We all know it’s crucial to have a website for your small business, and it’s an undeniable element for your company to thrive in this competitive market. According to Forrester Consulting; 7 out of 10 consumers look online first for information on a local business, therefore your website is one of the strongest small business marketing tools available for you.
Must Haves
There are certain elements that can enhance a website and promote a better user experience.
-
Search Engine Optimization
Basic Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is fundamental for any small business website. Search engines have two main functions: crawling and indexing sites, and providing a ranked list of websites based on their relevance to the search term.
SEO will help you position your website properly so that your customers can find you easily when searching for the products or services you offer.
-
Lead Capture
Adding a lead capture feature will allow you to collect information about potential clients, such as their name, email and phone number. Be sure to include lead capture elements on your website such as download offers, call to action graphics or registration forms.
-
Trust Building Features
Every website can benefit from trust building features. Adding customer reviews or testimonials help potential customers feel more comfortable with your business.
Press mentions also provide your company with higher credibility. Finally include trust seals, in the form of privacy seals, business validity seals, compliance seals, hacker-safe seals and others.
-
Mobile Ready Version
Your small business website should be mobile-ready. Responsive web design should be concurrent with every single website because, let’s face it, mobile is the future.
What device do you use to check your own personal emails more on? Desktop, Tablet or Smartphone?
If you’re not sure if your website is mobile-ready, try Google’s Mobile Friendly Test
-
Social Media Integration
If you regard social media as a serious and productive marketing tool for your business and you factor in time in your work week to connect with people through social media channels, the presence of social media buttons on your site is an absolute must have.
You’ll want to make sure your buttons are visible on every page of your website, so factor in how big or small the icons should be and their location.
-
Newsletter Sign Up Form
A newsletter is a great way of generating repeat business for a small business.
Inform your customers about upcoming promotions, offers and new services. Sending out a newsletter allows you to present yourself as an expert in your industry while providing your customers with valuable information.
The frequency of your newsletter will depend of the amount of content you can create. News letters can be sent out daily, weekly, bi-weekly or even monthly.
Newsletters help establish consistent communication between you and your customers, additionally online newsletter signups give you the opportunity to build an opt-in email list.
-
Blog
Blogs have become a strategic business communication tool that can help you reach out to clients and potential leads.
It establishes you as a subject-matter expert that can provide free valuable content to your customers, building your fan base of followers/readers.
It will help you bring more traffic to your website and possibly convert those visitors into buyers.
Aside from providing business solutions, we also do small business websites, brand positioning and social media management, starting at $99.00. Check out our client samples here.
The post 7 Essential Features Every Small Business Website Must Have appeared first on BizCentral USA.