The “Silent War” of Local Web Sites
I’ve worked with small businesses who ask, “How important is a web site anyway?” No one called who said, “I was just on your web site…” Often, very few of their prospective clients mention the web site so they assume no one is visiting.
We have found that this assumption is often seriously off base and the statistics prove this true. Ask your new clients if they visited your web site and you may be surprised by how many did. I just saw a statistic in Entrepreneur Magazine that said, “41% of consumers say a frustrating online experience would make them less likely to shop at a retailer’s physical store.” I believe this statistic also holds true for any local business, not just retail.
Other statistics from SEO RoundTable (8/22/07) show a significant trend toward local searches:
- 2.2 Billion monthly Internet queries have a local intent
- 82% of local searches resulted in contact with a local business
- 93% of local search conversions (sales) take place offline
Clearly, there is a “Silent War” taking place among local businesses. People are looking at company web sites before they decide to contact the company – this is especially true with the 20 and 30 somethings. Sadly, many small business owners have no idea how many people are visiting their web site, and don’t understand the value of a strong web property.
Importantly, your prospective clients have access to your web site as well as all your competitors. If they don’t gain a good impression from your web site or find what they need quickly, they’ll visit your competitor’s web site a few seconds later and you’ll be none the wiser. It is a ”Silent War” because a tremendous amount of business is won and lost via the Internet and company owners often have no idea.
I would recommend that you install Google Analytics on your web site and look at your traffic each week. Check out how many people are visiting, from where they’re visiting, what pages their visiting, and how long they’re spending on your web site. While this data sounds complex Google has done an excellent job presenting all this data via graphs and charts. Plus, it’s a free service from Google.
Also, check out your competitors web sites – does your web site measure up? does it communicate effectively? does it present the same kind of information? This kind of competitive analysis is essential because often your web site will be your first impression. If it looks amateurish, so will you. If it’s hard to navigate and looks “low-end,” so will you.
The local search trend has grown significantly in the past few years. The way in which people interact with companies is evolving quickly and includes research on the web. If your clients/customers are not finding you via your web site now, they certainly will in the months and years ahead.
Presented with this information, some company owners overreact and go overboard with their web site. I worked with one small company who was spending tens of thousands of dollars per year on web development. We were able to lower this expense significantly and provide a more professional web presence.
You don’t need a high-end web site with all the gadgets and animation. You simply need a professional web site that is easy to navigate and communicates what you’re about. I would recommend that you avoid both low-end ”create your own” web site software as well as high-end Flash web sites. Find a place in the middle and recognize the web site is only one part of an overall brand-building strategy.
If you have any questions about south of Boston web design or marketing feel free to request a free consultation from our corporate site: www.sinatraco.com