You need more than a Website

If you only have a website, it’s basically like printing a batch of glossy brochures and then locking them in the cupboard.

Simply designing and publishing a website on the internet does not mean that you are going to get visitors to it. Traffic to your website needs to be pushed and this very often takes more effort than the website development itself.

Sending People to your Website 

A website is the perfect resource that you can send people to so they can find out more about your company, products, promotions and anything else you would like them to know. This way, you are sending visitors to your website. This visitor is somebody that you already have contact with -- so you can push them to your website.

On this level a website works well. Of course there are matters like whether or not the website provides the correct brand message or whether it delivers a positive user experience, but that’s for another article.

If you’re happy with your website just satisfying your existing customers then you are disregarding the full potential the internet.

Times are Changing 

When looking for accommodation in Jeffrey’s Bay or a painter to paint your office, who do you turn to? In the past, we used the Yellow Pages. But let’s face it – today you’re probably going to Google it.

Most of the clients that I have spoken to are no longer spending much on the Yellow Pages and many of them have stopped all together. The reality is that more and more people are using the search engines [Google primarily in South Africa] to search for products and services.

Where does your website feature on Google when you search for the products and services that you offer? Don’t search for your own company name such as “Supa Quick”. Search for keywords in your industry such as “tyre dealers”. This is how you can see how you really rank in the search engine results pages.

If your rival is displayed above your business, they are going to be contacted first. People rarely go even to page two of the results pages, so if you aren’t on the first page, chances are likely that you won’t be contacted at all!

You need more than a website 

You definitely need a website - but just a website is not going to cut it. You need good web advice, a web and contextual content. All of which is probably going to cost you more than the website itself.