12 Reasons Why Every Business Needs a Website in 2021

Branded websites are important for any business. A branded website is one that has a domain name that matches the company’s brand name and can be used to showcase your talents, promote your products/services, or sell them directly. With more and more companies jumping on board with this (not new) trend in 2021, now is the perfect time and more important than ever to do the same! Here are 12 reasons why your business need a branded website:

1. Credibility

Having a website provides many great opportunities to make your business stand out and show your viewers not only who you are and what you represent, but it also has the ability to showcase client/customer reviews and testimonials. Acting as an online billboard with ample opportunities to educate, engage, and impress your potential customers with everything your have to offer shows credibility. In reality,it is difficult to imagine that businesses without websites are not taken as seriously as those with well designed and high traffic generating websites.

Think about it, your website provides the first impression that potential customers receive, so having that perfect look and feel can be really important in building credibility for your company. In addition, it shows customers you’re serious about what you do- by demonstrating the high quality company or organization they may be doing business with.

In the words of Neil Patel, a major educator and creator in the marketing industry, “​​If you’re unknown, you’re unsafe.”

Be known. Be credible.

2. Reach

A lot of people are using the internet to research or purchase products and/or services. In fact, a staggering 93% of business decisions start with a search engine, Google being the number one search engine choice. This means that if you don’t have at least an online presence to advertise your services or products then 7 in 10 potential customers will never see it, which means that you are only selling to 7% of your market! (Profitworks, 2021)

Your website will allow you to reach new customers and grow your customer base by catering specifically to their needs- whether that’s providing them with a wide variety of high quality items, developing an easy shopping process for all demographics, answering questions to build relationships, or booking service based appointments — your website makes your business REACHABLE to anyone, anytime!

3. Efficiency

A website is a great way to display and update information about your business. It’s also easier for customers to find products within the site by using search engines, or browsing specific categories- so they can buy them quickly! This saves time and money on both sides of the equation. Leaving you with more time to focus on how to bring in more customers and maintain the ones you already have.

4. Brand

Showcasing your brand to prospective customers is the best way for them to see if you are a good fit. By establishing who you are and what makes your company unique, more people will be drawn in that have similar interests or needs.

A strong brand can be the difference between success and failure when building a company. It’s important to learn how to build your business’ identity so that it stands out among competitors in order to attract more customers, grow revenue, and generate profit.

A clear understanding of what makes up a good branding strategy will help you distinguish yourself from other businesses who are vying for consumers’ loyalty.

What is considered an effective branding technique? What does this have to do with being successful? “Branding” refers not only to identifying oneself by name or logo but also creating one’s own image (how they want people perceive them) through advertising campaigns which make their product stand out amongst others.’

5. Leads

Think of your website as an old school brochure, used to inform and provide interest in a business’s offerings. While websites go far beyond a brochure’s capabilities, the intent is still the same, to showcase your business and bring in new customers.

Today, content marketing generates 3x as many leads as outbound marketing at half the cost. (Demand Metric, 2021) One of the many great things about having a website is that most if not all of your content can be directly on your website. Blogs, newsletters, offers, case studies, infographics, and more can all be showcased in order to obtain a desired outcome (educate, entertain, purchase, etc.). With a robust variety of content, viewers are more likely to stick around, engage, and even become qualified leads.

When created with a strong brand representation and the customers in mind, a website can dramatically increase your chances of getting leads and increasing sales. When people find you online, become interested in your products or services, they’ll have a way to contact you thanks to the information on your website — all while providing great ROI.

6. Organic Traffic

Organic traffic is the lifeblood of any website, as it can be a major FREE component in generating revenue. Organic traffic can be generated through search engine optimization (SEO), which is the process of improving your website’s rankings in search engine results pages (SERPs) such as Google, Google Maps, Bing, etc.

There are two major types of SEO strategies (that I will discuss for now): on-page and off-page. On page optimization includes things like:

• Optimizing your title tags and meta descriptions
• Increase website speed
• Writing in-depth, quality content.
• Cleaning up your site’s code.
• Streamlining your site’s navigation.

