Five Simple Tips to Build a Website and Upgrade Your Small BusinessBeing a successful entrepreneur is not an easy task. You need to find ways to stand out from your competitors and attract more customers. A cost-effective way of promoting your products and services to a wider range of audiences is by maintaining your own website.

According to latest survey, 76% of US retail marketers believe that digital marketing gives better return on investment than traditional forms of advertising. This is mostly because an average American will likely search for a product or service online rather than look through TV or print ads. Furthermore, studies show that more than half of Americans searching online through their mobile devices favor local results, with 61% of mobile searches resulting in an actual purchase.

Thus, it is only smart for small businesses to create an online presence to boost their sales, and what better way to do this than to create your very own website. To build a website, you should consider the following tips so that you can fully maximize its benefits.

Set Your Online Goals

Before everything else, you need to establish a clear and measurable goal that your website has to achieve for your business. This is important as your web layout and design will depend on it. If you are planning to use the website to entice customers to visit your actual store, then it must reflect on the web design and content. The same goes if you are planning to use it for online sales. The goal must be measurable so that you can gauge the website’s effectiveness.

Hire a Digital Marketing Expert

Not everyone is proficient in making the internet work for them unless they are professionals with vast experience handling HTML, creating web designs, and a thorough understanding of the differences between web platforms. If not, then it is best to leave everything to an expert. Remember, a website is supposed to showcase your brand. It won’t do you good if your company website looks amateurish. Most internet users leave websites that are too plain or are too difficult to navigate.

Be User-Friendly

With almost two trillion searches per year, it is understandable that Google awards greater search rankings on websites that actually enhance user experience. For example, since most internet users in the US conduct online searches through their mobile devices, websites that are mobile-friendly rank higher than those that are not.

It would also be better if you can put the focus on things that matter to your target audience. If your target audience are those looking for a locksmith, then you should consider putting emphasis on the locksmithing services you are offering rather than give them numerous write-ups on various reasons why they need to hire you.

Understand How Search Optimization Works

Just because you have a website does not mean that everything will be smooth-sailing from there on. Your direct competitors most likely have their own websites too, which is why it is necessary to understand how search optimization works. When done right, search optimization can knock out your competition put you on top of the first page of the search query. By using the right keywords or phrases, coupled with local search and voice optimization, your website can blow your competitors away.

Don’t Forget to Put a Call-to-Action Button

So your target audience visited your website, what now? Call-to-action buttons help your customer decide on what he wants to do next, which it will try to prod towards trying your product or service. A call-to-action button is also useful when you’re offering sales discounts and other promos.

Your business’s success lies on how good your website is. It will also help if you can also visit your competitor’s website and take note of the design elements that work for them. From there, you can try to incorporate those elements on your own website and make it better.

Sources:
Search Engine Statistics 2017, SmartInsights.com
3 Design Tips for Building a Website for a Small Business, HuffingtonPost.com