Most businesses, whether small or big, are already having their own website. There are also new companies that don’t wait any longer to have their company website. For many business owners and entrepreneurs, creating a website for their business is a must to build their business presence online, attract potential customers, retain existing customers, and ensure profitability and stability in their business. A website could be a powerful marketing tool online and offline. If you don’t have a website yet, here are 7 big reasons why your business needs a company website.
1. It boosts your content marketing campaign.
Content marketing is considered king in Internet marketing. Your website content (e.g., articles, images, infographics and videos) will be your foundation towards your other online marketing strategies, such as search engine marketing (SEM) and social media marketing (SMM). Without great content, your SEM and SMM might not work effectively. Having a website will give you the opportunity to publish high-quality and interesting content that will attract users of search engines and social media.
2. It puts your business on the search engine results.
Search engine marketing, which can be paid search marketing (Pay Per Click advertising) or the organic search engine optimization (SEO), is already one of the effective online marketing campaigns that many businesses are leveraging. With a website, you can have effective landing pages, where search engine users can visit when they click your link on the search engine results pages (SERPs). With an optimized website you could have a greater chance to make your website content or information appear higher or be displayed on the top of the search results, which results to attracting more prospective customers.
The picture above shows Google’s search results which display both paid search results (PPC advertising) and organic search results (SEO). As you can see, the results are pointing to the respective company website of businesses displayed by the search engine. If you have a search engine optimized website, your company could have a better opportunity to be displayed on the top or on the first page of the SERPs which is visible to thousands or even millions of search engine users.
3. It strengthens your presence on social media.
You can have a social media presence by creating a Facebook Page and other social media pages for free. However, a company website would be your fully manageable and controllable space on the Internet. Unlike a Facebook Page that is hosted on Facebook, a company website is your private property which you fully owned and have all the rights on it. Your business website can also be the main source of your statuses, link, images, videos and other content that are shared on your social media networks. You can also create a blog within your company website to enrich your web content. Your social media pages only serve as your satellite offices or stores on the Internet, but your company website will serve as your main office or store online.
4. It makes your customers informed anytime and anywhere.
The Internet is real-time when it comes to communicating business information. If you have a company website, which is fast loading, well-organized and categorically displaying your business information, your prospective customers can quickly get those pieces of information (e.g., company profile, product catalogue and contact information,) according to their needs. Your current customers can also get regular updates on your new products and on what’s happening on your business.
5. It helps you in managing your online reputation.
Online mentions originating from blogs, Facebook, Twitter and other social media can be positive or negative. There are times that one of your business competitors will implement a tactic that will spread a negative information about your business online. There are also times that some of your customers would have an unfavorable experience on your products or services, which would let them announce those bad experiences on social media and other places on the Internet. Sometimes, negative mentions from blogs make it to the top of the search engines which results to ruining your online reputation on the search engines.
Although those negative mentions could be inevitable, they can also be managed if you have a company website. You can publish positive articles on your website to outrank those online mentions that appear on the search engines. You can also create content to counter those negative mentions or publish humble apologies to comfort your customers who may accidentally experience unfavorable things about your business. Online reputation management is actually a matter of correcting miscommunication and misunderstanding. A company website will help you correct those online misunderstanding.
6. It improves your customer service.
It is important that business owners and marketers will constantly interact and maintain their good relationship with customers. A company website will help you improve your customer relationship management (CRM). Your business website has a technology function that makes your marketing, sales, customer service and technical support more efficient. Your customers could easily give their feedback through your website contact or commenting system and you can use this to improve your customer service even better. With the constant meaningful interaction with your consumers online, you could have a better chance to build lasting and more profitable relationship with your customers.
7. It saves your time and money.
With most of the population already using the Internet, searching the search engines and interacting on social networking sites, maintaining an updated company website is already one of the most cost-effective and efficient marketing campaigns implemented by small or large companies. Your marketing information can be transmitted to your target market in no time. You can also immediately edit or replace your web information immediately unlike in traditional media. Furthermore, creating a business website nowadays is already fast and affordable. You could even have a company website in one week for $500.
A business website could be your powerful marketing tool, not only online but also offline. You can always tell people personally about your website. You can put your website’s Uniform Resource Locator (URL) or domain name in your business card, communication letters, billboard, sign boards, directory listings, and other physical marketing stuff. Thus, having a website for your business is a wise investment, isn’t it? If you spend money on creating a website or hiring a website developer, you could even use that expense as deductible to your business income tax.