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Dave Thomas

Dave Thomas writes about small business topics.

Dave Thomas has written 101 articles for SB Informer.
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Does Your Small Business Have a Proven Website?

Dave Thomas

March 25, 2016


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Having a successful small business encompasses myriad of proven techniques, an ample amount of time and devotion, and finding a little luck along the way.

Success for your small business also comes in the form of producing and showcasing a winning website.

With that in mind, have you taken an in-depth look recently at your website? If so, would you give it a thumbs-up or thumbs-down assessment?

 

It All Starts on the Web

Make no mistake about it, your website can make or break business deals for your small business.

When you show consumers a website that is informative, authoritative and updated regularly, you stand to win.

On the flip side, a website that lacks real information, doesn’t stand out amongst the competition, and is updated infrequently can leave you begging for customers.

So, how confident are you in your small business site?

To begin with, how searchable is your site?

When consumers come to your site, does the search feature allow them easy access to products, services, blog posts and more?

Whether consumers are in search of (depending what business you are in) real estate leads, new or used vehicles, medical services, how to lookup a California license plate, where to buy auto insurance or any number of other products or services, make it easy for them.

The last thing you want when they use the search feature on your site is for them going nowhere fast. If they get a “can’t find” or “error 404” message, you’ll leave them a tad frustrated. While some will return to your site later, others may not be so inclined to do so.

 

Look and Feel of Success

Your small business site also needs a look and feel of success to it.

If your site is rather bland looking, many consumers will forsake it for other ones.

When reviewing your site, see if it is colorful, has good looking imagery and/or infographics, and makes consumers want to come back again and again.

While you should not copy what the competition is doing, it does not hurt to take a look at their sites, seeing what appears to be working and what in all likelihood should be avoided for your web presence.

Another area of interest is how easy it is for consumers to jump from page to page on your site without finding broken links.

If your site has an occasional broken link or two that certainly is not unheard of. It is when you have multiple broken links where you enter the danger zone with consumers.

Also focus on how easy it is for consumers to contact you and/or your staff without having to jump through hoops.

Your business contact details should be front and center, making it easy for viewers to reach out should they choose to.

Instead of leaving just a generic mailing address and/or phone number on your website as contact information, if you have a sizable staff, put the work email addresses for each person in charge of a department. This way, consumers can go straight to the department they want to deal with instead of the general [email protected] that too many companies rely on.

If you have an online store on your small business site, when is the last time you looked to see if it is running on all cylinders?

As more and more businesses turn to selling products and services online, it behooves them to make sure their stores operate efficiently.

One example of this is during the checkout process.

If a customer (regular or potential) gets all the way to the checkout process and their order stalls, you may not get that sale when all is said and done.

Use your own experiences as a consumer when you shop other online store sites, taking in the good and the bad, making sure the latter is not a regular occurrence on your site.

Your small business is hopefully one that has a variety of things to offer consumers.

If you’ve not placed as much emphasis in the past as you should have on the importance of your website, change that thought process as you move forward.


                   



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