The Small Business Web Guru

You Need a Website

If you don’t have a website you need one. Dell reported on their We Mean Business show that 63% of all small businesses have a website. I don’t know what the other 37% percent are spending their marketing dollars on, but they need to realize that it is 2008 and if you don’t have a website, you’re leaving out a critical aspect to sustaining long-term success for your business.

Old People Use Phone Books My Gen Uses iPhone

If you ask my baby boomer parents to look up the phone number to order a pizza they will grab the Yellow Pages. I in contrast will grab my iPhone or web browser and search. On the iPhone the phone numbers are actually links that will dial the number for me. The times they are a changing get on the bandwagon now, my generation has a whole different mentality. You need to have your business listed on Google and Yahoo and have a website so that users can learn about your product or service in detail.

Your Current Website Can Be Improved

Now if you do already have a website there are ways that you can make it better. In reality maintaining a successful website is a never ending job. You have to constantly evaluate metrics and conversions to determine what is working and what’s not. A purpose-driven website can be a real competitive advantage no matter what your market or specialty.

How to Determine the Type of Site You Need

So we agree you need a website. Now you’ve got to ask yourself one question:

Ask yourself, what business objective do I need to meet with my website?

I’m talking about a goal. A goal for your website. Can you think of one?

I can’t really answer this for you as it will vary depending on your business type and the current site you have or lack thereof. I’m not even going to offer examples. I don’t want to limit your imagination. Think about this and look at your favorite sites on the web that do things you think could benefit your business and accomplish your goal. Take your goal and favorite sites to a qualified web development firm or ask me for feedback.

This is the third post in a series on The Path to Online Success for Your Business Yes, I skipped over the MSN business listing post. Don’t worry we’ll come back to it.

Photo is of Toby a Springer Spaniel residing in East Nashville

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