Off-page SEO is a long list of techniques that you can do outside the website to help with SERP position. These range from:

• Link building
• Forums and influencer outreach
• Content marketing
• Social media posts
• Guests posts

7. Customer Service 24/7

In case you didn’t already know, the internet never sleeps, which means that people have access to your website anytime day or night. With this in mind, it is no wonder that the internet is a place where customer service has become more popular than ever.

A well designed website will have multiple contact options for potential or current customers to reach your business 24/7. With contact forms, email address, and phone numbers easily visible and on multiple pages of your business’s website, customers have a variety of ways to contact you and seek assistance.

Some websites will even offer live chat options, which have the capabilities to offer on the spot assistance for many questions or concerns, book appointments, or connect visitors to the customer service team. By offering these features on your website, you will be supporting new and existing customers 24/7!

8. Marketing and Advertising

Advertising a business online is much more cost effective than traditional methods such as paper and television. With website marketing, it can be easier to reach customers in your market by creating an engaging site that attracts visitors from search engines. A branded website also allows you the opportunity for developing advertising campaigns tailored specifically to fit what different types of people are looking for!

Here are some advertising strategies you can promote directly on your website:

• Publishing blog posts
• Running a contest or giveaway
• Promoting your website on social media and/or in your email newsletter
• Advertise on social media platforms
• Retargeting people who already visited your site
• Offer downloadable educational resources
• Offer a webinar or sales demo (live or recorded)
• Use your blog and/or newsletter to offer information about services or upcoming events, contests, deals, or giveaways

9. Showcase Your Products and Services

After landing on your homepage, 86% of potential customers want to see your services page, so it is more than important to make sure it is optimised to obtain the greatest number of possible leads. (Get Response, 2020)

With a branded website, you’ll have an easy way to showcase your products and services in quick turnaround times. Enticing graphics and photography are the perfect touch for this process as they make it easier for viewers to understand what is being offered in an appealing way.

Like graphics and photos, a high converting website will also showcase the desired and unique services that your business has to offer.

10. Opportunity to Grow

Without a website in 2021, it is very unlikely that your business will grow. However, with a high performing and well designed website, growth is inevitable. As time goes on, the internet evolves, therefore, the longer you wait to build a website for your business, the sooner it becomes irrelevant.

Building a website with an intentional, actionable goal and strategy will help you to increase leads, sales, and growth!

11. Blogs and Newsletters

Consumers are spending more time researching a product before making an investment. Adding blogs to your website can give you the opportunity to showcase expertise and knowledge as a brand, giving consumers what they’re looking for in their research process. Blogs are also great for consumers to learn more about your company and get an overall feel for the type of people they may be hiring or purchasing from.

Newsletters are an excellent way to provide customers with the latest updates and information on your business. They can be sent out periodically to keep customers informed about new additions, offers, or any special events you may have going on in the future. Newsletters are also a great way for brands to reach their customer base through email marketing campaigns without having to spend much time at all.

Here are some must know blog stats from 2021 (Optinmonster):

• Companies who blog get 97% more links to their websites.
• Blogs have been rated as the 5th most trustworthy source for gathering online information.
• Businesses that blog experience twice as much email traffic as businesses who don’t.

12. Saves Time and Money

Setting up a website presence will not only save you money, but it can also be very easy and cost-effective with the right tools. Building your own site is simple as long as you are dedicated to taking the time to learn the simple build process on platforms such as Wix, Wordpress, Squarespace, or Webflow. Since this is very time consuming when you consider all of the elements that need to be considered for design and optimization, it is highly recommended that you hire a professional web developer.

Why Hire a Web Designer (The Short Explanation)?

There are a number of reasons that it is recommended to hire a professional web designer, but I will save the lengthy version for another blog post.

Essentially, a quality web designer will not only create a beautiful and personalized website, but they will also implement on and off page SEO strategies to ensure that your website ranks in the top search engines. This is a huge asset for your business because it takes time, money, and resources that you might not have access to without professional help.

According to Statista (2021), nearly 60% of the world’s population use the internet.

So what are you waiting for?

Contact Finn Local Marketing to design and build your website, or update and optimize one that you already have.

OR

Book a FREE brand strategy with Finn HERE.

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“There are three types of people, those who make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who are wondering what just happened.”

-Neil Patel