, thanks to accompanying ads that help pay for these services, social media has a 100% higher lead-to-close rate than outbound marketing, and is a valuable tool for any growing business.
“This Seems Like A Lot of High-Tech Hokey To Me”
To this sentiment we say: Don’t sell your business short. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that you’ve maxed out your profit margins, or that “your” customers couldn’t possibly use the internet that much. (This is a common trap to fall into if your business caters to an older demographic). You could be denying yourself customers you haven’t met and would never expect-and you could be denying them the chance to make contact with your exciting enterprise. There’s a whole world out there waiting to be accessed at the click of a mouse–so get going.